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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.

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written by Rajaram S

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written by Rajaram S

So, how do you get to the Double bridge in Trimiklini?

• If you are going from Limassol, take the road to Troodos from the highway.
• You will enter the village of Trimiklini after around 20 kms (not sure of the distance, but you cannot miss this village, as it is right on the main road)
• In this village, you will also find a shop advertising a “Waterfall”. Don’t go to this. This “waterfall” is just the trickling water from the kitchen probably. He even used to charge 1 pound for this sometime back.
• Just after the village, you will come across a small road bridge. If you stick (you or the car) close to the shoulder on the left of the bridge, you should get the view below.

This was how the stream looked like 4 years back, just before the best rainy season Cyprus had for a long long time. It was a very deep valley with just a trickle of water flowing at the bottom. We had even thought of carrying out a trekking expedition to the bottom of the river at that time.

This is how it looks now. Yes, it is the same stream. So full that it even overflows across the dam. Now, our thoughts were like “This would make a nice place to try kayaking”!

Don’t forget to visit this place when you got to Trimiklini. Perapedi dam is also close-by, but that would be part of another post!

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written by Rajaram S

After a few such unsuccessful attempts, we decided to go to our favourite spot, the place opposite the ski center, on the ridge. Guess what, Harish found life there, not the human kind, but the insect kind and it was alive and kicking!

Like last year, we found this ridge “undamaged” by human intervention and decided to go ahead and damage it with our footsteps and slides.

We were tired and about to make our way back to the car. Then a small snowball fight erupted and by chance, i kicked at a snowball. Harish happened to take a photo of this. I liked the photo a lot. Harish then asked me to do a kind of jump-kick which turned out to be even better on the photo.

So, this started a series of snowball-throwing-and-kicking photo session.

After a while , people got bored of snowing snowballs at me. So, they decided to get into the action and we started attempting flying kicks at each other. Harish was satisfied with staying on the ground level!

Of course, as always, we have the famous smart Cypriot and his four wheel driven jeep, attempting smart tricks on the snow, then getting caught and requesting for help! They are one of a kind!

From the videos taken by Anith “the brave” kumar, i have created a small video (1.5 MB) of all the sliding action, the first part is very small because of some wrong setting. Enjoy!

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written by Rajaram S

If you are reading this post anytime in Jan/Feb/Mar, then go for this trek! I assure you that this will be one of the best treks you have done in Cyprus. This doesn’t mean that you can’t do this trek other times of the year, just that you have the snow to wade through. If you are trekking in the US or other parts of the world, many of the trails would be closed because of the presence of ice/snow on the trails. I have experienced this in South Carolina where the best trails were closed because of slippery conditions. Probably, they don’t to get sued if someone slips and hurts himself. But, this adds to the adventure, right?
No such rule in Cyprus! The Kalidonia trail is open throughout the year, be it sun/rain/snow. This trail is at its best in late winter when the track is covered with more than a foot of snow and you have to predict the path and proceed on it. We have done this trail in peak summer, when it was raining, just after it had snowed and each time, the experience is different. I particularly like the snow trek and have been it doing this walk for the last 4 years now, each time introducing a new group of friends to this wonderful trail. Btw, this waterfall is also referred to sometimes as Calidonia

You can walk this trail in either direction or even half way. The bottom of the trail is at Platres, right next to the Psilo Dendron Trout farm (you have take a right where the exit to platres goes to the left). From this point, you can walk to the fall in under 30 minutes (one-way). This distance is about a km or so. You have many stream crossings, but this part doesn’t have much snow unless the snow has been very heavy so as to even bury Platres.

If you are planning to go the full stretch, some of the points to take note of:

• The trek can be done either from top to bottom or the other way. It is not a circular trek.
• So, if you are really in the mood, you can retrace your path along the trek to reach your starting point or if you have really nothing else to do, walk the 7 km stretch on the road instead of retracing the trail.
• What i do: We always go in n cars such that our entire grp can fit into n-1 cars. We leave one car at the bottom point of the trail (near Platres) and then all of us go (in n-1 cars) to the top of the trail. After we finish the walk, the drivers get into that one car and then go and fetch the remaining cars.
• The snow can be upto a foot deep and it can get very slippery at places, so it is a must to wear good shoes, not the kind which wet your feet after few minutes in snow or sneakers with plastic soles. I have knee-high rubber boots, so i just don’t care where i put my feet! Get one of these, they are great and pretty cheap too. I got mine in Festival Shoes for just 4 CYP 3 years back and I have been putting them to real bad use on the snow and also on the salt lakes.
• Even if it sunny, it can get quite cold towards the early part of the trek (you are warmed up later!) because you trek under the cover of the trees.
• Be prepared to fall often. So, gloves are a must, as even a few seconds of the snow/ice on your bare hands can be terrible. Of course, this means that you have the painful task and removing the gloves often to take photos of the beautiful sceneries you get to see.
• There are lot of stream crossing and some of them are a bit tricky. So, be prepared to put your feet into the water.

There is one steep downhill section. There are steps here, but they are covered with snow during winter. It is not a problem if the snow is heavy. You don’t see any of the steps, you just slide down the entire way. But, if there is not much snow and there is ice, these steps get really slippery and difficult to navigate.

After you climb down this section, the trail goes to the left, but if you go to the right, you can see a mini-waterfall. If you look hard, you can also the wrecked remains of car caught in the trees above.

There is also another area which stands out from the rest. This particular area has lot of boulders, all covered by moss and the green colour of the moss stands out from the white snow surroundings.

After this trail, depending on the mood of the fellow travellers, we go over to Mount Olympus. We don’t go to the skiing side, it is very crowded and there is nothing much non-skiiers can do there. So, we go to the ridge opposite to the ski station, where there is also a viewing telescope (though i don’t know whether it ever worked). Here, the crowd is less as it is open and much more colder than the other areas. If the snow is fresh, this slope provides a great opportunity for some crazy sliding.

If you want to see more beautiful photos from the trek (65 of them with comments about each photo), click here to go to the Kalidonia Trek Photo page for a flash photo presentation. Warning: The flash is 3.5 MB is size, but rest assured that the wait will be worth it.
Enjoy the beauty that Cyprus has to offer!

written by Rajaram S

In July, it was extremely hot, now it is extremely cold! The weather is going crazy. Hailstorms were a rarity in Limassol, but just yesterday, there were more than 3 or 4 hailstorms. But, the good news is there is LOT of snow on troodos, good enough to last for a few weeks.

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written by Rajaram S

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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!

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written by Rajaram S

The road to the right looks bad, but is accessible to ordinary cars, though a bit tricky at times with one side being a steep drop to the canyon floor. That is me, guiding a friend through the rocky terrain. But, things have improved over the past few years maybe because of the running of E4, the European long distance trail close to Avakas. The road condition is still the same, but there is a parking lot near the start of the walk with picnic benches and running water. But, it is good that the roads have not been paved because it is this remoteness which adds to the beauty of this place. From the parking lot, it is around a 30 minute walk to the gorge.

The first time we went to Avakas, we walked for around 20-25 minutes and didn’t see anything resembling a gorge. We saw a couple coming back and asked them about it. They said that they had been another 100 metres, but didn’t see anything and hgence were walking back. But, we decided to press on. We didn’t drive over a 100 kilometres from limassol for nothing. At probably the 110th metre, the gorge started!

If you are going in winter/spring, be ready to walk in flowing water, as the gorge is actually a river and when we went there few weeks back, it was quite slushy in places and we had to do quite a bit of jumping around in order to save our shoes from the water.

The evening sunlight and the spring colours gave some very good photo ops.

The brave have lot of opportunities to get adventurous and try their rock climbing skills on the steep slopes of the gorge.

Once you enter the gorge, the light reduces drastically and it can get a bit cold too. The highlight of the gorge is a huge stone stuck between the walls of the gorge. This is the place which is often photographed and shown whenever Avakas gorge is referred to. The photos below are of the same place during various trips (different seasons, different times of the day with no manipulations of the photo) and you can see the effect of the light in these photos.

Though the walk is actually only about a 30 minutes, we spent almost 2 hours as we stopped at every possible photo opportunity.

From avakas gorge, only a short drive away is the famous lara beach. Lara Bay is famous for its nestling turtles (though I haven’t seen any of them). It is a big sandy beach, in contrast to the beaches in limassol and paphos.

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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?

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written by Rajaram S