The Cyprus Blog at TripToCyprus.com

Finally, Limassol has its own mall! No, it is not called the mall of limassol or the limassol mall. It is called the Tiffany shopping mall. Originally planned to be opened on 8th August 2008 (08/08/08), the Tiffany limassol mall finally opened on 30th May 2009. It is located in Zakaki area just a few hundred metres off the new port. You can approach this mall from the mercedes benz/Bank of cyprus signal proceeding towards Paphos.

Photos of the mall during its various stages construction.



Now, what is going to happen to all the hang-out places in Limassol like Starbucks, costas etc? Are people going to flood the mall preferring it over these places?

Update: Got the below info in an email
Cyprus on Ice, Skating rink at My Mall, Limassol.
Cyprus on Ice will offer various forms of “ice entertainment” such as ice shows and events and ice hockey demonstrations in addition to ice skating familiarity sessions by instructors on site. Skates and ice hockey accessories and apparel will also available to be ordered at the rink, as is the booking of “Parties on Ice.”
Cyprus on Ice: Hours, Open Daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Location: Level -1, “My Mall Limassol” 285 Franklin Roosevelt, Zakaki, Limassol
Phone: 00357 25713305, mobile: 00357 97691601.

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

After a while, the paved road gives way to earthern road which at points looks pretty bad. But, rest assured that this road is definitely navigable and you (whether you drive or not) will enjoy this short road trip. The road finally leads to Akrounta (Don’t turn towards Spitali) which is just a few kms north of Yermasoyia.

written by Rajaram S

Few questions from a Cyprus quiz i conducted at my place of work recently. Leave your answers in the comments. Answers will be updated in a week’s time.

1. Who is the current president of Cyprus?
2. What are the Migratory birds which come to the salt lakes during Spring?
3. Leonardo da Vinci came to Cyprus in 1481, and returned to Italy with an piece of embroidery from this village, which he donated to the Duomo Cathedral in Milan.Which village?
4. Where is the sculpture park in Limassol?
5. A British general used to take his horse for a daily morning walk along this stretch. This place takes its name from this horse. Which place?
6. How do we better know Chionistra in Cyprus?
7. Which is the highest village in Cyprus?
8. Which is the oldest monastery in Cyprus?
9. How do we better know Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou?
10. Which is the second largest island in the Meditteranean?
11. “Born out of Foam” translates to what in Greek?
12. Major-General Peter Young, the commander of a peace force, in 1964, did something with a coloured pencil which lead to this thing. What ?
13. Where can one see a Giraffe in Cyprus?
14. Which is the highest trekking/walking trail in Cyprus?

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…

or visit the rose gardens in Agros village…

or go in search of fields of yellow flowers…



or catch the dawn/dusk sun for some wonderful photo ops….

or go in search of white flowered almond trees…

or go into one of the hundreds of orange farms …

or hope that Yermasoyia dam gets lot of water and it overflows (with water and greenery!)…

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

written by Rajaram S

Kalavasos dam is on the outskirts of Kalavasos village, just a short drive from any of Limassol/Paphos/Nicosia. The most visible sign from the highway is the big tent called Kalavasos Tenta. This tent protects some archeological finds in that area. Last Sunday, we just had enough time before the Grand Carnical Parade to visit the kalavasos dam.

The drive to the dam from the highway was a small winding road overlooking a valley. The greenery was awesome. Looks like we are in for a beautiful spring this year. There was this house down in the valley with a farm and a stable with many horses. It looked so idyllic.
The dam as such was not a pretty sight with very less water. I remember that this dam had oveflown few years back. I don’t know whether we will ever have such a situation again.

Near the dam, an earthern road takes you to the remnants of an old mine.

On the way back, we stopped over at the village. We spent quite some time walking through the small village. We must have looked like a bunch of aliens walking around this calm and quiet village with cameras in our hands, taking photos of anything and everything! There was even an Archbishop Makarios III Avenue (more like a narrow street) in the village.

A little ahead of the village, you will see a small park opposite a tavern/kiosk. There is a stream behind this park, on top of which is the only rail bridge (the only one that i know of) in Cyprus. There you will find a small train (engine and carriages) which was used in the past to carry stuff out of the mines. When the stream has lot of water, the bridge with the train is a good photo-op!

written by Rajaram S

NOTE: If you are seeing this through e-mail or in a feed reader, you may not see all the photos. Due to the large number of photos in this post, i have put many of them in flash slideshows which don’t show up on feeds.

The snow trek is a yearly routine which happens every jan/feb whenever we have a sunny weekend following a week of good snowfall. We had decided to go to troodos last Monday (Monday was a day off for us) as there had been good snow the week before and the snow was visible on the mountains even from Limassol. I checked the weather forecast for the weekend and it showed…

I went WOW! A snow trek during a snow shower. All were ready for it and this is the first time (in my 7+ years in Cyprus) that i decided to go to troodos when the weather was supposed to be “bad”.
We were not disappointed. What started off as a slight snowfall turned into a heavy shower and we loved it!Click on the photos below to see bigger versions (No new windows opened!)

Driving the car on some stretches was a bit scary, but we managed to reach until the artemis trail and return safely (with only a little push needed at one point).

