Cyprus - The Magical Island of Aphrodite

Cyprus has three hundred and forty sunny days per year.  Of course you can ski from Mount Olympus in the morning then swim in the sea in the afternoon in winter and you can walk through carpets of poppies and cornflowers in the spring and bask in sizzling temperatures in the summer. But it is when the summer temperatures have dropped to more tolerable degrees that the island takes on a more relaxed mantle.  

 In peaceful villages the only sound in the autumn afternoons is the slap of counters as old men play backgammon in the inky-dark bars or sit in village squares sipping strong black coffee and gossiping with friends.  Energetic football games start up between towns, and old bicycles come out to be dusted down and put to use.  There’s time for visitors and locals alike to stop and look at the autumn croci, anemones and lilies that are brightening up the fields; there’s time to stop and smell the air, redolent with the scents of herbs, fruits and honey, and there’s time to take in all those activities that were impossible in the heat of summer.

The flowers that covered the hillsides and acted as a magnet for the bees during the  summer, the pink oleander, the yellow broom, the jasmine and lilies may have gone, but the exquisite honey that is a result of the bees hard work is on sale at virtually every house and café in the mountains. 

Horse-riding, hiking, cycling and mountain biking on any one of forty-eight well-signposted Trails are just some of the outdoor pursuits that can be enjoyed in the cooler weather.   The impressive Troodos mountain range that stretches across the centre of Cyprus and reaches up to 1952 metres at Chionistra has been popular with local Cypriots for decades with mountain trails especially chosen to pass through areas of rich natural vegation and cultural interest.

Apart from the interesting flora and fauna in the Troodos there are superb Byzantine churches hidden in corners and perched on peaks (nine of which are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List).  Platres, one of the prettiest villages in the Troodos makes a good starting point for excursions into the interior and is an ideal spot in which to spend a holiday.

There are unspoilt areas in other parts of the Island too, the Akamas peninsula for instance, a wilderness of incomparable beauty situated at the westernmost point of Cyprus.  Over 600 plant species and 168 bird species are found in this vast wilderness which is fast becoming the favourite hiking spot with late season visitors.  Or Kavo Gredo National Park which is so near the beaches of Agía Napa that you can sunbathe, swim and hike on the same day.

The mountain villages are famed for their friendliness and beauty, one of the prettiest being  Kakopetria, which it sits overlooking thousands of apple trees in the Solea Valley at a height of 670 metres half way up the northern slopes of Mount Olympus.  You come across it quite suddenly after a long ride, or drive, (a 4WD is to be recommended for many of these roads).  Many of the old wooden houses have been restored by local craftsmen and their ornate verandahs filled with lemon geraniums and perfumed roses add to the charm of the deserted lanes.  Although a holiday resort, the political graffiti in the main square points to local participation in its café life as do the village women who shelter from the sun under vine trellises.

In Cedar Valley is an area of 200,000 trees that supposedly provide shelter for the shy moufflan - a breed of wild sheep found only in Cyprus.   I say supposedly with good reason, for after many days spent searching for the elusive animal I came to the conclusion that this is the Cypriot Yeti, - one that had escaped from a legend perhaps.  But I did eventually find a moufflon in a special enclosure at the Stavros Tis Psokas park in the heart of the Pafos Pine forest but if there was a flock of his friends elsewhere he couldn’t tell me.  

The legendary birthplace of the Goddess Aprhodite is a golden yellow rock that juts into the sea on the road between Lemossos and Pafos.  Four thousand years on from her tempestuous birth from the foamy ocean lovers still swim round the rock to ensure that their love lasts forever.  Legend also has it  that if you are in the autumn of your years and you swim round the rock three times, your youthful looks will be restored to you.

I can’t think of better reasons to visit Cyprus, the Island of Love - especially in autumn.