Best Place to Watch the Sunrise and Hot Air Balloons in Göreme

Soaring in a hot air balloon gets you up close and personal with Cappadocia's unique landscape of fairy chimneys.  The next best thing is to watch the spectacle from the ground.

Having been cancelled for the past two days, the hot air balloon flights were still only a 50/50 chance to happen this morning. It was so touch-and-go, the civil aviation wouldn't make a decision until morning. I could tell when I left my hotel room at 4:45am (for the 5:48 sunrise), they were obviously a go … vans were racing all over Göreme picking up their lucky passengers. The wind (on the ground) was forecasted at 3 mph with gusts up to 6 mph.

Statistically the balloons in Cappadocia do not launch 23% of the year, mostly during December through April, so the odds are in your favor if you visit between May and November.  To pad your odds, you'll want to have the flexibility to stay at least three or four nights and be willing to pay extra to get a spot from the black market.  (For every day that is cancelled, the demand the following day compounds.)

I used one of the cancelled mornings to scope out the best places to view the balloons flying over the town of Göreme - continue reading below.  However, when there is any wind, they can't fly over the town like they do in every picture you ever see of Cappadocia.

We felt very fortunate to see the balloons soaring overhead on the morning of our last day in Turkey, even though they were further away than normal and the clouds blocked the sunrise

Air Kapadokya gets our vote for best flight of the day. They got up close and personal with the fairy chimneys, were the only ones to detour directly over the town of Göreme, and interacted with the audience below.

Over 150 balloons fill Cappadocia's sky each day (pending launch is a go!)

The #1 place to watch the balloons at sunrise in Göreme is "Sunset Hill" ("sunset/sunrise/balloons view" Gün Batımı ve Doğumu / Balon Seyir Noktası on google maps). It's a large area so even if it's busy it shouldn't feel overcrowded.

Right now (April 2024) the entrance (just past Artemis Cave Cappadocia) is 20tl per person. Give yourself 10 minutes from here plus at least a ~30-60 minute buffer before sunrise if you want to stake claim to a particular spot.

Here are a few pictures from the different spots in the viewpoint area (taken on a morning the balloons didn't go up):

On the east and opposite side of the viewpoint, facing the sunrise with Göreme to your back.  Along this side you can watch the balloons launch into the air.  On the day the balloons went up while we were there (and didn't fly over Göreme), all the people were viewing from the ridge attached in the distance.  To get to the far ridge, after paying your entrance fee, walk up the hill and turn left at the cafe.  From there it is another 3-5 minutes walking.

This is the view over Göreme from the ~half dozen tables along the edge near the cafe.  I assume they fill up very quickly.  Note: in the bottom center of the photo you can see what looks like a checkered roof; just to the right of it is the toll booth where you pay to enter the viewpoint.

Jutting out just beyond the cafe and tables is the big viewing platform.  It actually makes a poor viewpoint to watch the balloons, at least for pictures, because of the hillside occupying the majority of the foreground.

This is the best unhindered view of the balloons 

when they fly directly over Göreme.  It is a single point that juts out the furthest along the crest over the town; therefore, only 1-4 people can stand there.  To get there, walk up the hill after paying the entrance fee.  Continue walking past the cars that park along the edge on your right.  Keep walking up the hill along the barbed-wire fence on the right side lining the road.  Just after the fence ends, turn right onto the dirt path and walk about 50-75 feet further.  (The view is on your right side.)

The runner up place to watch the balloons is in front of the cars that park on the righthand side as you get up to the viewpoint.  Carefully walk down a bit into the brush.  I preferred going all the way over to the left until the barbed-wire fence started.

Cat of the Day

No cats inside the airports!  Today is our travel day back to home.