Exploring off-the-beaten track Cyprus
Sightseeing
This is our favorite place to spend time during the week end. If like us you love trekking & nature, you will find plenty of trekking opportunities in the Machairas Mountains. And the best part is that you will have it all to yourself as most of the tourists will head straight to Troodos mountains. But Machairas Mountains have nothing to envy to their more touristic counterpart, and actually being at a lowest altitude (1400 m) exhibit a more varied flora, with pine trees forest intermixed with golden oak, platanus, myrtle bushes. And given the fact that they emerged rapidly from the flat plain of Nicosia it offer better opportunities for spectacular panoramic views over Nicosia and the Pentadaktylos Range and, crossing the ridge, over the southern coastline of Larnaca & Limassol.
If you are not into trekking, you can still enjoy the scenic drive, and explore the traditional stone villages of Lazanias and Fikardou, and visit the majestic Machairas Monastery.
The Machairas National Forest Park
This is our favorite place to spend time during the week end. If like us you love trekking & nature, you will find plenty of trekking opportunities in the Machairas Mountains. And the best part is that you will have it all to yourself as most of the tourists will head straight to Troodos mountains. But Machairas Mountains have nothing to envy to their more touristic counterpart, and actually being at a lowest altitude (1400 m) exhibit a more varied flora, with pine trees forest intermixed with golden oak, platanus, myrtle bushes. And given the fact that they emerged rapidly from the flat plain of Nicosia it offer better opportunities for spectacular panoramic views over Nicosia and the Pentadaktylos Range and, crossing the ridge, over the southern coastline of Larnaca & Limassol.
If you are not into trekking, you can still enjoy the scenic drive, and explore the traditional stone villages of Lazanias and Fikardou, and visit the majestic Machairas Monastery.