best hike – Goreme, Cappadocia, Turkey

trip report by besthike editor Rick McCharles

Panoramic viewpoint > Rose Valley > Çavuşin > Love Valley > Uchisar Castle > Pigeon Valley > Göreme

For hikers Göreme is probably the best base for Cappadocia. You can literally go off hiking in any direction. It’s got a good variety of restaurants and accommodation too.

On arrival in Göreme someone will hand you a FREE hiking map.

Most wander around with this thing … frequently getting lost. We could find no decent map nor guidebook in 2017.

For 6 days I hiked and cycled many of these trails, often lost, before finally deciding on what I felt was the best hike.

Ask the people at your accommodation in Göreme how to get to the Rose Valley Panoramic viewpoint. They’ll likely recommend a taxi and tell you the price. It’s about a 15 minute drive uphill from town.

There is a small entry fee for Panoramic viewpoint. The taxi may drop you outside the gates.

Here begins the Rose Valley trail. 5km to Caveusin. Most feel Rose is the best hike of all. And I’d agree.

Note that most of the trail signage is in Turkish.

There are many twisting and turning trail options. All are good but the very bottom of the valley might be muddy.

Rose is popular with cyclists, too.

Gorgeous, surreal scenery.

End of the trail is the village of Çavuşin.

If you haven’t yet seen enough Church caves — you might want to visit the World Heritage site Caveusin Kilisesi.

From Çavuşin you need to get to the Love Valley trailhead. Ask in town. It’s about 1km up the highway towards Goreme. (There are shortcuts.)

If walking the highway here’s the turn-off. These pink signs are the best of the admittedly poor and confusing trail signage in the area.

From there you can’t miss it.

Love Valley is the second best trail in my opinion.

Why they call it Love Valley I can’t imagine. 🙂

You can see here how those columns erode away from the valley wall.

It’s about 4km uphill to the end of the Love trail. If not lost you’ll finish at this tourist trap.

Bus tours stop and parade their unwilling passengers through the souvenirs.

Cross the highway and make your way up to the top of impressive Uchisar Castle. There’s a small entry fee.

Exiting on your way down ask for the Pigeon Valley trailhead. Look for these pigeons. It’s not difficult to find.

Some have reported seeing no pigeons in Pigeon Valley. We saw plenty.

Historically farmers built roosts for pigeons in the valley wall in order to later collect their guano.

It’s downhill to Göreme. A nice but often crowded walk.

Looking back to the Castle.

You might spend 4-6 hours including stops on this best hike.

Panoramic viewpoint > Rose Valley > Çavuşin > Love Valley > Uchisar Castle > Pigeon Valley > Göreme

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A shorter alternative would be to loop Pigeon to Love Valley. It’s a 2km walk up the highway back to Göreme, however.

We really need someone to put together a decent map of trails out of Goreme. Hundreds of thousands visit every year and almost all do some hiking.

related – Hike Bike Travel – 21 Photos That Will Make You Want To Hike In Turkey’s Rose Valley

May 13, 2017May 15, 2017

Turkey’s Lycian Way – day 5

2017 trip report by site editor Rick McCharles – day 5 / 6

day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

We enjoyed a leisurely morning on the beach.

Coffee. Coffee. Coffee.

Super popular on this trail are sit pads that strap on to your body.

Super popular too is swimming every chance you get on the Lycian. What’s the matter with these people? Don’t they know there are GREAT WHITES and MAN-OF-WARS in the Ocean?

We’d been hanging out with a hermit from Istanbul who spends many weeks each year meditating on this beach. Departing we stumbled on his beach home.

He sleeps up high in a tree hammock. Possibly to get away from mosquitoes that sometimes plague this area.

I was following a guided group from Ukraine. Here they are speculating on what this machinery was used for.

They wish they had brought less gear with them on the hike.

We enjoyed a Ukrainian / Turkish lunch. I contributed the peanut butter.

This would be their last night camping. They wanted a truly memorable beach.

