Floating above Cappadocia

IMAGINE waking up at dawn, excited to finally check off one of the top experiences on your travel bucket list.

- By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Editor-in-Chief

But then you're seized by the thought: "What if it's just another tourist trap?Like many other people, my travel bucket list has always included "a hot air balloon ride over Cappadocia."

After all, who has not seen the countless TikTok videos of dozens of hot air balloons floating as the sun rises over Cappadocia's otherworldly rock formations? They are so pictureperfect that not a few have commented: "It looks AI!"

So, when I had a chance to visit Turkey in October, I wanted to see for myself if the hot air balloons of Cappadocia would live up to the hype.

To get to Cappadocia, we first had to take an over 12-hour flight from Manila to Istanbul, then a one-and-a-half-hour flight from Istanbul to Kayseri. Kayseri is in east central Anatolia and widely considered as the gateway to the Cappadocia region.

Cappadocia is known for its unique rock formations that were formed through volcanic activity and erosion over thousands, if not millions of years.

Our first stop was Love Valley, perhaps due to its phallic-shaped fairy chimneys. These fairy chimneys are tall spires made of soft volcanic rock that was easily eroded by natural elements over thousands of years.