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By Catherine Cole My Great Escape: Trekking In Turkey in the Zindanonu Valley we saw ... most captivating place I’ve ever been. ... attend London’s Notting Hill Carnival

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Page 1: By Catherine Cole My Great Escape: Trekking In Turkey in the Zindanonu Valley we saw ... most captivating place I’ve ever been. ... attend London’s Notting Hill Carnival

08•2015 | |95 | 08•201594

travel & adventure

My Great Escape: TrekkingIn Turkey

Last year, my partner and I went on a waLkIng hoLIday in Cappadocia. Right in the centre of Turkey, it’s an area of stunning natural beauty, with vast plains, rolling hills and volcanic peaks.

We were based at the family-run Green Hotel in the quiet, traditional village of Cavusin. Early every morning we would marvel at the sight of colourful hot-air balloons rising up from the rocks behind our hotel—there were over 100 each day—taking visitors for a bird’s-eye view of the rocky terrain.

Our minibus would drop us at a different point each day, leaving us to make our way through the various valleys on foot, enjoying the unique nature of each of the six gorges we trekked. We climbed the valley walls of Akvadi Valley and Pasabaglari Valley, which were stony and exposed, to Uchisar Citadel, the highest point in Cappadocia, which afforded amazing views across the hills and valleys. We followed tracks that the locals use, passing allotments of vines and vegetables, fed by the many streams that keep the valleys lush and green.

Each day brought new surprises, every time we turned a

By Catherine Cole

Tell us about your favourite holiday (send a photo too) and if we include it on this page we’ll pay you £50. Go to readersdigest.co.uk/contact-us

Catherine has danced in Rio, been microlighting in South Africa and hiked the mountains of Oman

Ngaire Sharples from Croydon walks the rugged valleys of Cappadocia

postcard from… toronto

corner on the hiking track, or passed through a tunnel in the rock. We found strange rock formations, cave churches, houses built into solid rock, and windows high in the cliff faces that were built to house pigeons. And most incredible of all, large plateaus of “fairy chimneys”—with soft volcanic rock at the bottom and hard basalt on top, eroded by wind and rain to hew out myriad shapes and sizes.

We also visited the fascinating underground city of Kaymakli—the largest of many in Cappadocia— and in the Zindanonu Valley we saw the painted cave churches of the Göreme open-air museum. It’s the most captivating place I’ve ever been.

■ a turkish delightExodus offers an eight-day walking tour in Cappadocia, from £1,069 including flights, breakfast, some lunches and dinners, transport, accommodation and a guide (0845 287 3756; exodus.co.uk).

Unless you favour the Baltic temperatures of a Canadian

winter, the summer months are the best time to descend on Canada’s most happening city—Toronto. It comes alive this month with festivals and street events, showcasing everything from music to art to food. And stay around until mid-September, when the excellent Toronto Film Festival rolls into town, premiering some of the world’s best new movies. There’s plenty to explore in this city, but don’t miss the staggering beauty of Niagara Falls, which is just a short drive away.

■ a City soJournCanadian Affair offers a five-night holiday to Toronto from £619pp, including return flights and accommodation based on two sharing at the Sheraton Centre (0207 616 9184; canadianaffair.com).©

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Ngaire and her partner (below) found Cappadocia “the most captivating place”

Page 2: By Catherine Cole My Great Escape: Trekking In Turkey in the Zindanonu Valley we saw ... most captivating place I’ve ever been. ... attend London’s Notting Hill Carnival

| 08•201596

t r Av e l & A d v e n t u r e

Things To Do This Month

travel app of the month

LoungeBuddy, Free, ios, android. This advises on the entry policies for all airport lounges, meaning in one click you can get away from the crowds (loungebuddy.com).

London in two minutes■ do: More than one million people attend London’s Notting Hill Carnival —held over bank holiday weekend in west London—with good reason. Enjoy vibrant costumes, tasty Jamaican snacks and an unrivalled celebration of West Indian culture (thelondonnottinghillcarnival.com).

■ stay: The five-star Lanesborough has just reopened following extensive renovations. Expect vast suites, decadent afternoon tea and butler service as standard. Rooms from £715 per night. (020 7259 5599; lanesborough.com).

■ swIm: London is blessed with several outdoor lidos, the original and best being the Hampstead Heath ponds. If it’s a hot day, the natural ponds—split into a men’s, women’s and mixed pool—are the best way to cool down in pretty surroundings. (cityoflondon.gov.uk).

short/Long hauL: the wiLd side short: The UK is home to a criss-crossing network of waterways, and the most relaxed way to enjoy them is to hire a canal boat for a week and navigate the locks and waterside pubs under your own steam (01252 796 400; waterwaysholidays.com).

Long: Tahiti is endearingly photogenic, and from the deck of a boat it’s even more so. Explore some of the most remote islands on earth or simply sit back and enjoy the aquamarine water. Turquoise Holidays offers a 13-night cruise on the Aranui III from £4,675pp (turquoiseholidays.co.uk).

FOR MORE, GO TO readersdigest.Co.uk/travel-adventure

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