Located in the town of Goreme, the Rose Valley is a tourist attraction famous for its rock formations, rock-carved churches, and stunning sunset views. Rose Valley has a jaw-dropping landscape with unique rock formations that are not seen anywhere else.
If you want to take a break from your busy life or you want to get a glimpse of life in the past, Rose Valley (Turkish: “Gulludere” Valley) is an ideal destination for to discover Cappadocia. You can hike various wonderful trails, see historical religious buildings, and have a conversation with the local residents to get more information.
To reach this area, you can first get to the village of Cavusin and then take the road that leads to the Red Valley. Both Red and Rose Valleys are interconnected. You can turn left to Rose Valley (Turkish, marked “Gulludere”) and after 100 meters you will see the monastic area covered in dirt. You can enjoy hiking or you can also get to the sunset viewpoint directly, the choice is yours.
Thousands of visitors visit this area due to its diverse and wide structure and the religious value it holds. UNESCO has also accepted it as a world heritage site, so this fact attracts visitors too. The flat shape of the rocks is a unique feature that’s not very common. It is said that the flat shape of the rocks is due to the rainwater, which has been pouring for hundreds of years. the rocks were so easily shaped by the water because they are composed of tuff and lava material. The flat shape is just because of the natural conditions like wind and water and humans have no part in it. You may also notice the hollow shape of the stones; this is because of the pigeon nests that are made in this area.
The best way to get the real experience of Cappadocia is trekking Rose Valley. The long and delightful trekking route is the reason why many tourists visit Goreme. The route is around 4 km long and trekking the route provides a wonderful opportunity to explore different features of the valley and experience the stunning views. You will see green areas, rock formations, fairy chimneys, and churches. You will also see different trees including almond and apricot trees.
When you hike through Rose Valley, you can see several churches, a monastery, fairy chimneys that have monk’s living quarters as well as graves. Even though it’s not a very large area, there are several sacred buildings and structures, which itself is an appealing factor. A great feature of this area is the countless tracks that connect small villages and towns.
As the hike begins, you would see a church called “Gulludere Chapel 1” on the left side. There are several rooms, a complex that was probably a monastery but can’t be said for sure due to the poor condition.
The second church (“Gulludere Chapel 2”) is situated in a monastic complex behind Church 1. The church’s condition is very poor and the whole structure is almost destroyed. It is half the size of the church 1 but has the same shape. There is a small room where the monks used to live.
The church 3 is within a fairy chimney. You can see different cells on the outside of the chimney; you can see the window of the living cell as well as the entrance. There are two small rooms with the entrance room being a burial chamber. The church’s architecture and painting are very distinct from what you may have seen before.
A great feature of this area is stylite fairy chimneys. There are around 4 fairy chimney cones that have rooms at the top carved from stones. The monks used to live in these rooms in an effort to separate themselves from the world below. Their effort was a sign of holiness and gathered a lot of attraction. But, due to the height of these rooms, it’s very difficult to examine them.