The Cyprus Blog at TripToCyprus.com

The annual spring flower festival happens in the yermasogia area near the parking lot. The parking lot is converted into a flower show and there is a parade (a smaller version of the limassol carnival) on the the beach road, with flowers being the theme

The tradition is for the kids on the float to throw the flowers to the onlookers. The people on the side of the streets are very eager to catch the thrown flowers. Probably, they are owners of flower shops and they just want to stock up on the flowers :-). Even Anith managed to catch some flowers. More photos from the parade…

written by Rajaram S

When i came to Cyprus in 2001, the first year was spent on visting all the regular touristy places like the Baths of Aphrodite, Rock of Aphrodite, Polis etc. After that, i started googling about Cyprus and started getting info on off-beat places like Avakas Gorge, Kelefos bridge etc. After a few years, i realised that Cyprus had something to offer in every nook and corner and hence i started visting every place marked with a brown board: A brown board is used in Cyprus to signify something of touristic interest. This “Giant Oak tree” was on one such board.

On the way to troodos from Limassol, around a 100 metres beyond the laneia police station (the only police station on the route), you will find a brown board saying “Giant Oak Tree - 400 m” pointing into a small lane towards the right. You can take your car inside this line and will be surprised to find big apartments built a little further down this lane. After few metres, the board points towards the left. It is better to park the car here and walk the final stretch as taking the car down this part would be a little difficult.

We went during Spring and the whole area was filled with all kinds of colurful flowers. We spent around 15 minutes at this place taking photographs from various angles. Anith even tried, though unsuccessfully, to climb the tree.

written by Rajaram S

Cyprus has never ceased to amaze me. Even after 7.5 years of exploring Cyprus, i still manage to find new pristine places that i have not seen before. For many, the only waterfall in Cyprus is the Kalidonia waterfall. Few others know Milomeri and even fewer have heard of Mesa Potamas waterfall. To my surprise, i came across this Chantara Waterfalls and i can definitely say that this is the most beautiful waterfall in Cyprus, unless there are more hidden gems like this!

Also known locally at the Handara waterfalls, this waterfall is easily accessible by road (earthern road). The beauty of this fall is because of the split in the main falls because of the huge rock in the middle. This offers numerous photographic opportunities to try out the slow-shutter technique to bring out the silky flow of the water.

This falls is located between Phini Village (or Foini Village) and trooditissa monastery. Phini Village is just a short drive from Kato Platres. Once you reach the village, you will see a clear signboard for handara waterfalls. This is a 2 km drive on earthern road. The road was a bit bad, but we managed it in regular family cars. If you are coming from the other side, drive to trooditissa monastery (this monastery is not open to public), cross the parking lot (the end of the parking lot if marked by an arch) and continue on the earthern road. The moment you leave the parking lot, the road becomes earthern. Keep going towards foini/phini (taking a left at one junction) and you will come across this waterfall right on the road.

The adventurous ones might dismiss this waterfall because of its accessibility through road. But, don’t worry, even they have lot to explore here. Once you gather the courage to clamber up the side of the waterfall (a path visible to the left of the waterfall) and then jump over some rocks, you reach the top of the fall. It was extremely slippery at the top and my camera had some close calls. Once you are at the top, you are rewarded with two more small waterfalls. We wanted to climb to the top of the third one to see if there are more, but it proved to be too slippery for us to continue! We spent more than an hour exploring the place and taking lot of photographs. I would give a big thumbs-up for this place and rate it as one of the must-visit places in Cyprus.

written by Rajaram S

There are many abandoned villages in Cyprus, some of which were abandoned during 1974 conflict and many abandoned due to natural reasons like landslides or earthquakes. You can find many such villages in the Pafos mountains. Mathikoloni is relatively closer to Limassol and is considered by many to one of the more beautiful ones to explore.

We had been to Mathikoloni many years ago. So, we decided to check out the place again 2 weeks back along with Harish and Anith. Actually the plan was to just stopover at Mathikoloni and drive through a mountain road to Akrounta near Yermasoyia dam.

