Cappadocia Ride

Introduction
Turkey Turkey

Accomodation

Accommodation: The Trail offers comfortable guesthouse accommodation in picturesque villages located in ancient stone houses or in nicely renovated cave houses. Guesthouses are family run and typically Anatolian. Double rooms with en-suite toilets and shower. Most guesthouses offer free internet access and a laundry service.
 
Single room supplement (only when unwilling to share and if available): 20 Euros per person per night payable locally.

Meals: Dinner (Turkish- comprising a starter, one or two main courses and dessert) and Breakfast (Turkish and continental) are taken at the guesthouse.
 Lunch is a picnic guests carry with them. Vegetarian meals are available on request. Water, tea and coffee are included. Cappadocia wine, beer and other drinks are available and payable locally.

This trip includes and can accommodate special dietary requests.

Riding
The stable is composed of forward-going cross-Arab mares who will surprise you with their robustness and their agility. They are small (1,50 m on average - the ideal size for trailing on tortuous paths !).

IMPORTANT: There is a strict weight limit of 200 lbs. You will not be able to ride if you are over 200 lbs upon arrival!

Riders 12 yrs and older can participate, but anyone under 18 years must be accompanied by an adult.

Your participation is required to tack up/untack your horse, water the horse (at the fountain), and help feed it in the evening.
Responsive, well-balanced and respectful of the rider, there are also extremely sure-footed.

Horses are distributed according to riding levels and riders' preferences, but the size and the weight of the rider are also important criteria.

The riding equipment includes hackamores and McCellan light trailing saddles.

Saddles are fitted with two saddle-bags for you to carry the pic-nic and personal belongings for the day.

On average, we will ride 20 km and spend 5 to 6h on back of the horse each day. We will take regular breaks throughout the day and stop for at least one hour for lunch.

Each day begins and ends with a 5-10 minute walk (on foot), for the riders and the horses to warm up/relax.

The circuit includes some difficult passages, where you will be asked to get off your horse and walk. You must be in good physical condition and must be able to mount and dismount unassisted.

You must also have a competent riding level to take part in our trails. You must be able to stay in the saddle during group canters, and be able to tack up your horse yourself. Before coming to Turkey, go for a few rides and exercice yourself in order to avoid muscular pain or irritations during the trail.

