Urgup's old town climbs a hillside of yellow volcanic tuff, with a maze of carved-rock houses, boutique hotels, and winding lanes. Much of the historic core is built directly into the soft tuff — rooms carved from the rock, staircases cut into cliffs, cave cellars used for wine and storing produce. Walking through it feels like a living geology exhibit with exceptionally comfortable beds.
The hilltop above town offers good panoramic views of the surrounding Cappadocia landscape — the distinctive cone-shaped fairy chimneys of the valleys, the flat plateau punctuated by volcanic peaks, and on a clear day the snow-capped summit of Erciyes Dağı (Mount Erciyes) to the east. The view at dusk, when the hot air balloons are landing and the light on the tuff turns golden, is one of the more memorable in Turkey.