Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon Ride over Fairy Chimneys

Dawn is the only slot Cappadocia flies. Hotel pickup happens in the dark, and by the time you reach the launch field the crews are already inflating envelopes. There is tea, coffee and pastries while you wait. Then you climb into the basket and the ground falls away in near silence, since a balloon carries no engine. The flight lasts an hour. Below you is rock carved into fairy chimneys and pocked with caves cut by hand into the stone. The formations make this terrain awkward to cross on the ground and legible from the air. Around you is the other half of the reason people come here. On a clear morning the sky fills with balloons at roughly your own altitude, and that sideways view counts for as much with most passengers as the one straight down. After landing there is a glass of champagne and a flight certificate. The whole morning runs about two and a half hours door to door, with pickup and drop-off from Mustafapaşa, Ürgüp, Ortahisar, Göreme, Uchisar and Avanos. The price is 170 euros. Worth knowing before you book: the Turkish Civil Aviation Authorities can ground the fleet over air traffic control rules, and winter mornings in particular get called off for weather. The local operator phones by around 6pm the day before with confirmation, and a cancelled flight is refunded in full.