Traverse the high-altitude passes and remote plateaus of the Taurus range and summit Mount Emler (3723m)
Hike among the caves, ‘fairy chimneys’ and sculpted valleys of the UNESCO-listed Cappadocia region
Camp amid panoramic vistas and the seven lakes of Yedigoller, and explore ancient cave villages carved into the landscape
Day 1
Touch down in the heart of Anatolia, where you'll be collected by your host for the short transfer to your hotel in Kayseri. If there’s time, explore the old city which has some of the most impressive mosques in the region, masterpieces from the Seljuk period, and an 800-year-old bazaar.
Day 2
Meet your guide and your fellow travellers over breakfast and chat about the adventure ahead, before getting into the van and heading to the Aladaglar Mountains - home to lakes, deep canyons and the highest peaks of Turkey's mighty Taurus range. Near Elekgolu village, you'll set off on a hike through the sheer-walled Kazikli Canyon, up into the Emli Valley and on to your campsite. Settle into your first night in the mountains with a Turkish tea and dinner.
Day 3
Fuel up on breakfast and head out in the fresh mountain air, through the forest and upwards to the Siyirmalik Valley. The terrain levels out as you reach the Eznevit Plateau, inhabited by hospitable semi-nomadic families in their traditional tents. Take in the epic views, then continue onwards to Sakartas, finally reaching the next campsite at Sokulupinar. Settle in for dinner and bed down at an elevation of 2000m.
Day 4
Set off towards the Arpalik Plateau and up to Tekepinari, home to grazing alpine ibex. Hike along a narrow trail with stunning views of the north face of Mount Demirkazik (3756m), tracking a riverbed leading to Dipsiz Lake. Tuck into a picnic lunch and take a refreshing dip in the lake if the sun is shining. Head back down and on to the campsite to catch the changing colours of the sunset (and a well-deserved dinner).
Day 5
Head out and up the Karayalak Valley, leading to a natural spring and great views of the surrounding mountains. Continue on a steep section that leads over the Celikbuyduran Pass (3450m) and steadily upwards to summit one of the region's most renowned peaks, Mount Emler (3723m). Take in the panoramic vista of the Bolkar range and Mounts Erciyes (3917m) and Hasan (3268m). Return to the pass and continue downhill on to the arid, red rocks and colourful seven lakes of Yedigoller Plateau (3100m), and then on to your highest lakeside campsite at 3100m.
Day 6
Grab your pack and hit the trail to leave the Yedigoller Plateau, pass the second-largest lake in the area and continue up to the Teke Kalesi Pass (3517m). Take in the incredible views over the plateau, eyes open for more ibex with their curved horns. Head downwards through remote, arid pastures towards Yildiz (Star) Lake, until you reach Karagol Lake campsite at 2800m where you can relax for the evening.
Day 7
Your final hike in the Aladaglar Mountains takes you down from Karagol, past babbling creeks, through Maden Gorge to Pinarbasi village. Here, you'll jump in the van and head towards Cappadocia, stopping en route to explore ancient Derinkuyu - an underground warren of a city carved into the rock. Roll into the village of Uchisar, where you can explore its fortress and take in the views of the unique Cappadocian landscape, then hike through the Akvadi Valley. Dotted with grapevines, follow the dry riverbed to Çavuşin village. One of the oldest settlements in the area, Çavuşin is made up of rock-cut dwellings and elegantly carved stone houses.
Day 8
Head out into the World Heritage Site and hike Kiliclar (Sword) Valley, past Cappadocia's other-worldly ‘fairy chimneys’ and long abandoned cave homes, drinking in the stunning views. Discover the houses, churches and frescos cut into the rock at the Göreme open-air museum before hiking through two of the most beautiful landscapes of Cappadocia: Meskendir Valley and Red Valley. Take in the spectacular rock formations in hues of red, pink and yellow.
Day 9
Rise and shine early to watch the hot air balloons float over the landscape, then bid farewell to your fellow adventurers before you’re transferred to the airport in time for your onward flight.
Local, English-speaking mountain guide
3 nights in hotels and 5 nights camping
All breakfasts, 7 lunches and 7 dinners
Airport transfers and everything in between
Support team of cook, porters and mules
Camping equipment including tents and sleeping pad
All permits, tickets and entry fees
You know your own spending habits best, so please budget an appropriate amount for things like optional meals and drinks, shopping, optional activities, and laundry.
The food in Turkey is more than just your classic kebab, with traditional and local meals as varied as its history. Many dishes make good use of seasonal vegetables, with fresh bread always in easy reach. A classic Turkish breakfast ('kahvalti') is…
We're still waiting to collect any reviews from other travellers on this trip. However, all our hosts go through an extensive vetting process to ensure that your adventure is awesome.
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For solo travellers looking for their own space, an optional private room and tent can be booked for an extra charge, see Optional Extras for the price.
To request any extras, message your host via your Much Better Adventures account once you have booked your trip.
All extras must be paid before your trip starts.
Tips are not included in the trip cost. These are entirely at your discretion and the amount should reflect your perception of service and quality - a tip is not mandatory and should only be given when you receive excellent service.
Tap water in Turkey is generally not safe to drink, the quality of the water and mains infrastructure in more rural areas cannot be guaranteed. If plastic bottled water must be used, we suggest 3 or 4 members of the group share one large 5 or 10 litre bottle to refill your own bottles instead of buying separately. Please pack your own reusable bottle, it will be used well.
While hiking in the Aladaglar Mountains, water for drinking and for cooking is conveyed directly to campsites from natural mountain springs via sealed pipes, and can be purified if necessary. Please check with your guide at each camping location.
Water bottles with inbuilt filters are becoming increasingly popular for travellers to use in countries without clean tap water. Please see our guide for advice on the best water filters for adventurers if you wish to bring your own filtration bottle on this trip.
For the duration of the hike in the High Taurus, excess luggage can be securely stored on Day 2 in Aladaglar Cukurbag village, at a private village house. You will be reunited with your excess luggage on Day 7 before heading to Cappadocia.
Sure can! Over 70% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.
Our team of Adventure Hunters co-create exclusive adventures which are run by highly vetted, specialist hosts. The trip is run by our trusted host partner in the destination. We only work with independent, local, in-destination experts who know the very best places to explore and how to stay safe. Read more information about the local teams we partner with. You’ll be introduced to the host straight after making a booking via the Much Better Adventures platform.
Much Better Adventures refer to the UK Government’s official travel advice when designing trips and monitoring trip operations. We recommend that all customers review the practical information available on the UK Government’s FCDO website, where you can find up-to-date advice by searching for your destination(s).
If you are based in the United States, you can also check the latest travel advisories from the U.S. Department of State.
For customers joining from other international locations, we recommend checking the official travel advice issued by your country of residence, as guidance may vary.
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All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. You must be over 18 to join one of our trips.
You're always in good company on one of our adventures.
Our trips typically consist of a mix of solo travelers and small groups of 2 or 3 friends, with most in their 30s-50s.
Our sociable adventures are solo-friendly by design and naturally attract outdoorsy people with a shared mindset; a love for adventure, a desire to push themselves, and meet awesome, like-minded people along the way.
It’s this camaraderie that has so often turned a great adventure into a life-changing one.
Don't just take our word for it:
See here for more info about the Much Better Adventures tribe.
We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre program, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity.
What's the number?
It works out on average at 240kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.
The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.
But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:
What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity, ensuring the protection of the reserve and its wildlife.
Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.
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