Each one we passed they gave consideration. This was the winner.

I carried on towards Tekirova.

Passing even more lovely bays.

It turned out the beach in Tekirova is dominated by big all-inclusive hotels.

I had to find my way behind those hotels. Back street signage here often includes Russian.

Eventually I wandered though town and reached the water park. I knew I could intersect with the trail here.

I was quickly back out into farmland.

Sundance is something of a Hippy colony.

I considered booking into one of their cottages.

But during my arrival everyone was dancing together. Seems 7-8pm is mandatory dance. My feet were too sore for that.

I continued on to a quiet beach I’d read about in a trip report. Setting up at dusk.

day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

February 16, 2017February 14, 2017

Greater Patagonian Trail warnings

Fidgit shares some advice on the NEW Greater Patagonian Trail — Routes would be more accurate — in the Andes:

SO YOU WANNA HIKE THE GPT

The Greater Patagonian is not an official trail but rather 1500km or more of connected best routes. You’ll be lost for sure unless you have KMZ and GPX files downloaded from wikiexplora.

February 10, 2017February 7, 2017

Epic Grand Canyon Hike

Have you been following Peter McBride & Kevin Fedarko?

Epic Grand Canyon Hike: A 650-Mile Challenge (Part 1)

Epic Grand Canyon Hike: Frozen Shoes and Low on Food (Part 2)

I liked the 3rd and final instalment best.

Click PLAY or watch Thirst and Threats in the Godscape on YouTube.

February 1, 2017January 24, 2017

Last Chance Canyon, New Mexico

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Story goes that ranchers in 1881 got lost in the deserts. Had no water. With their horses failing they spotted the limestone walls of one more canyon. This would be their last chance.

My guidebook author called this “one of my favourite spots in all of New Mexico”.

It has plenty of water year round. A rarity in this part of the world.

I started late in the afternoon as it was only 2.7 miles to the recommended campsites.

Last Chance Canyon, New Mexico

The light gorgeous.

Last Chance Canyon, New Mexico

Here’s that water that saved the ranchers.

Last Chance Canyon, New Mexico

Obviously this canyon floods at times.

Last Chance Canyon, New Mexico I checked out the campsites. Too exposed. It was very, very windy.

Instead I hunkered down in this more sheltered spot.

Last Chance Canyon, New Mexico

Having forgotten my bear bag rope, I instead tossed my food bag up into a tree attached to a loose branch. Ingenious improvisation I thought … at the time.

The wind blew it down during the night. Happily my food stayed undisturbed lying on the ground.

Next morning I had the option to try to loop to famed Sitting Bull Falls.

But to save time I opted to backtrack from here, visiting the falls via the front door.

Sitting Bull Falls, New Mexico

As you probably would guess, the Sioux medicine man Sitting Bull never visited New Mexico.

This is a great hike. Highly recommended. We’ve added it to our list of best hikes in North America.

January 31, 2017January 24, 2017

Rattlesnake Canyon, New Mexico

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

After visiting Carlsbad Caverns I dayhiked nearby Rattlesnake Canyon.

Rattlesnake Canyon, New Mexico

It’s well loved for Spring wildflowers and a variety of cactus. But I was there in January. Not many flowers.

You immediately drop down into a small drainage following cairns. There’s no signage.

Rattlesnake Canyon, New Mexico

Up the other side the trail is well defined.

Rattlesnake Canyon, New Mexico

I love the desert. And it was a beautiful day … though very windy.

Rattlesnake Canyon, New Mexico

You can go 3 miles out, 3 miles back. Or try to loop via other canyons. Instead I went out about a mile … enjoyed some solitude … then hustled back to my vehicle.

The “unfriendly vegetation” was too often snagging on my favourite hiking pants. It was difficult to avoid.

