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Üçhisar Castle (Üçhisar Kalesi) is a large rock castle in the town of Üçhisar in Cappadocia, Turkey. It sits within the boundaries of Göreme Historical National Park (Göreme Tarihî Milli Parkı) and is included in the UNESCO World Heritage listing for Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia.
Climbing the Castle
The castle is run by the local community. Foreigners pay 250₺ to climb the 120 steps to the top (as of August 2024). The views are spectacular but the price is a little high.
History of Üçhisar Castle
The castle stands 60 meters high and dominates the landscape. It served as a natural fortress and lookout tower during the Byzantine period, and can be seen from several kilometers away.
The castle was developed around the 7th century and housed up to 1,000 people. It’s no longer inhabited and many of the rooms are blocked. In fact, residents weren’t moved out of the castle until the 1950s.
Views from the Top
There are fantastic views from the top of the castle. It’s possible to see almost every valley in the region. Sunset is supposed to be a great time to go up, but I had to follow the schedule of my tour.
Directly below the castle are several fairy chimneys that dot the area as well as a few abandoned homes. There were also a few graves dug out of the rock at the top of the castle.
Üçhisar Castle Valley
There are two good places to view the castle. One is at Pigeon Valley (see the first photo above), where you can see the castle towering over the town. It’s two kilometers south of Üçhisar. The other is at Üçhisar Castle Valley, where you see more of the natural landscape including several fairy chimneys. It’s located on the road running north of town.