To go to Mathikoloni, you have to take the Agios Athanasios exit on Jumbo/Linopetra roundabout. You cross the Agios Athanasios and climb towards Mathikoloni which is around 11kms away. Once you reach the village, take a right from the main road and go into the village. Keep going on this road and you will cross the new settlement and at the end of the road, you will see dirty signboard marked as “Akrounta - 5 km”. This road is pretty narrow and it is difficult to take a U-turn at any point. The road starts as being paved and it is paved for most of the distance. You drive down into the valley and there you have lot of photo opportunities with lot of greenery and mountains on both sides of the road.

Even Akshara (who has become a veteran of road trips now!) seemed to enjoy this drive down the narrow lanes. My mom, on the other hand, held on to the seat very tightly in the hope that the slope would lead to another road

written by Rajaram S

Yermasoyia Dam (or Germasoyia or Yermasogia) is one of the few reasons one could use to justify living in this beautiful island of Cyprus (and particularly Limassol). It is around 10 mins (lesser now because of the flyovers) from anywhere in Limassol and yet, it is so different. The moment you take the yermasoyia exit (the first one from Larnaca/Nicosia side), you leave the hustle-bustle of the city behind and enter the narrows streets of Yermasoyia village. Small streets running up the sides of the hills, orange farms in the valley below - you wouldn’t realise that the city is just a minute behind you.

There is a road on top of the dam which you can drive across. This will take you behind the dam.

Many people just visit the dam, stop on the road on top of it, click a few photos and then drive back. But, the best part is hidden behind the hills on the other side. The road across the dam climbs over the hill and goes down towards the village of Phinikara (Finikara). In Spring and particularly after a drizzle, this place comes alive with greenery and lots of yellow flowers.

Yermasoyia also looks great in rain, if you manage to cover yourself and still enjoy the view. Under the cover of mist, the far-away mountains and the valley present a pristine sight

There are also small walking trails near the parking place on the other side of the hill(dam). You cross over a small valley and then there is a hillock with a small hut on the top. It is a short climb to the top. Also, there is a small 15 minute trail circumnavigating this hillock.

Yermasoyia dam has overflown in the past and it becomes a major attraction when it does so. The overflowing water form a nice set of waterfalls on the side of the village and for the adventurous, it presents some interesting rock-hopping.

i went there last week and the water level is pretty compared to the emptiness of last year. Also, with the hint of rain in the air, it is a great place to visit now!

written by Rajaram S

Forget the beaches, forget the half-naked Britishers, leave the shores and head out to the countryside. It is spring in Cyprus and this is when Cyprus is at its best. A cool breeze, a bright-but-not-hot sun, green grass, wild flowers, a light drizzle - it is paradise out there.
Over the next few weeks, I shall be writing posts which concentrate on seeing the best of Spring in Cyprus. Road-trips, picnic spots, small treks and the like. The past few weekends, I have been doing just that and there is no reason why you also should out there doing the same

You could go on a trek…

To catch all the posts on the best of springtime in Cyprus, visit Spring in Cyprus

written by Rajaram S

Roudia Bridge is the third of the medieval or the venetian bridges in Cyprus. I refer to Roudhia bridge as the “third” Medieval bridge because any website mentioning about the bridges in Cyprus refer to mostly the Kelefos bridge and in some cases, the Elia bridge too. There is rarely a mention of Roudia bridge. In fact, i found only one blog of a Britisher (The blog is closed now) who had mentioned about his “difficulties” in finding this bridge. The reason might be that the location of this bridge is very remote, deep within the Paphos/troodos range and the roads to this place are unmarked and very narrow and almost impossible to go with a regular car. We struggled to find the place and it took a lot of questions to absolutely-no-english-speaking cypriots to find it. But, I shall make it easier for you!
So, here is the way to go to Roudia Bridge: (It has been more than 4 months since we went for a Jeep trip (Christmas time). I shall try to recollect as much as possible. If you do follow the directions below and have something which can enhance the details, drop in a mail/comment.

• First, go to Kelefos bridge. If you don’t know to go to Kelefos bridge, checkout my other post on kelefos bridge. Once you get down the slope, the road seems to go across the river. Those visiting Kelefos bridge, park here. But, to go to Roudia bridge, you have to make this river crossing. Check out the photo below from our Jeep trip many ago. Of course, at that time, i didn’t know about the Roudia Bridge and just did this crossing for fun.

