Nicosia: Nature Trails, Villages and Cultural Heritage

The Nicosia District offers nature trails and cycling routes as well as ancient sites, religious art and villages with historic architecture. You can plan your stay around nature, cultural heritage or a mix of both.

Hiking Trails, Plants and Cycling

The Kionia–Profitis Ilias trail starts at the Kionia picnic site, where a spring provides drinking water. Check before your visit whether the spring is usable. The trail ends at the Profitis Ilias picnic site. It is about 8 kilometres from Lythrodontas and 6 kilometres from Mandra tou Kambiou via unpaved roads.

Endemic plants along the Kionia–Profitis Ilias trail include shrubby knapweed, golden oak and purple rock-cress. Also found here is Manouthkia, a small evergreen shrub with pale pink flowers. The reptile list for the hiking area is also distinctive: it includes the Cyprus blunt-nosed viper, black whip snake and Cyprus lizard.

The Mnimata Piskopon trail offers a different landscape: it passes through thickets of black pine and lies entirely within Troodos National Forest Park, a Natura 2000 site. Species growing there include service tree, barberry, turpentine tree, strawberry tree and the endemic golden oak. A section of the Xyliatos circular trail passes through pine forest with golden oak, strawberry tree, myrtle, oriental alder and rockrose.

A range of cycling routes start in Lythrodontas. The Lefkosia-2 cycling route begins at the village square and leads into Machairas Forest. The Lefkosia-1 cycling route also features a 5.5-kilometre mountain biking trail for the Cyprus Sunshine Cup. These cycling options offer practical starting points if you would like to plan your trip around cycling.

Villages and Rural Culture

Lythrodontas has the largest concentration of olive trees on the island. The village is also a starting point for the Lefkosia-2 cycling route. Visitors can see a restored old grain mill and an olive mill there; both offer a virtual reality tour of former village customs. Check before your trip whether this offer is available. Lythrodontas can be reached via the B1 road and then the E103.

Fikardou lies at an altitude of 900 metres in the Pitsilia region of the Nicosia District. The Department of Antiquities declared the village an Ancient Monument in 1978, and it received the Europa Nostra Award in 1987. The award recognised its carefully restored 18th-century houses, remarkable woodwork and folk architecture. The House of Katsinioros and the House of Achilleas Dimitris are museums featuring rural artefacts and depictions of village life in the past.

Ancient Sites and Religious Heritage

South of Lefkosia, the ruins of the ancient city-kingdoms of Tamassos and Idalion are part of the Nicosia region. Tamassos was built near a significant copper mine and flourished during the Roman period, when Cyprus was known for its copper. At the site of ancient Idalion, a museum displays exhibits from nearby excavations arranged in chronological order.

The ancient Machairas Monastery is one of the region’s major attractions. It houses the icon of Panagia of Machairas, attributed to the Evangelist Agios Loukas, or the Apostle Luke. The Panagia tou Araka–Stavros tou Agiasmati trail offers another perspective on the region’s religious heritage: it connects the two churches of Panagia tou Araka, dating to 1192, and Stavros tou Agiasmati, dating to 1494. Both are UNESCO World Heritage Sites and are known for their frescoes.

Use Your Travel Interests as a Guide

Consider which of these interests you want to shape your stay, and use them to guide your hotel choice.

Discover More Destinations

Askas, Nicosia, Aglantzia, Peristerona, Kakopetria, Pedhoulas, Gourri, Lythrodontas, Prodromos, Aghia Marina, Kalopanayiotis, Spilia, Egkomi, Lakatamia, Galata, Palaichori, Kampia, Pachyammos, Strovolos, Pera, Tseri, Sha, Kannavia, Klirou, Lefke, Geri, Dilekkaya, Ghaziveran, Arapköy, Latsia, Yeşilırmak, Kato Pyrgos, Nisou, Dali, Lympia, Phicardou, Vyzakia, Mathiatis

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