Camel rock at Devrent valley (Imaginary valley) in Cappadocia, Turkey.; Shutterstock ID 1086845579; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

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Devrent Valley

Cappadocia


Look: it's a camel rock! Nicknamed 'Imagination Valley' locally, Devrent Valley's rock formations are some of the best formed and most thickly clustered in Cappadocia. Most of the rosy rock cones are topped by flattish, darker stones of harder rock that sheltered the cones from the rain until all the surrounding rock was eaten away. This process is known to geologists as differential erosion but you can just call it kooky.

Tour guides here love pointing out the weird rock shapes. See if you can spot the dolphin, seals, Napoleon's hat, kissing birds, Virgin Mary and various reptilian forms. The camel is easily seen. For others, you may need to put on your imagination hat.

Devrent Valley lies on the direct (east) road between Avanos and Ürgüp. There's no public transport along this route but if it's not too hot and you don't mind a roadside walk, it's easy enough to get here on foot from Zelve. From the Zelve site entrance, go about 200m back down the access road to where the road forks and take the right-hand road marked for Ürgüp. After about 2km you'll come to the village of Aktepe (Yeni Zelve). Bear right and follow the Ürgüp road uphill for another 2km.

To cut down on walking time, the Ürgüp–Avanos dolmuş can drop you off at Aktepe. You can get çay and cold drinks from the souvenir stand at Devrent Valley, but you'll have to head on to Zelve, Ürgüp or Avanos for lunch.