• Once you cross the river, the road climbs up. Keep heading towards Pera Vasa picnic site. At the pera vasa picnic site, you should see a treek trunk on display. This was supposed to be the biggest/oldest tree in the region.

• After you cross the Pera Vasa Picnic site, you will come to a T-junction, where you have to turn right. I think the one on the right goes towards Mylikouri and the other towards Arminou. Not sure about this, but I am sure that you have take a right here.
• If you keep going, you will come to a big fork in the road. In the middle of the fork, you will see a brown-board with an arrow to the left saying “Venetian Bridge”. This board points to a trail going down the hill. I don’t know whether this train goes to Roudia bridge, but the bridge is far away from here. You have to take the road going right (and downwards) towards Pano Panagia. We took the other one and went for a long distance and returned back. The road was too narrow to even attempt a 3-point turn and we had to travel a long distance just to find a spot to turn the jeep.
• The moment you enter this road (after about a 10 metres), you will see two branches, one going straight and the other turning right. You have to turn right on this one. The one going straight stops at a check-post, probably a private road. This road goes downwards all the way to the bottom of the valley. Don’t get disheartened by the state of the road, you are almost there!
• I assume that you will be on the lookout for a photo-op all throughout the way. If you don’t, better start looking out now. Otherwise, you will miss the bridge like we did. At one point, you will take a right and then go over a small road-bridge which goes over a river. The river should appear on your left with trees on either side. The photo below gives you an example as how the scene should look like.

• The moment you pass this bridge, the road turns left and passes through a big open area which also has signs such as “Lighting fires is prohibited in this area”. At the end of the open area, the road turns right and upwards. Don’t go there. Look left and there you have the bridge!

Unfortunately, we didn’t find the bridge so easily. The moment we entered this open area, we saw a jeep speed of ahead of us climbing onto the road upwards. We also decided that it would be best to ask someone about the location. So, all our eyes were on the jeep ahead of us that we missed looking towards the left where we would have found the bridge. We chased the jeep for another 20 mins and came to a fork. At this fork, we saw a board (The only one!) which said “Gefri Roudia” and pointed in the direction we had come from! A little ahead, we saw another jeep and went to enquire. That guy spoke no English at all and didn’t understand the word “bridge”. So, i called up my Cypriot colleague and found that “Gefri” meant a bridge. By this time, another gentleman with his jeep had also joined us. Luckily, he spoke English. He told us that we had to go back and we would find the bridge at the bottom of the valley. So, we turned back and kept driving. This time, when we drove down the final stretch to the bottom of the valley, the bridge was there right ahead of us! Well, i was supposed to watch the road, but what were the others doing? We were so tired by then, that we had some snacks before proceeding for photo sessions!

The Road-bridge over which you drive across

Getting all the kit ready for the photo session!

Vidhya and Anit tried to cross the river, but it turned out to be too cold for Vidhya!

We are ready to pose wherever you want!

And then, there it is finally, the roudia bridge…

You can go on top of the bridge, but the other side is blocked. It abruptly finishes on a cliff. The colours of the trees and the leaves and the evening lighting proved irresistible to attempt lot of photos. This place should look heavenly in Spring. So, if you are reading this before Easter, go there during the Easter holidays!

After the round of the usual shots, we moved into the experimental photographs. When you Anith, “the brave”, Kumar around, you are guaranteed to get your share your share of weirdness!

Anith tries to do a Tarzan, but all that he achieved was to wet his ****s in the extremely cold water! Btw, the **** stands for “pant”.

More photos…

Another way to approach this bridge would be Ayios Ionannis, Arminou and then through the abandoned village of Vretsia, but i have heard it is almost impossible to find Vretsia, as all the signs pointing to this village have been removed. Hope that you enjoy visiting Roudia place (hope that you find it!). If you think that any other detail would explain the directions further, do let me know.

