Soganli Cave Churches Hot Air Balloon Ride, Cappadocia

The figure to hold on to here is 500 metres. That is the height the operator quotes for watching Soganli from the basket, enough to hold a whole valley system in one view. Soganli lies in southern Cappadocia, a long way from the Goreme sector where the bulk of the region's balloons launch, and it was approved for ballooning much more recently. Cave churches are what the valley is known for on the ground. They are cut into the rock and reached on foot by the smaller number of visitors who make the drive south, which is a different sort of Cappadocia day from the one most people book. Seen from a balloon, what registers is the arrangement rather than the detail: where the cut faces sit along the walls, how far the system runs, how little else is out there. Hotel pickup opens the morning, followed by the drive to the valley where the flight starts. Take-off is at dawn, the window commercial flying uses in Cappadocia, and the whole region is held to 100 balloons in the air at the same time. One caveat on the rating: the 5.0 average rests on 6 reviews, so it carries nothing like the weight of the same score on an operator with thousands. The price is 239 euros. Cancelling 24 hours or more before departure returns the full amount.