A guidebook to 33 graded walks on Cyprus. Discover the Akamas Peninsula, the Troodos mountains and more, with options for beginner and experienced walkers alike.

Graded from  ‘1’ (easy and or short; waymarked) to ‘3’ (long and or difficut terrain; challenging route-finding), the walks range from 3 to 20km (2–12 miles) and take anywhere from 1–7 hours to complete. Routes take in the west, central Cyprus, plus the south and the east – showcasing some of the best scenery and trails the island has to offer.

• Clear route description illustrated with 1:40,000 mapping
• GPX files available to download
• Information on refreshments, access and parking provided for each route
• Highlights include UNESCO-listed churches and monasteries
• Notes on local history, religion, plants and wildlife

Map key
Route summary table

INTRODUCTION
Location and geography
Plants and flowers Wildlife
Brief history
Religion
Getting there
Border crossings
Getting around
Accommodation
Tourist information
Language
When to go and what to take
Maps and waymarking
Using this guide

CYPRUS
The west and the Akamas Peninsula
Walk 1 Aphrodite Trail, Akamas Peninsula
Walk 2 Adonis Trail, Akamas Peninsula
Walk 3A Smigies Nature Trail
Walk 3B Pissouromoutti Nature Trail
Walk 4 Avakas Gorge
Walk 5 Petra tou Romiou Nature Trail
Walk 6 Horteri Nature Trail
Walk 7 Vouni path
Walk 8 Zalakas Trail

The Troodos and central Cyprus
Walk 9 Marathasa Trail
Walk 10 Xystarouda – Agiasma – Vasiliki Nature Trail
Walk 11 Prodromos Dam – Stavroulia Trail
Walk 12 Kannoures Trail
Walk 13 Mnimata Piskopon Trail
Walk 14 Atalante Trail
Walk 15 Artemis Trail
Walk 16 Caledonia circular
Walk 17 Pouziaris Trail
Walk 18 Loymata ton Aeton Trail
Walk 19 Madari Trail
Walk 20 Kannavia circular
Walk 21 Asinou Trail
Walk 22 Panagia tou Araka – Stavros tou Agiasmati
Walk 23 Politiko Nature Trail
Walk 24 Machairas Monastery – Fikardou
Walk 25 Kionia Nature Trail 
Walk 26 Kakokefalos – Mantra tou Kampiou Trail 
Walk 27 Dhyo Mouttes

South and east  
Walk 28 Hapotami Trail  
Walk 29 Pissouri coast walk  
Walk 30 Kyparissia Trail 
Walk 31 Stavrovouni Monastery 
Walk 32 Kavos Hill and sea caves 
Walk 33 Agioi Anargyroi – Cyclops Cave

Appendix A Useful contacts  
Appendix B Further reading

Seasons

Cyprus is a year-round walking destination, but spring and autumn are the best seasons. During the hot summer, you might find cooler temperatures in the Troodos, and the Akamas peninsula would be an option in the winter.

Centres

Paphos, Limassol, Larnaca, Ayia Napa, Platres, Troodos, Kakopetria, Troodos

Difficulty

Walks range from 3 to 20km, from short easy strolls to longer more challenging routes. The difficulty of each walk is classified by grades 1-3: Grade 1: Easy, short trail Grade 2: Moderate, medium length; mostly easy terrain Grade 3: Longer walk or more challenging terrain

Must See

Akamas Peninsula; Bath of Aphrodite; Avakas Gorge; Paphos forest; Petra tou Romiou; Troodos Mountains; Mt Olympus; Caledonia waterfall; Machairas Mountains; Kionia Peak; Madari peak; Byzantine churches; archaeological sites; Cape Greco; World Heritage Sites.

Walking maps are not available for Cyprus. There are some tourist maps which you can pick up at the airports or in the tourist offices, but they don’t outline the trails. You can also pick up leaflets of the popular nature trails from tourist information offices.You can use some of the well-known apps to find and record your walks, and for driving you will probably use Google navigation or similar. The diverse trails in Cyprus range from rugged coastline to forest walks, a stroll between vineyards to walking in the mountains of Troodos. Nature trails are marked on the island, but these are not unified and many different signs are in use. At the beginning of the nature trails there is usually a map board with some information about the length and terrain and sometimes about the vegetation. Plants, flowers and trees are labelled along the trail so you can learn to recognise them. Benches are placed at some of the best viewpoints. Some of the trails described in this book are based on nature trails. The Department of Forests has a booklet of the island’s nature trails (see ‘Tourist information’, above), but some villages have created their own trails nearby and those are not listed by the CTO (Cyprus Tourism Organisation). Some of these routes start by the roadside and might end at a picnic site or another roadside; in such cases it is necessary to 26using this guide arrange a pick-up or plan to retrace your steps. These routes are usually not too long and walking back on the same path you may enjoy slightly different views. Paths used by walkers but not designated as nature trails often have occasional painted arrows and cairns. The European Long Distance Path is marked with ‘E4’. The E4 runs through Portugal, Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, mainland Greece and Crete. The section in Cyprus was added in 2005 and it connects Paphos and Larnaca airports. It often follows tarmac roads but it aims to explore the diverse scenery of Cyprus. Some of the nature trails are part of the E4 and a few walks in this book follow some scenic sections of the E4.

We do not yet have any updates available for this book

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