Technorati Tags: cyprus bridge medieval bridges cyprus venetian bridges cyprus roudia bridge kelefos bridge elia bridge

written by Rajaram S

• It is 7 kms long. 7 kms is not a big deal for the regular rambler, but half of this trail is uphill and the other half downhill. The uphill section is through dozens of switchbacks thus easing out the strain of climbing.
• Do not attempt this trail in summer. You may not make it to the top! We did this trail in early winter and were lucky enough to have a cool breeze throughout the day. The climb to the top is out in the open without any shade and it can be excruciating in summer. Winter or Spring is the best time for this trail.
• Do not forget your camera. The views are awesome. If you have never been to Akamas before, then you will enjoy the views even more.
• The whole trek could take anywhere between 3-5 hours depending on the number of stops you make.

The starting point of this trail is right next to Baths of Aphrodite. From the parking lot, there are a series of steps to Baths of Aphrodite. An earthern road to the right goes to Fontona Amarosa. Once you climb the steps to Baths of Aphrodite, you will see a board (to the right) marked as “walking trail” or something like that. Once you go on that path, you will join a wide road (which would have come from the fontona amarosa exit). This road is the trail. After a while, the road branches off to the right towards fontona amarosa, while you start to climb up towards the top of the trail.

The mid-point of the trek is a well signposted place. There is a huge tree with a bench below it, for resting i presume. This is the intersection point of the Aphrodite and the Adonis trails. We spent a while at this place fooling around and also conveying some words of appreciation for the people who we felt would not have lasted this far!

The second half of the trek is downhill through a rugged path which is supposed to resemble a trail. This path looks more like the mess caused by water running downhill, but it is fun clambering over the rocks. This path finishes close to the parking lot. Actually, the moment you see something which you recognise from the start of the trek, take a deroute and cut across the bushes.

It was cloudy and it started drizzling. Vidhya commented that the only thing that was missing to make it perfect was a rainbow and lo! we turned ahead and saw a rainbow. One end of a rainbow seemed to finished right on a big rock close to the coast.

After the trek, if you have time, you can go to the restaurant opposite the parking lot and climb down the stairs to the sea. The waves are pretty good here and it is a nice place for a cool down after the trek!

Technorati Tags: aphrodite cyprus baths of aphrodite trekking walking trail cyprus adonis baths trail aphrodite trail

written by Rajaram S

I also saw a “new bird” flying overhead. It was black, but didn’t look like a duck.

Another new bird which was wandering near the edges of the pool.

I got some nice flamingo shots at this location. I also went into the pool a little distance to get as close as possible to the birds without disturbing them. A good 2.5 hrs spent. Decent photographs, two new birds, could i ask for more?

Technorati Tags: bird cyprus birdwatching flamingo akrotiri salt lake

written by Rajaram S

• From the highway, take the troodos exit and go towards troodos.
• After around 20 kms, you will come to the village of trimlikini.
• Immediately after Trimlikini, you will come across a junction where there are roads going to various other villages to the right and left. You have to take left where the signs point towards Mandria and Omodos Monastery.
• Proceed towards Mandria on the same road. Just after Mandria, you will see many exits. Don’t go towards Omodos/Platres. Take the turn towards Ayios Nikolas/Pafos.
• After this turn, the road is pretty narrow and single-laned. You have to drive for at least 15-20 minutes to reach Ayios Nikolas.
• Just when you enter Ayios Nikolas, you will see a brown board pointing the turn towards the right for Kelefos Bridge.
• You have to travel for around 6 kms on this earthen road to reach the bridge.

I had always wanted to take decent photographs of the crabs in this river. This time, i took my 70-300 lens and got some pretty ok shots. This place is also good for a picnic with few seats available at the banks of the river. We also did a river-walk, i.e. we walked on the river (as it is just over a feet deep) upstream for more than 1.5 hours. This was a very interesting trip. More about that in a later post. Enjoy the photos.

The photo below was very challenging to take as the insect was skipping around very fast on the water and it was difficult to get a proper focus on the insect. The one below is the best from almost a dozen attempts.

I am very happy with the photos of the crab below, considering the fact that the water was pretty murky and the crab was at least 10-15 cms inside the water. Had to use manual focus with a flash for these shots.

I tried to take a “different” shot of the bridge and as can be seen below, i failed

You can also visit Elia Bridge which is just 2-3 kms from Kelefos Bridge.

Technorati Tags: picnic spot kelefos bridge cyprus troodos venetian bridge

written by Rajaram S