DK Travel : Cyprus

Cyprus packs a remarkable array of sights and attractions into such a small space: museums and archaeological sites that span more than five millennia of history, throbbing beach resorts, medieval fortresses, age-old temples standing on empty hillsides, cool mountain forests and pretty valleys chequered with vineyards, grain fields and olive groves all complete the landscape. On an island where one can swim and ski all in the same day, this is truly a holiday paradise with something for everyone.

Monagri

Picturesque Monagri is well worth a visit to see its 12th-century church, Panagia tis Amasgou (see Panagia tis Amasgou). The monastery church is unique, with carved stonework dating from the Ottoman era, when it was used as a mosque, and stone pillars salvaged from a Roman temple. Also here is the Monagri Foundation, an art gallery and studio housed in the former Archangelos monastery. The gallery also houses a restored Roman olive press.
Monte Carlo, Larnaca

The best tables here are on the seaside terrace, which juts out into the water. Monte Carlo’s meze is among the most generous, and their moussaka also comes highly recommended.
Monte Royia

The monks of Chrysorrogiatissa monastery (see Chryssorogiatissa Monastery) grow their own grapes on the hillsides around Panagia and produce an excellent, dry white, Agios Andronikos.
Mosphilo

Unique to Cyprus, mosphilo is a sweet-sour liqueur distilled from the red berries of the hawthorn tree.
Moungra

Pickled cauliflower is another meze favourite to accompany meat snacks, especially in winter.
Mount Olympus

A jagged and often snow-capped massif, Olympus shares its name with the home of the gods on the Greek mainland. At 1,950 m (6,400 ft), its highest summit, Chionistra, can be seen all over the island (see Mount Olympus).
Mount Olympus

Visit the highest peak of the Troodos range for fantastic views over the mountains and down to the sea. It’s a welcome breath of cool mountain air in summer and, from January to early March, a skier’s delight. The 1,950-m (6,400-ft) peak shares its name with the much higher mountain that was the legendary home of Zeus and the rest of the Greek gods on mainland Greece, and with other summits in the Greek islands and Asia Minor. It is also known as Chionistra or “the snowy one” (see Mount Olympus).
Mount Tripylos

The 1,362-m (4,470-ft) Mount Tripylos, the highest peak in western Cyprus, rises above pine and cedar forests. There are fantastic views over the Tillyrian wilderness to the west and Pafos Forest to the southeast, but it is a little harder to ascend than Mount Olympus.
Mountain Biking

You don’t have to be superfit to explore Cyprus by mountain bike. Around the resorts there is plenty of fairly flat farmland, and it doesn’t take long to find yourself among rolling fields and woodland. With its network of rugged tracks – suitable only for mountain bikes or 4WD vehicles – the Akamas Peninsula is ideal territory. Cyprus hosts two annual mountain bike races, the Afxentia International each spring and the Agia Napa International each November.
Mountain Villages Cultural Week, Limassol District

Dancers and musicians revive the all-but-vanished traditions of Cyprus’s villages during this event, which aims to keep the spark of the island’s culture alive. The week offers a glimpse of village life as it was before tourism, television and mobile phones came to places such as Kilani, Omodos, Pera Pedi, Troodos and Mandria

Jump to top

Restaurant price categories

For a three-course meal for one with half a bottle of wine (or equivalent meal), taxes and extra charges.
- £5–£10
- £10–£15
- £15–£20
- £20–£30
- over £30