Cappadocia Sunrise and Sunset Times, Month by Month

Short answer: in Göreme the sun rises between about 05:15 (June) and 08:00 (January), and sets between about 17:20 (December) and 20:07 (June). Turkey stays on UTC+3 all year with no clock change, so these times shift smoothly through the seasons rather than jumping by an hour in spring and autumn.

Sunrise and sunset in Göreme, month by month

Times are calculated for Göreme on the 15th of each month. Ürgüp, Uçhisar and Avanos are a few kilometres away and within a minute or two of these times; a ridge or valley wall in front of you can delay the moment you actually see the sun by several minutes.

Sunrise: the balloon hour

Cappadocia's hot air balloons take off at first light, when the air over the valleys is calmest — so sunrise is when the sky fills with them. To see it from the start, be in position before the sun is up: in summer that means an alarm well before 05:00.

Balloons only fly on mornings when conditions are judged safe. Cappadocia averages flights on around 220 days a year, and cancellations are most common from December to March. If the balloons are the reason you're getting up, give yourself more than one morning. Our Cappadocia hot air balloon guide covers how flights and cancellations work.

Where to watch the sunrise

• Any high ground around Göreme. The balloons launch from the valleys around the town, so the hills and ridges above it give you the classic view of dozens rising at once.
• From a hotel terrace. Rooftop terraces in Göreme are a popular place to watch the balloons — worth asking about when you book a room.
• From the valleys themselves. Out on the trails at dawn, the balloons drift low overhead. You can walk, or see it on horseback on a sunrise ride.

Sunset: where the rock turns gold

Cappadocia's volcanic tuff is pale during the day and glows orange and pink in the last hour of light. Sunset is gentler than sunrise — no alarm, warmer air — and the light is the best of the day for photographs.

• Rose Valley and Red Valley, near Çavuşin, are known for the pink and red tones their ridges take on at dusk.
• Uçhisar Castle, the tallest rock outcrop in the area, looks out over the whole landscape.
• The viewpoints above Göreme, a short walk from the town centre, catch the last light on the fairy chimneys.

Arrive a good half hour before the time in the table: the warmest colour is in the minutes before the sun touches the horizon, and the popular viewpoints fill up.

What to bring

Göreme sits above 1,000 metres, so mornings and evenings are cool even after a hot day — in January, dawn is well below freezing. Bring a warm layer for sunrise and a jacket for after sunset. For each season, see what to wear in Cappadocia.

Planning your days around the light

Sunrise and sunset are when Cappadocia looks its best, and in summer they're also the only comfortable times to be out for long. Put a balloon flight or a dawn walk at the start of the day, museums and underground cities in the middle, and a viewpoint — or a sunset ride through the valleys — at the end. Our Cappadocia itinerary shows how this fits into 2, 3 or 4 days.