Our original plan was to do the Kalidonia waterfalls trek starting from the top. When we got out of the car at the start of the trail, it was freezing! We had to get as much as cover as possible before we could start. It was also snowing lightly which added to the fun. This year, Anith was the new person on the trek (we make sure that we introduce a new person to this trek every year). But, the depth of the snow wasn’t as much as the previous years. So, it was like walking on a thin layer of snow, not the usual buried-until-the-knee kind of snow. After some distance, there was ice/water layer on the trail which made it difficult for the people who weren’t wearing the waterproof boots. So, we turned back and decided to try another trail. Some photos from this trail. Click on the images to get a bigger version.

Our next stop was the Persephone trail. From the roundabout at the troodos square, take the exit towards the troodos police station. The first walking trail you will come across is the Pouzarides trail. A little further, you will see the start of the Persephone trail. We have walked this trail few years back in summer but that is for another post! This is a one-way trail around 2 kms long offering good views of the open mine. The snow was fresh and extremely soft. So, our attempts at sliding were futile. We didn’t go a long distance on this trail as it started snowing heavily. After a few customary photos, we headed on to our next stop, the artemis trail.

We weren’t sure whether we would make it upto the artemis trail. After the troodos square, the road wasn’t cleared much and it was white in many places with the final climb to the trail almost entirely on snow and ice. But, it was fun trying to park near the trail. We had to take u-turn and that is very challenging with ice all over the place. The snow was fresh as it could be with no signs of human activity on them.

Vidhya wanted me to take photographs of the snow which flies out when one walks across the fresh surface. The photos weren’t upto the mark, but there were ok.

Artemis trail is highest walking/trekking trail in Cyprus and is 7 kms long. It is a circular trail which runs around Mount Olympus. This trail offers impressive views of the surroundings of Troodos, including the Prodromos dam. I have been on this trail a couple of times, not more because it is difficult to convince people to walk for 7 kms. But, there was no sign of the trail now because of the snow. But, we knew where it started. There, we saw a sign pointing the direction of the trail.

It was ironical that the signs were pointing in a direction where the only thing that the eye could see was snow.

We had already been 2-3 hours in the snow and we were not in a mood to walk 7 kms in knee-deep fresh snow. So, we decided to save the artemis trail snow trek for later and attempted out usual stunts on the snow. We tried to slide and the only thing that slid down the mountain side was the plastic thing that we had. It turned out to be a big effort for harish to go and retrieve it! Since the snow was soft, we had a downhill race and you can see the results in the flash slideshow below. On the whole, it was a super-fun day and it was the heaviest snowfall that i had ever seen

The Flash Player and a browser with Javascript support are needed..

written by Rajaram S

It is carnival time in Cyprus and that means revelry at its best on the streets of Limassol. Colourful costumes, out-of-the-world head-gears and bursting party poppers along with the beautiful cyprus spring makes it one the best times of the year to be in Cyprus. See photos of the various costumes on display from past years here. The king’s carnival, the official start of the carnival happened on thursday. This was the first king’s parade i missed . But, you can see photos from the king’s parade of 2007 here.

Schedule of the Limassol Carnival 2009 (The main highlights)

Sunday: Feb 22 :
11.30a.m. Children’s Carnival Parade
Starting Point: Ayias Zonis Str. (ESSO Service Station).
Finishing: End of Anexartisias

Tuesday: Feb 24
8.30p.m. “Tuesday’s Carnival Fiesta”, Medieval Castle Square
The Lemesos Municipality invites all young and adults to come in disguised costumes and participate in different carnival merrymaking with music and dancing.

Sunday: March 1
1.30p.m. Grand Carnival Parade
Archbishop Makarios III Avenue
Starting Point: Ayios Nikolaos Round About
Ending: Ayias Sofia’s Traffic Lights
Floats shall begin to gather from 8.30a.m. along the Makarios III Avenue, from Enaerios traffic lights to Ayios Nikolaos Round About. The parade will proceed along Makarios III Avenue up to Ayias Sofias Traffic Lights.

8.30p.m. Farewell Carnival Fiesta - Medieval Castle Square
The Carnival will end with a grand outdoor Carnival Ball with disguised costumes and music.
Carnival Costume Competition – Awards for the best three.
Fireworks start at 9.00p.m.

Enjoy!

written by Rajaram S

When i was in Seattle, i ordered a lot of photo-related products like photobooks, photocards, photomugs etc from snapfish, shutterfly and many such stores. During one such order, I was given a free 8*10 print. So, i chose to choose some of the pictures taken in Cyprus and ordered a print. The individual photos in the picture below are clickable and they will take you to the relevant post about that place.

The photos in the picture above: (Starting from top-left, going left-right and top-down)

• Taken at Stavravouni Monastery on a cloudy day.
• Aphrodite Trail near Baths of Aphrodite in Akamas
• Ski Slope on Mount Olympus in troodos. Photoshopped with a radial blur!
• Kalidonia Waterfall in winter
• Yellow Flowers near Kurion Beach on the limassol platres old road
• Kelefos Bridge
• Roudia Bridge (no, this is not the roudia bridge, but the approach road to it. The bridge is behind the camera!)
• Flamingo watching at Akrotiri Salt Lake
• River Walk near the kelefos bridge (A long-due post!)

written by Rajaram S