Ayia Napa Off The Beaten Path

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Dont miss to take a closer look at this wonderfull chandelier in the monastery-church ! There are so many great details in the fine work, see some of the best parts of it when you enlarge my extra photos as well ! This chandelier was obviously built first for candles and was electrified finally for the modern times.

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There is a great sandy beach next to the chapel of Holy Thekla,in a distance of about 4km west of Agia Napa. There at the beach you will find a large carpark and a few restaurants and other facilities, this beach was the best that I could see from the road, the other great beaches - if there are any - might be next to the large hotels along the coastline, but I cant say anything about them.

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There is no doubt about it, when it comes to making things, nature is generally better than man. The wonderful natural phenomenon of the rock bridge at Cape Grecko is a good example. OK, I'm being a bit flippant, the bridge doesn't really go from or to anywhere, but it is still a fantastic sight to see. I'm not sure exactly what caused the bridge to be built, but I'm guessing ordinary sea erosion.

All of Cape Grecko is a National Park, and there are several well-signposted walks in the area. you could actually walk all the way here from Ayia Napa (it's about five miles) although if you do be sure and take plenty of water as there are few places to stock up. The trail is actually the E4 path which covers the island from Pafos Forest in the West to this Eastern coast.

If you are driving, head North from Ayia Napa and take the minor (signposted) road on the right.

Cape Grecko: is a lovely place - peaceful.
Sitting on the rocks, every now and again to be woken up by a boat that comes by.

When you get to hot you more or less role over and take a dip for a while.
Coral is good here if you like to dive.

Its a great place to go - well worth a visit.

Troodos mountains: escape the heat by going there. The higher you get the cooler it gets.
Passing little cabins, horses, odd families who live there. Stopping off to get some great pictures of Cyprus. Only problem with the photos is that the clouds are sometimes lower than you are - so you can't see much on a cloudy day. At the near the top is a man who sells ice cream that does not melt .....and more Spectacular views. Well worth a trip there.

Going this route, you pass through a lot of traditional villages (some surprisingly large). Even in October the weather was comfortably warm. Alongside the road they really make as much of the land as possible, and we saw several groups harvesting grapes, and abundant apple trees and other crops. At this altitude in Scotland, you would be lucky to see grass. Though there is skiing in winter, I found it pretty hard to imagine snow, even on the peaks.

While going up to Troodos is a pretty common thing, we did Troodos the hard way, taking the mountain roads west and north. Whilst it is an official main road, it's a high up twisty turny main road. Giving added interest in bits by road improvements that saw us diverted down dirt track sections.

Probably not a route for the less confident driver - in fact I'm glad my mate was driving, not me.

Just off Macronossis Beach you can find the ancient Necropolis. Here lies some ancient tombs from times long before the club scene hit Ayia Napa. It's worth wandering off Macronossis Beach to see it ... but just for 5 minutes or so.

Cavo Greco (Cape Greco) sea caves are well worth a visit. You will often see people diving off the cliffs. The secnery is pretty spectacular - stunning drops down to a crystal blue sea.

A word of warning to those who are daring enough to take the plunge though- there are some dangerous currents around this area.

The sea caves lie off the Protaras - Ayia Napa Coast road. Follow the road to Protaras and take the first road to Cavo Greco. About 150m along the road there is a small dirt track with a sign post to the caves.