Rattlesnake Canyon, New Mexico

In the flat desert it’s easy to get lost. Even here close to Carlsbad Caverns and many roads. In 1999 hikers Raffi Kodikian and David Coughlin were lost in Rattlesnake Canyon. Coughlin died.

related – trip report by 160k- Rattlesnake Canyon

January 30, 2017January 24, 2017

Guadalupe Mountains TX – Bowl Loop

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Guadalupe Mountains National Park

8.5 miles
2380ft elevation gain
side trip to climb Hunter’s Peak

The Parks recommends a (strenuous) 6-8 hours. In a rush to finish before dark, I did it in 4.5 hours.

Trailhead is the Pine Springs Visitor Center. I checked in with a Ranger on trail conditions. She neglected to tell me there was a LOT of snow up in the Bowl.

My guidebook recommended to climb up via the Tejas trail.

Bowl Loop, Guadalupe Mountains TX

A very easy way gain all that altitude. Very well maintained.

Bowl Loop, Guadalupe Mountains TX

Up top in the bowl it looked like the Canadian winter I’d fled.

Bowl Loop, Guadalupe Mountains TX

I met only one other hiker. She too was surprised with the snow.

It’s a different ecosystem up here.

A beautiful coniferous forest of pine and Douglas fir … awaits those who are willing to hike up 2500 feet from the Chihuahuan desert below.

Bowl Loop, Guadalupe Mountains TX

Close to the turnoff for Hunter’s Peak I saw a herd of mule deer. I’m not sure why they are so high this time of year.

Bowl Loop, Guadalupe Mountains TX

Behind me is the highest point in Texas – Guadalupe Peak. I left a Summit Stone.

Great vistas.

Bowl Loop, Guadalupe Mountains TX — flat desert below

From there I needed to either backtrack. Or finish the loop.

Signage in Guadalupe Mountains National Park is not nearly as good as in Big Bend. The free Parks trail map is not detailed enough to do many of the hikes it recommends. Get a better map.

Happily I did find the sign to Bear Canyon Trail. The descent was much different — and much steeper — than how I got up.

I saw some strange wreckage. An airplane crash, I assume.

Bowl Loop, Guadalupe Mountains TX

It was much quicker down than up.

Bowl Loop, Guadalupe Mountains TX

In fact, for most people it’s better to climb on Bear Canyon, descend on Tejas. Easier on the knees. We’ve added The Bowl to our list of best hikes in North America.

related – Backpacker – Guadalupe Mountains National Park: The Bowl

December 5, 2016November 29, 2016

Lagunas Altas Loop Trail, Chile

I’m keen to hike the NEW Patagonia Park in southern Chile about a half hour taxi ride from Cochrane.

The West Winds Campground is open October to April. There are a number of new day hikes open in the park including the Lagunas Altas Loop.

Lagunas Altas Loop Trail brochure (PDF)

It’s not easy to get to Cochrane, by the way. 🙂

If you want to know more about the new Park start at the official website – PatagoniaPark.org

Ian Lloyd Neubauer details his visit on a BBC post – The man who spent his fortune on a Park

November 3, 2016October 31, 2016

Badlands National Park Traverse

Cam Honan:

Last month I hiked the length of Badlands National Park from Ben Reifel Visitor Center to White River Visitor Center. To the best of my knowledge, it was the first time that such a traverse had been completed. …

Distance: 90 miles approx.

Time: 5 days

Read the excellent trip report – Badlands Traverse – Trip Report

October 31, 2016October 29, 2016

Greater Patagonian Trail update

GearJunkie:

The Greater Patagonian Trail (GPT) is 1,300 miles long and counting. It is a growing network of backroads and rutted trails stitched together to form an enormous route across South America, and almost nobody knows about it.

That’s because it’s been built quietly, the entire route put together by one couple who hope to share a love of hiking with the world.

At 1,300 Miles, Remote ‘GPT’ Is Longest Trail In South America

I met Swiss-German hiker and explorer Jan Dudeck and his Chilean wife Meylin Ubilla last January. And hope to get back to Patagonia again in 2017.