Cappadocia, Turkey: hot Air Balloon trip at Sunrise

I might still taste the Turkish tea from our pre-flight buffet breakfast when we reached the site. Unfolding the envelopes, each balloon operator had their own spot. The early ones were all set, their gigantic bubbles already in full form. As the personnel terminated flames, I walked around to not feel the February cold. four layers of wintertime wear, yet I was nearly shaking as well as starting to dread the ex-lover-reminiscent temperatures up there.

Cappadocia is commonly understood for its stunningly tough landscape. however over the past few years, it has ended up being synonymous with hot air ballooning. “Most tourists come to Cappadocia just to trip the balloons,” our pilot Suat Ulusoy shared proudly. “This is one of the three biggest ballooning sites in the world. The others are Loire Valley, France, as well as Serengeti, Tanzania.”

Getting prepped up!
On a high!
Flying balloons for over 20 years, Suat is the most senior pilot here. “Not by age, however by experience,” he clarified. The history of these drifting bulbs in this part of the world can be traced back to pilots Lars-Eric Möre as well as Kaili Kidner, who operated the very first industrial traveler balloon for a German travel company in 1991. before that, locals relied heavily in agriculture as well as pottery to make a living. Today, tourism powers the region’s economy.

Hot air balloons in Cappadocia
Hot air balloons in Cappadocia

To be thought about a fantastic ballooning destination, you requirement to look at three factors. First, the availability as well as reliability of operators. as well as right here in Cappadocia, there are lots of them. All you requirement to do is look as much as the sky at dawn as well as you’ll see.

Second, balloon-friendly conditions. Cappadocia uses balloon excursions year-round, nearly daily in summer. “You were lucky,” stated one of the locals we talked to, pointing out that it snowed so difficult for three days before our trip. as well as it’s true. It was snowing when we shown up in Cappadocia, however the skies cleared up the next day. “I personally liked the view during winter, when the hills as well as columns are covered in snow,” he added.

The only downside, he said, is that wintertime weather condition is rather unpredictable. From January to February, there’s a danger that rides be canceled. one of our guides even pointed out that he had seen tourists cry over not being able to do the tour, considering that a few of them came right here just for that.

Vintereventyrland! Cappadocia when covered in snow.
Cappadocia Sunrise
The third aspect is the view, what’s in store for you when you’re up there. appeal is plentiful here, too. From above, Cappadocia is an limitless sea of rock formations, from towering pillars that nature thoroughly molded into huge chimneys for over 2000 years to spires that the early Christians carved with to produce dwellings as well as churches centuries ago. The trip likewise enables a look of a few of central Anatolia’s mighty peaks, where the sun would emerge from in a breathtaking celestial display.

A royal Ride

From above, we might see excursion vans as well as trucks tracking their corresponding balloons. roads cut across nearly barren lands that, at the time, nurtured only naked apricot trees as well as grape shrubs. We went where the wind took us — “We can only manage the going up as well as down,” stated Suat — as well as discovered ourselves in between cliffs, above little towns, as well as among lots of other balloons bring mind-blown tourists. We saw mosques as well as cave cathedrals, fairy chimneys as well as genuine ones, as well as bare as well as snow-clad homes while listening to the conversations of ten other passengers with us. the words amazing, beautiful, as well as unforgettable ended up being a essential in their sentences.

We were drifting above towns.
The town below us.
But the word we heard the most during the entire trip was magical. This was particularly true when we approached the like Valley. “Don’t ask why it’s called such,” Suat joked. I didn’t ask, however I have a theory. I looked around as well as was greeted by imposing columns that developed over years of erection erosion. The whole site is like a homage to male fertility. Or perhaps I’m just a pervert.

Seriously, though, phalluses or no phalluses, the like Valley is so wonderful — there’s that word once again — that you’ll begin doubting if all that you’re seeing is real. It’s as though it came directly from the mind of Ray Bradbury or George Lucas.

The sight of this alien-looking valley was likewise the signal that the trip was about to end. The trip lasted for nearly an hour as well as a half, as well as it felt like minutes. You understand what they state about time as well as having fun.

Love Valley.
Love Valley.
Hot air balloons in Cappadocia
Royal Balloon is something that the personnel are incrediply fornøyd med. Du kan foreslå at det er deres oppgave så vel som alle, men du kan fortelle i metoden de snakker om nøyaktig hvordan de på en annen måte gjør ting. “Vi er ikke en masseballongoperatør,” hevder de og understreker forslaget om å fokusere på høy kvalitet i stedet for mengde. Vår kurv kan passe til 16 passasjerer, men det var bare 12 av oss, noe som gjør reisen komfortabel. Alle passasjerer er også forsikret med den aller beste politikken.

For ikke å nevne at de har en beste 5 -score på TripAdvisor, fra over 1300 strålingsanmeldelser.

Men det jeg likte mest med turen vår var nøyaktig hvor erfaren Suat er i tillegg til hvor mye han liker stedet. Som en profesjonell pilot så vel som historiker, forstår han hver eneste krøk og kramma så vel som tidligere og tilstedeværende av Cappadocia, samt snakket om det som om han forklarer familie. Han skyter humoristiske vitser også mellom informasjonsbiter. Han gjorde turen ikke bare tilfredsstillende, men likeledes og underholdende og underholdende.

Etter en best landing samlet vi oss rundt for tildeling av medaljene “Jeg erobret Cappadocia”. Det var en ostete idé, men jeg kan fortelle deg at jeg kommer til å beholde den resten av livet (fordi jeg også er ostete som FCK). Hver eneste en av oss var glade og fornøyde med turen. Vi har kanskje truffet bakken, men det holdt oss på høyt selv like mye som nå.

Og med et glass lokalt skapt glitrende hvitvin i den ene hånden i tillegg til en jordbær i en annen, delte vi en toast for en kappadokiansk opplevelse som var trygg, kongelig, uforglemmelig, så vel som – vent på den – magisk.

På metoden ned
Vins skryter av medaljen hans, samt Suat som leder toasten. Jubel!
Personalet til Royal Balloon har det veldig bra med en gjest
Suat Ulusoy, Royal Balloon’s Chief Pilot
Royal Balloon
Adresse: Avcilar Mahallesi, Dutlu Sokak, NO: 9, Göreme – Nevşehir / Türkİye.
E-post: royal@ signroyalballoon.com
Nettsted: www.royalballoon.com
Priser: EUR 150-175

Hvor du kan bo: Castle Inn bruker noen av de aller beste overnattingsstedene i Cappadocia (med rask Wi-Fi-tilkobling). Castle Inn ikke i Goreme, men i roligere Ortahisar, bruker Castle Inn en mye mer autentisk opplevelse. Oppholdet alene ligger i et nylig brakt tilbake 150 år gammelt cappadocian hus, og er ganske uforglemmelig. De har en 5 -poengsum i TripAdvisor så vel som den ble kåret til reisers opsjon i 2015.

Bok her: Castle Inn Cappadocia.

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