The Cyprus Blog at TripToCyprus.com

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.

written by Rajaram S

Technorati Tags: cyprus waterfall milomeri waterfall millomeri waterfall Kaledonia waterfall nature cyprus

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!

Technorati Tags: troodos snow cyprus mountain mount olympus skiing

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