Cavusin is an off-the-beaten-path location in Cappadocia with an amazing castle, church and a beautiful valley with incredible earth pillars and hoodoos. The Cavusin Church, Cavusin Castle, Cavusin Valley and Cavusin Village are all worth a visit.
VISITING CAVUSIN VALLEY, VILLAGE, CHURCH, AND CASTLE
In this blog post, I will share everything you need to know about all the attractions in Cavusin.
WHERE IS CAVUSIN IN CAPPADOCIA
Cavusin is a great little village just on the outskirts of Goreme, taking about 10 minutes by car from the town center of Goreme to Cavusin. It is nearby the Pasabag Fairy Chimneys. Once you are there in Cavusin, you can’t really miss the castle or the church. However, to make it easier for you it is important to know to put into Google Maps ‘St John’s Baptist Church’, when trying to find the Cavusin Castle. The church shows up normally in Google Maps.
I’ve embedded a map below that shows the pin for the Cavusin Castle. We walked from the Cavusin Church, through Cavusin Valley to Cavusin Castle. There was a lot to see on the way with some of the most impressive earth pillars in all of Cappadocia in my opinion.
BEST RENTAL CAR COMPANY IN TURKEY
When you book your Turkey Rental Car online, I personally recommend and always use Discover Cars. They search for both local and international companies, so you get the best deal!
TOURS THAT INCLUDE CAVUSIN CHURCH
There is an awesome tour: Full-Day Cappadocia Tour, which is an epic day of adventures including the following.
- Visit Red Valley, renowned as one of the most spectacular valleys of Cappadocia
- Hike through the colorful and breathtaking fairy chimneys of Red Valley and descend to underground cities
- Walkthrough narrow corridors and discover numerous rooms and storage carved from the soft volcanic stone
- Cavusin Castle visit
- Explore Pigeon Valley and its picturesque sceneries as well as the towering Ortahisar Rock Castle
Book your tour: Full-Day Cappadocia Tour
MY EXPERIENCE IN CAVUSIN, CAPPADOCIA
We originally came to check out the Cavusin Castle, but a lovely old lady invited us in to show us her sunflower garden, the Cavusin Church and a cave bedroom she said was 2000 years old. A little hard to comprehend for an Australian who grew up in a country with only a couple hundred years of modern history (although tens of thousands of years of indigenous history).
I think from memory she charged us 1 Turkish Lyra to enter her viewing point, which was not something I think was too popular judging by the setup. It did though, have incredible views of the backside of the church. The church was closed on our visit to Cavusin although we couldn’t find out why. You can still get a great look at the church by walking around the base of it. Cavusin Church is a huge rocky mountain rather than the typical church building you may be thinking of.
From the church, we walked directly through the farm fields, where there wasn’t much of a trail. A huge dust funnel swept through, reminding us about just how hot we were in this barren plain. Luckily the walk across to the castle only took about 20 minutes and was quite scenic along the way. Within this valley, the Cavusin Valley, are hundreds of cave houses and earth pillars (chimneys) to marvel at. There are a few sites in particular that are truly remarkable feats of erosion over the centuries.
THE 3 MOST POPULAR CAPPADOCIA TOURS
- Sunrise Hot Air Balloon: My number one recommendation is to do a sunrise hot air balloon flight and be blown away by this magical experience.
- Cappadocia Sunset ATV Tour: The best way to spend sunset in Cappadocia is on the ATV tour amongst the amazing rock formations.
- Cappadocia Red Tour & Goreme Open-Air Museum: All of the best tourist sites in one day!
We had now reached the castle and had taken the back way up to climb. There were a few others at the top, several of which had driven their motorbikes all the way up. I think they must have a different route to the one we climbed up, which wasn’t suitable for a bike.
At the top of the castle, you can tell it has been built into the side of the cliff because it is almost just an extension of the mountain. Only as you walk further toward the edge does it become more of a building and less of a cliff. There are hundreds of rooms to explore but it is quite difficult to get into them unless you come from the bottom side up. We made it over the flag pole, which seemed to be chained off but seemed relatively safe.
From the top of the castle, we had views over Cavusin Village, Cavusin Valley, and all the way back to Cavusin Church and even Goreme. This could be a pretty epic spot to watch the Cappadocia hot air balloons at sunrise.
WHERE TO STAY IN GOREME, CAPPADOCIA
Where I stayed: Design Cave Suites Cappadocia – I was lucky enough to stay at the Design Cave Suites in Goreme. The location was great and I walked to all attractions. The rooftop garden was awesome for sunrise balloon watching. The buffet breakfast spread was amazing as were the cave-style room designs.
Best Cave Hotel with Pool: Local Cave House Hotel– This cave hotel rose to fame because of its incredible pool. Make sure you click the link and check out how epic the pool backdrop is, with those classic Cappadocia rock formations in the background and traditional cave rooms it is a top pick.
Cave Hotel with Best Roof View (and dogs): Sultan Cave Suites – This cave hotel became famous because of its epic rooftop area for sunrise viewing. Guests can lay out on traditional pillows and carpets while watching the hot-air balloons flying above. The hotel dog might also join you for a photoshoot on the roof!
HAVE YOU CHECKED OUT THE REST OF MY CAPPADOCIA BLOG POSTS?
Click on one of the articles below to check out all of the places you should visit while in Cappadocia!
The big guide! This post has all of my favorite activities, which I personally did while in Cappadocia for ten days: 24 AWESOME THINGS TO DO IN CAPPADOCIA
The hiking guide! Find out about all of the best hikes in Cappadocia with details, directions and lots of photos: 8 AWESOME HIKES IN CAPPADOCIA
Thinking about flying in a hot air balloon in Cappadocia? Read this first: CAPPADOCIA HOT AIR BALLOONS: THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU FLY
Have you heard about the castles in Cappadocia? Check these out:
CAVUSIN CHURCH, VALLEY & CASTLE
Not sure where is the best region to stay? Wondering which hotel provides the best value? Check out this guide that will help you decide: WHERE TO STAY IN CAPPADOCIA: THE BEST HOTELS & HOSTELS
OR… I write a post about the 12 BEST CAVE HOTELS IN CAPPADOCIA that you might find interesting.
I’ve written a blog post for almost all of the places I’ve visited while in Cappadocia. You can find every single one of these articles right here: CAPPADOCIA ARCHIVES