Cyprus (1) Around Mazotos
Cyprus (2): Larnaca and Ayia Napa
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| Aphrodite's Rocks |
During the stay, we did a few trips around the island, to Limassol which was the largest tourist city closest to Larnaca, to Paphos which lay further west, towards the south west edge of the island, to the capital city of Nicosia in the centre, and to the Troodos mountains also in the central part. All were quite different in what they offered, and a pleasure to explore.
Paphos
Paphos is a major tourist hotspot in Cyprus, known as the cultural hub of the island. It's on the westernmost part of the island and was about 2 hours drive from Mazotos. So we drove there only once when I had to drop a friend at the airport.
The drive was mostly along the sea, with the Mediterranean blue being our constant companion. One highpoint of the drive was the patch past the British army base on the way. The houses were quite pretty, perched on top of small hills, all with orange roofs and a spectacular view of the sea from a height. The base looked quite charming because of its location.
In Paphos, we visited the Tombs of the Kings which are ruins from Greek times. There were a few tomb apparently of kings, with some interesting rock architecture, and located right on the beach. The tombs were ok but it was so hot, we couldn't really do justice to exploring them fully. But it was still interesting to see these tombs right next to new modern buildings on the beaches. The other thing I remember from this place was that the sound of crickets was very loud, like really loud.
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| Cabana beach bar |
To cool off after the visit to the Tombs, we went to Cabana Beach Bar which was amazing. There was a beach party planned for that evening, and everyone was getting the place ready for it. The beach there looked quite gorgeous, and the beach bar had a lively vibe. Thereafter, I dropped my friend at the airport, which took a while to find! Google Maps kept taking us to the fence next the ATC tower 🤣. Am not sure if it's an exception but it was an unexpected surprise to get lost while going to an airport!
Limassol and around
Limassol town is the second largest city in Cyprus and you can notice it when driving on the highway, it just extends forever. It also has the most high-rises I saw in the country. We visited Limassol twice, once while driving back from the Troodos mountains in central Cyprus, and once to take a bus to Paphos. And twice we visited beaches and other places nearby.
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| Limassol Promenade |
The city is huge, a bustling commercial and tourist centre. It also has a long promenade along the sea. The beaches in the city are ok for a city beach, but not a lot to write home about otherwise.
On our first trip, we had dinner at the La Caleta, a gorgeous rooftop restaurant. It had a stunning seaside view and was quite fancy. In fact, we felt out of place as we had turned up after a day of hiking in the Troodos mountains.
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| Sunset at Limassol |
On the next trip, we walked along the promenade and ate at a beach restaurant. After dinner, we walked along the beach, which was full of people the whole evening, enjoying time in the water. We also saw a pretty sunset along the promenade that day. While leaving the city, we saw smoke and golden-orange colours in the sky. When we reached home, we read on the news that a huge forest fire had broken out in the area. So, we avoided Limassol for the next few days.
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| Greek ruins |
Kourion Archaeological Site: We once visited the Greek ruins at Kourion, close to Limassol. They were a pleasure to explore. They had amphitheatres, baths, temple ruins and some remains of huge mansions from centuries ago. The ruins still looked impressive, even now. Some of the mansions that were excavated even had mosaics from that time still visible.
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| Amphitheatre |
Sometimes they hold plays in the open amphitheatre and I tried to find tickets for it but was unable to. The ruins are located on top of a cliff overlooking the sea and a long gorgeous aquamarine beach, next to the sea. The beach looked so fabulous from the top, that even though I wasn't able to visit it the first time, I went back there a few weeks later.
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Greek mosaics
(Kourion beach below) |
Kourion beach: Kourion beach was a pebble beach in the Episkopi area, near Limassol. It had stunning blue green waters, one of the prettiest waters in Cyprus and was full of people every time I went there. It was also popular with the windsurfers and kitesurfers, as it had a lot of wind. The sound of the waves was quite loud thought, the day I went there. It had a few nice places to eat on the beach. The day I went, I spent a relaxing day on the beach, enjoying the beach environs all the way till sunset, which was stunning again. I don’t know if it was only that day or the beach is always windy. But yeah, a day when it isn’t windy, it would be the perfect place to spend a nice day on the beach.
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| Aphrodite's Rocks |
Aphrodite’s Rocks: One afternoon, we visited the Aphrodite’s rocks near Limassol. Apparently, this is where, Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love had walked out of the sea. There are some interesting rock formations in the water here. And the water was so pristine, so blue, so clear. The beach was also nice, though pebbly. This is quite a popular touristy place, and there were loads of people there. I missed swimming here that day though. We had lunch at the Marios fish taverna nearby, which had a magnificent view of the rocks from the top. It was quite breezy up there too, though the food was quite average.
