Skiing and ballooning. Cappadocia, Turkey 2024

VERY HOT!!!

Skiing and ballooning in Cappadocia. 65 km of free slopes!!!

  🔥 HOT UPDATE 🔥 

Forget flying and turn the tour into an unforgettable road trip!

We travel by comfortable minibus(s) 🚐 🚐 and endurance drivers enjoying the whole landscape of Anatolia unfolding before our eyes.

Of course, we include stops at sites that delight the eye with the remains of ancient civilizations of the Hittites, Lydians, Phrygians of Midas or medieval Islamic Seljuks 👳‍♀️

The final price of the tour with transport included drops by almost 200 euros per person, !

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    We then invite you to ski on the highest mountain in Central Anatolia! ⛷️ 🏂 We know, Turkey rhymes best with azure waters, all inclusive 🏖️ and sultry beaches.

Well... again we go against the wind and invite you for six days in the most modern ski resort in Turkey: Erciyes. Not Cappadocia as I wrote in the title, but Erciyes-Kayseri you may not have heard of yet. Although you should know that it has achieved Travelers Choice Award by TripAdvisor in 2020!

But don't despair and read on. There will be balloon rides, there will be a tour of the famous volcanic towers!

Skiing and ballooning

We accompany you on 65 km of slopes between 2000 and 3346 m, with 154 snow cannons and 18 lifts that open up N options, both on and off-piste. Did I mention that we are category I ski and snowboard instructors with over 25 years of on-slope training? The enthusiasm is the same, perhaps the technique and experience have been refined since then and we're happy to share it with you!

Erciyes is 3917 m above sea level, the highest peak in Central Anatolia, the fifth highest in Turkey and of volcanic origin, which makes it a majestic and spectacular dominator of the Anatolian plateau with more than 2000 m! Near the summit, above the glacier (for yes, Erciyes has permanent snow and a microglacier on its northern slope) is a cave used by the Sikhs of the Byzantine Empire. The ascent on touring skis is 6km and +1400m and the descent options are multiple.

Ski resort stretches along the north face of the volcano and has slopes for all tastes, from pure carving seekers to those who are comfortable on wide, gently sloping slopes. Freeride options are wide and if the weather holds out we aim to ski from the top of the peak.

Cappadocia with sunrise in the balloon pod is only an hour away but the lunar landscapes, the countless traces of overlapping historical civilisations and of course the balloon flight is worth two days and a night. Which we'll mournfully break from the skiing. Csf. Ncsf  😊

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The schedule per day is as follows:

 

10.03 Brasov - Istanbul

11.03 Istanbul - Kayseri

12.03 - 17.03 Skiing at Erciyes

18.03 Kayseri - Istanbul

19.03 Istanbul - Brasov

 

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Skiing and ballooning. Well...Does it suit me?!

Yes! As I said, the tour satisfies off-piste adrenaline seekers, black slope enthusiasts and those who go gently on gentle slopes. The resort is as good as any medium/large resort in the Alps, with ski shops, rental centres, bars, restaurants, spas and swimming pools. The difference is that the food here is much better :)   Cappadoccia and Kayseri are destinations in themselves if you want to leave the skis on the nail and fill yourself with beauty!  

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Specifically, what do we do in the snow and with whom?

• well... skiing, right? 5 days, 5-6 hours per day, with ski / snowboard / telemark / ski touring instructor(s) in the country, in beginner to advanced groups
• optional: ski touring/off-piste for those who wish, with AGMR mountain guide and ISIA category 1 ski instructor plus a local guide
• optional: alpine ski tour on Erciyes, 3916 m, as far as the group is ready for the ascent and weather/snow stability conditions allow it
• Two days and one night we let the skis rest and fly in a balloon over breathtaking Cappadocia. See, I just told you this part of the programme would be there!
• main instructor is Mihai Mareș, ski/snowboard instructor category I since 1997, happy to help you from the first parallel turns to carv, telemark or offpiste
• for carving enthusiasts we bring the sensor and monitoring system CARV which we invite you to test and use, it's a really cool toy!

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Some more details about what we do in Cappadocia

Because you'll want to enjoy a sunset dinner but also to eliminate a 3am car transfer we'll head to Cappadocia right after one of the ski days and check in there. We sleep in an absolutely unique hotel in the heart of the rock settlements and end the evening with a refreshing tea and dinner as only Turks can prepare.

At 4 am (yep!) with a coffee in the sand in front of us we prepare to admire the sunrise from the hot air balloon, 100 m high above the valleys with the famous chimneys of Cappadocia - Pasabag (Monks), Devrent (Imagination), Zelve, Pigeon, Love.

For those who don't want to fly, we transfer them to a wonderful place with a view of the balloons taking off - the show is perhaps even more unique than from the air as the sky is filled with balloons that light up one by one by the light of the flames inside them!

As we are not on our first tours in Cappadocia we discovered places worth seeing but outside the usual tourist traps and the crowds associated with them. So we'll invite you not only among Cappadocia's famous "chimneys" but also to a complex settlement that we can explore at leisure and among the remote and magnificently spectacular canyons.

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What are we taking with us?

If you want to go off-piste avalanche kit (probe, shovel, transceiver) is mandatory.

An airbag backpack is recommended, but we recommend that you bring your Jetforce as both Turkish Airlines and Pegasus may squeal when flying with a tank.

For downhill skiing you can either rent skis locally or bring your own kit from home.

Minibuses have enough luggage space to fit skis and personal luggage without restrictions!

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How do we get married?

Comfortable and pleasant, in double rooms with breakfast available*, in the town of Kayseri from where we travel 20 minutes daily to the slopes. The hotel is cosy and oriental, with an 8.6 "fabulous" rating on Booking.com.

In Istanbul we stay a 3-minute walk from the Grand Bazaar in an elegant hotel with a spa chosen so that an evening tour of Byzantium's famous areas is within easy reach. In Cappadocia we stay in the heart of the settlement, in a hotel carved out of stone, making the most of the scenery and the uniqueness of the location.

*Breakfast is included in the cost of accommodation.

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How do we get there?

With 2022 Ford Transit minibus and two drivers. If the number of participants requires it we can supplement with a second minibus or direct you to purchase plane tickets.

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Optional activities

Traditional Hammam (we don't think you want :))) ), modern hammam, Kayseri city tour, Snowcat skiing, Cappadocia horseriding, Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon. Night skiing. We'll detail them all for you after registration and you can book them on the first evening of the tour.

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Available seats?

There are 12 places available, 10 of which are filled.

Want to perfect your skiing skills at home before your holiday in Anatolia? We look forward to seeing you at POIANA BRASOV SKI SCHOOL!