Itinerary

Day 1 Sunday:  Arrival at Kayseri airport with the 19:40 Turkish Airlines flight. You are met by our chauffeur and transferred in 50 mn to your accommodation in central Cappadocia, where you have dinner with your guide.
Day 2 Monday: “Lake Damsa”
You are driven to the ranch in the early morning to meet and choose your horse, and get acquainted with the riding equipment. The trail begins through the lush canyon of Uzengi, where abrupt rock walls shelter troglodytic citadels of dovecotes. After your first gallop on the sandy tracks, your stop for lunch in the natural rock circus of Taslik. From there, a muleteer track carved in the rock leads you to the ancient village of Mustafapaşa. You spend the afternoon riding through expanses of steppe-like bare lands surrounding Lake Damsa. In the evening, you reach the camp in the shady woods of the Valley of Cemece. Riders are transferred to their accommodation for dinner.
Day 3 Tuesday: “Savage Cappadocia”
You ascend the Plateau of Avlak for a magnificent encompassing view of Cappadocia. In the background stands majestic Erciyes volcano. After a canter on the plateau's larger tracks, you stop for lunch on a cliff overlooking the Valley of Karlik. After more trots and canters on the plateau, you ride down to the Valley of Cemil. As the sun is slowly setting, you pass through orchards and vineyards to reach the camp next to the ancient troglodyte monastery of Keşlik, near the remote village of Cemilkoy. Riders are transferred to their accommodation for dinner.
Day 4 Wednesday: “Bucolic Cappadocia”
This day comprises 3:30 hours riding in the morning. Afternoon is at leisure in Cappadocia's most picturesque villages : Uchisar and Göreme, where you can visit the Open Air Museum.
Following a track left by the muleteers on the flank of the mountain, you reach a vast rocky plateau overlooking the south of Cappadocia. From the top of the cliff, the view is breathtaking. You descent through a lush valley planted with woods, where you stop for a morning break. You ride through the green countryside, crossing narrow streams, winding your way through gardens and orchards. Later, the land turns into wide open, bare spaces where shepherds lead their flock, aided by the impressive Kangal dogs. After a last gallop on the steppe, you arrive at the camp, where lunch is cooking on the woodfire.
In the early afternoon participants are transferred to their guesthouse in central Cappadocia. Dinner at the guesthouse.
Day 5 Thursday: "The famous valleys"
Optional hot-air balloon flight in the early morning: travel with the wind over Cappadocia's magical landscape at sunrise.
You begin from the Valley of Sorkumlu; there are areas so narrow that they form a deep canyon with out-of-the way troglodytic treasures. You gallop on a long sandy path lined with orchards and gardens, still cultivated by the locals using horses or mules. In green field you stop for lunch, surrounded by walls of soft colourful rock, where the horses can rest and graze. In the afternoon, you continue over rolling hills of white tufa leading you up to a rock pinnacle embracing Cappadocia's most beautiful valleys. You sneak your way through the rocky labyrinths, tunnels and arches of the splendid Green Valley in order to reach the campsite above it. You admire the valley's strangely shaped pink rock formations while sipping tea. Riders are transferred to their accommodation for dinner.
Day 6 Friday: “Kizilirmak”
Optional hot-air balloon flight in the early morning: travel with the wind over Cappadocia's magical landscape at sunrise.
You pass the fancy fairy chimneys of the aptly named Love Valley and you cross Göreme to enter the White Valley. You take a short morning break among its fantastic rock formations. Through a narrow path carved in the rock, you reach the plateau again for a wild gallop and break for lunch in the shady woods of the Sheep Valley. Later, you canter on the large sandy tracks leading to the ancient troglogytic village of Çavuşin, where you stop for tea. A scenic path carved in the red rock of Mount Boztepe leads you to the famous rock formations of Paşabaği. After a long canter across the plain of Avanos, you reach the troglodyte camp in Yeni Zelve. Here, you can watch the sun set above Devrent Valley. Riders are transferred to their accommodation for dinner.
Day 7  Saturday : “The Red Valley”
You ride along the crests overlooking the forest of fairy chimneys in Devrent Valley. You dismount to ascend the Boz Tepe mountain in order to reach the mausoleum of local saint Alil Dede. From his resting place, you have a 360° view over Cappadocia. You descend through the maze of tracks and paths up the crests and down the canyons of the Red Valley. With its cidatels of red, pink and ocre rock, this is Cappadocia's most spectacular valley. In the afternoon, you leave the tortuous paths behind you to take advantage of larger tracks for a long gallop. You cross the Valley of Pancarlik and you arrive at the ranch in the late afternoon. Before dinner, you have an option to be driven to the hamam in Ürgüp for a relaxing steam bath (entrance + taxi fare).
Day 8: After breakfast, departure to Kayseri airport at 07:30 for your 09:40 flight to Istanbul.

Rates and Dates for Cappadocia Ride

Dates Note:

Other Info
Meeting: Ortahisar
Airport: Kayseri
Transfer: Kayseri Airport at 8 PM. Drop off for flight at 7:30 AM, flight usually departs ~09:40 AM

Climate:

*Bring along a copy of your travel insurance policy- non-insured riders will not be allowed on the trail*

In summer, dress as if you were going for the desert; in spring and autmn, bring some warm clothing and a waterproof (low risk of rain).

Bring a one litre flask. In July and August, bring 2 x 1 litre, rather than a large, heavy flask. Your saddle will be fitted with 2 saddle-bags, so you may carry your personal belonging with you.

Every evening, the logistic vehicle will forward your luggage to the camp site or pension.You will have to move your luggage around several times during the week so you should pack several, lighter bags rather than one large, heavy suitcase.

The guides do carry first aid packs with them, but you may also want to bring your own water purifying tablets, aspirin, large spectrum antibiotics and sunscreen.