Troodos mountains
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| Villages in Troodos mountains |
The Troodos mountains are located in the central part of the island. They offer short hikes, gorgeous villages, churches and monasteries to visit. They are supposed to be cooler than the rest of the island but when we went, they were still hot. We visited the Troodos mountains twice, once for a hike and once for a monastery.
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| Milomeris waterfall |
One of the days, we went hiking to the Milomeris waterfall, starting at the village of Pano Platres. The drive till Pano Platres was gorgeous, through rocky terrain and past some picturesque villages in the hills. There were many restaurants and trails starting from the village. It was quite hot but we still went for the hike. It was a short steep walk, through a shaded path, all the way down to the waterfall. The waterfall was a small one but still there were some people there.
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| Villages in Troodos mountains |
On the drive back from Troodos, we drove through Limassol. There were lots of vineyards on the hills all along. And we were accompanied by a full moon all through, high above the mountains. We had dinner at the La Caleta in Limassol while coming back.
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| Frescoes |
On our next visit to Troodos mountains, we first went up to see the mythical Mount Olympus. But turns out that you can't go up all the way. The British setup some military radars and other installations on the top and it’s restricted to go there now. The forests up the drive felt like a good place to stop for a picnic though.
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| Kykkos monastery |
We then drove to the Kykkos monastery. There were pine trees all around and no habitation all the way there. The location of the monastery felt quite isolated, with winding roads to get there. But once there, it was full of people. Given the huge crowds, it looked like the monastery was quite a popular spot with the locals, with a deep religious significance.
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| Frescoes and artwork |
The monastery was gorgeous. It was huge, with some sections to stay, some offices and a huge cathedral inside. The main cathedral was stunning. It felt quite spiritual to be there. And there were loads of people who had come to pay their respects. It's the first time I had been inside an orthodox Christian place of worship and I was surprised how different it was. The rest of the monastery was beautiful too, decorated with vibrant frescos and religious artworks everywhere
During the drive back, we saw a few ski resorts here! That was quite a surprise. We also stopped at Troodos square, it had many restaurant options there and nice views of the plains. And the rest of the drive was as stunning as usual.
Nicosia
One of the days, we decided to do a city visit, and drove to the capital city, Nicosia. We left in the second half of the day as the afternoons were just too tough to get out and go anywhere. Nicosia was just a 50 mins drive from Mazotos. And after such a long time, I had seen a big city where people worked (and weren’t just on holiday), it felt like a different experience. It was huge, had so many high-rises, it felt like we had come to a completely different world. It was quite empty when we reached though as it was very hot. But it got lively and full at night, after 8 pm.
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| Buyuk Han |
We drove to the main street, called Ledra street and mostly walked there among the shops. There were loads of tourists here. We walked into a church with prayers going on - it was so different than other churches I have been to. Then we crossed the border, in the centre of the city (!) to get to the Turkish side of Nicosia - Cyprus and Nicosia both have been divided into the Turkish controlled and Greek Cypriot parts (it’s a whole long story). Across the border, the food was different, and the feel was different too, it felt more run-down. We walked into the Buyuk Han caravanserai, which was an old building renovated to be a hangout place. It had many small cafes and shops selling handicrafts. We walked around for a bit and then came back to the Greek side. And within this 2 hour time frame, our passport had been stamped, twice!
One thing which quite surprised me was the number of Nepalis, Indians and African people on the streets of Nicosia. More than 50% of the people in the streets looked like they were from Asia - it felt unusual. And we found the answer during our dinner. We were eating at Fanous, when our Nepali waiter explained why that was the case. Apparently, many illegal immigrants from Asia come to Cyprus to cross over to Europe. They stay here for some time till they get an opportunity to cross over. And so the streets were full of all these people, waiting. It all felt very unsettling. We didn’t spend too much more time in Nicosia, and very soon were back in Mazotos. The ease of driving, and the completely different places we could get to so soon is something I will always remember about Cyprus.
Overall, I was able to visit most of the places I wanted to on the island, except Akamas park (and the Blue Lagoon within the park) and all the small local towns on the island, as it was just too hot to visit places during the day and walk around in the summer heat. Anyways, its always a good excuse to visit again 😁.
Cyprus (4): Impressions
Cyprus (5): Things to do
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