Cyprus: A Day In The Troodos

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Originally uploaded by JP1984.

Cyprus’ interior is dominated by a mountain range, known as the Troodos. The roads wind along the edge of forested mountains, overlooking breathtaking valleys and occasionally passing through civilization in the form of some very picturesque traditional villages. No holiday in Cyprus would be complete without a day in the Troodos and we enjoyed visiting old haunts and exploring some new ones.

The first port of call was the Moufflon sanctuary in Stavros, where we saw (drum roll please) some Moufflon – Cyprus’ native sheep-like creature. I’m not sure exactly what Moufflon are (I guess I’d better look it up at some point) but I’ve heard varying rumours, ranging from ‘a type of sheep’ to ‘a cross between a sheep and a goat’. None of them seem quite satisfactory. They’re impressive creatures though, and the males are endowed with massive curly horns.

Our journey in to the heart of the island then continued – pausing on occasion, including at a small church - to a hilltop church where we enjoyed a picnic lunch with views of a village in the valley below. It was then onward to Kykkos; we didn’t stop at the Monastery this time, but I was pleased to note that Costas was still there in his souvenir shop. Onward (again) and upward we went to the top of Mount Olympus, passing Cyprus’ Ski Resort on the way (I kid you not). At 6000ft it felt cold, and the views weren’t bad, if a little hazy. Being above the cloud in places was novel.

It was Mount Olympus which gave the strongest reminder so far that Cyprus is a divided island, with the northern part being illegally occupied by the Turks since 1974. The military presence at the top was strong, with various listening stations, lots of razor wire fences, security guards, signs banning photography and cameras which followed our every move. I will probably share my thoughts on the Turkish occupation later when I know a bit more about it, but the whole scenario is intriguing and a lot deeper than most people probably realise. On a less serious note I was amused by the apparent need to camouflage one of the radar listening devices when the one next to it was bright white and stood out like a sore thumb.

And so down we went, past occasional signs in the forest proclaiming the presence of a ‘Giant Pinus’; evidently the large (black) pine trees are something of an attraction, but the signs would not have looked out of place in my Hotmail Junk Mail folder.

Next stop was the Kaledonia Falls, where we enjoyed a beautiful walk up the river valley to the famous falls. It was apparent that the water was pumped, but they were beautiful nonetheless. Although the shaded valley didn’t seem it, it was actually still 4000ft above sea level; which might explain why the walk was surprisingly hard going, even in the cool of the late afternoon.

The return trip covered lots of previously unexplored territory. We came through a pretty Alpine-style village with stunning views and our route took in some single track roads, devoid of crash barriers, around some fantastically remote valleys. We skirted a village with a mosque – indicative of a Turkish Cypriot population (before the island was divided, at least, if not now) – and further down there was a village complete with church and mosque side-by-side. Evidence, perhaps, that the Greek and Turkish Cypriots did (do?) live in harmony.

Just beyond this village our passage was interrupted by a flow of goats and sheep down the hillside and across the road. The line was unending, and it was reminiscent of the famous stampede in the Lion King. Having weaved our way through we paused to view an abandoned village on the valley floor and went scrumping, for lemons. Finally, as the sun disappeared below the horizon we joined the motorway near Paphos and sped along the familiar road home.