Daily Salt Lake Tour from Cappadocia – Lake Tuz & Saratli Underground City

Daily Salt Lake Tour from Cappadocia — Walk Barefoot on a White Salt Crust

This private day trip from Cappadocia takes you to Lake Tuz, the vast Salt Lake near Sereflikochisar, then returns through Saratli Underground City, Pigeon Valley and the Goreme Panorama viewpoint. After pickup from your hotel, your driver and English-speaking guide head west across the Anatolian plateau to one of the largest salt lakes in the world, where in the dry months the water evaporates and leaves a dazzling white surface.

You spend around 45 minutes to an hour at the lake. Take off your shoes and walk barefoot on the crust, feel the crunch of the crystals and enjoy the strange sight of salt that looks just like fresh snow or ice under the sun. It is a wonderful place for photographs, especially when the light is low and the surface sparkles. On the way back the tour stops at Saratli Underground City, about 22 kilometres from Nevsehir; it shares many features with the Ozluce and Mazi underground settlements, and although only a small section has been cleared, it gives a real feel for the rock-cut refuges of the region.

Back in Cappadocia you visit Uchisar town and Pigeon Valley, named after the thousands of dovecotes carved into the soft tuff over the centuries, before finishing at the Goreme Panorama, the best viewpoint over Goreme and its fairy chimneys. Bottled water and all entrance tickets are covered, and because this is a private Cappadocia daily excursion, only your own group takes part. It is an ideal add-on for travellers who have already seen the classic valleys and want something completely different.