Uçhisar guide: the castle village above Pigeon Valley

Uçhisar is the village on the road between Nevşehir and Göreme, built around a rock castle that is the highest point in the region. Our catalogue lists 19 hotels here: 9 small hotels, 7 cave hotels, one pension, one suite-style hotel and one listed as luxury. Compared with Göreme’s 43, Uçhisar is smaller and on higher ground, and it looks over Pigeon Valley. This guide uses the hotel records for the village’s neighbourhoods and for the distance to the castle. It gives no prices or opening times.

The castle and the view

Uçhisar Castle is a natural rock mass, hollowed out with rooms over the centuries and visible from far around. The way up is by steps, and from the top the view opens over the valleys and, on clear days, towards Mount Erciyes: Karlık Cave Suite lists views of both Güvercinlik Valley and Erciyes. Climbing in the midday sun is tiring, so mornings and the hours before sunset are the better choice. Check the official source for opening days and entry arrangements.

Pigeon Valley

Güvercinlik, “Pigeon” Valley, runs between Uçhisar and Göreme. Its name comes from the dovecotes cut into the rock walls; the droppings were traditionally collected as fertiliser for fields and vineyards. A common plan is to walk from Göreme to Uçhisar and take a taxi back, or the reverse. The Kale Konak Cappadocia record describes a terrace restaurant looking over Pigeon Valley, and Göreme Inn describes itself as sitting at the mouth of the valley on the Göreme side. Paths are uneven and shadeless in summer; see what to do in Cappadocia for the other valley routes.

The neighbourhoods in the records

The “area” field of the 19 records gives these names:

• Tekelli (11): the largest group, counting one record spelt “Tekeli”. Four of its hotels have a Göreme Avenue address (Hu of Cappadocia, Mimi Cappadocia, My Story Cave Hotel and Simera In Cappadocia) and two a Derebağ Street one (Wings Cappadocia and The Kingdom of Cappadocia).
• Aşağı (4): Breeze Of Cappadocia and Flavia Cappadocia Hotel both describe themselves as central; the others are Leda Stone House and Vigor Cappadocia.
• Yukarı (1): Uçhisar Palace In Cappadocia.
• No area listed (3): Chiaro Cappadocia, Kale Konak Cappadocia and Karlık Cave Suite.

These are the catalogue’s own labels, not official boundaries. “Aşağı” means lower and “Yukarı” upper in Turkish, but neither is a promise about height or distance: the only Yukarı hotel gives 1.2 km to the castle.

How far is the castle?

Nine records give a figure; three more say walking distance, a five-minute walk or “at the foot of the castle”. The measuring method is not stated.

Hotel	Area	Castle distance in the record
Kilim Pansiyon	Tekelli	about 138 m
Wings Cappadocia	Tekelli	about 265 m
Dream of Cappadocia	Tekelli	about 300 m
Hu of Cappadocia - Special Class	Tekelli	about 300 m
Simera In Cappadocia	Tekelli	about 352 m
Cappadocia Fairy Chimneys Selfie Cave Hotels	Tekelli	about 400 m
Leda Stone House	Aşağı	about 518 m
Uçhisar Palace In Cappadocia	Yukarı	about 1.2 km
Chiaro Cappadocia	not listed	about 1.3 km

The three descriptive records are My Story Cave Hotel (a five-minute walk), Mimi Cappadocia Luxury Cave Hotel (walking distance) and Karlık Cave Suite (at the foot of the castle).

What the 19 hotels list

• Balloon view: 8 of 19 (Göreme: 27 of 43). Valley view: 3.
• Pool: 2 (Karlık Evi Cappadocia and The Kingdom of Cappadocia). Spa: 3. Hamam: 3 (Kale Konak, The Kingdom and Uçhisar Palace).
• Hot tub or jacuzzi: 4. Pets: 4 are listed as pet-friendly (Juno, Kale Konak, Kilim and Simera).
• Family rooms: 8. Restaurant: 7. Breakfast included: 15. Parking: 12.
• Airport transfer: 4. 24-hour reception: 4 tick it (Dream, Mimi, My Story and Wings); Kilim’s text mentions it too.
• Room counts: given for 8 hotels, from 8 (Leda and My Story) to 25 (Karlık Evi), with a median of 15.5.

Air conditioning is ticked at 7 of the 19; for heating and cooling questions in cave rooms, see what is a cave hotel.

Uçhisar or Göreme?

The Open-Air Museum and the balloon launch fields are on the Göreme side. Wings Cappadocia gives about 3.4 km to the museum and calls it a longer trip; Hu of Cappadocia gives 11 km to Zelve Open Air Museum and 35 km to Nevşehir Kapadokya Airport. Only 4 of the 19 hotels list an airport transfer, so for arrival planning read how to get to Cappadocia. Uçhisar’s balloon-view share (42%) is lower than Göreme’s (63%), so ask whether the room you want has the view. For the village below, see the Göreme village guide.

Where to stay in Uçhisar

Four hotels, taken from their records and not ranked: Kilim Pansiyon, a pension about 138 m from the castle; Karlık Evi Cappadocia, 25 individually decorated rooms with a pool and a valley-facing jacuzzi; Simera In Cappadocia, nine rooms of which six are jacuzzi suites; and Kale Konak Cappadocia, 17 rooms with a terrace restaurant over Pigeon Valley, a spa and a hamam. All 19 are on the Uçhisar section of the hotel list. After choosing, you can book through gocappadocia.com, the regional booking platform created through the combined efforts of 175 Cappadocia hoteliers, with a best-price guarantee; this guide takes no commission.