Our hike of Saturday 11 February takes place nearby Kalo Chorio village, involves visit to a Venetian bridge and goes for about 10 km. This hike is rated 1 ½ (easy to medium difficulty), and is expected to take up about 2 ½ hours (incl. stops). The hike is linear and involves some uphill, especially at the beginning (stair) but is mostly flat. At the start of the trail, we will have the opportunity to observe a particular geological formation and during the trail, we expect to see a variety of trees and bushes.

The village of Kalo Chorio is situated along the road (E903) that goes from Nicosia to Palekhori. The starting point is at the level of a Venetian bridge. The walk starts at 10:45 am. Laurent is leading this walk, which will go ahead even in light rain; if you need to, call 96414853.

At the end of the walk we shall drive for lunch at a taverna in the vicinity. To facilitate arrangements, for your better service, you are required to pre-register, if you are joining us for lunch. To do so, please sms the walk leader or e-mail Xenophon by end Thursday, indicating if you a)can eat all food or b)prefer non-meat. No need to register if you are not dining.

Even if this is not a long hike, carrying water is always a good idea.

You have the choice of meeting the group at the walk start, or meet at the designated meeting point in Nicosia. In either case, you need to carry copy of this set of instructions. Meeting in Nicosia offers two important advantages: we drive in full cars, leaving some cars behind; thus, we save in fuel and enjoy the trip in good company. The meeting point in Nicosia is the very large church named tis Theou Sophias (also referred to as Agia Sophia) in Strovolos, which offers ample parking space on its side street. The car trip starts at 9:45 am. Please ensure you observe start times, for the benefit of the group.

How to get to the walk start:

From Nicosia get to the junction between Cineplex and Apolloneion Hospital. At the traffic lights where you have the Cineplex on your left hand side and Apolloneion Hospital on your right hand side, zero your odometer and continue straight ahead (on the principal road towards Troodos). At the 0.5 km reading you come to traffic lights, go straight. At the 3.0 km reading you leave the main road, taking the side road on your left, named E903 and signposted to Palekhori.  At the 3.3 km reading you get to a roundabout; take the first exit to the left, signposted to Palekhori. Drive along this main road for many km. You will see a military base on your right at about 22.2 km (named Tasos Markou). Continue straight and at 23.5 km you will see indication for a left turn to “Farmakas/ Kalo Chorio/ Klirou” and “Pikrovrysi tis Merikas”. Take this turn and continue for 500 meters. Park your car on the right just before the Venetian bridge. We meet here.

How to get to the meeting point for the car trip:

From Nicosia get to the junction between Cineplex and Apolloneion Hospital. At the traffic lights where you have the Cineplex on your left hand side and Apolloneion Hospital on your right hand side, zero your odometer and turn left. At the 0.3 km reading you see Lidl supermarket on your right. At the 0.8 km reading you reach traffic lights. Turn left into Elaionon street. Immediately after you observe the very large church of tis Theou Sophias, with its green dome, on your right. Just past the church (1.0 km reading) take the first turning to the right into Kastellas street. This side street offers ample parking space. Park here.

Google Maps: Here is a map taking you from the junction between Cineplex and Apolloneion Hospital to the church of tis Theou Sophias http://tinyurl.com/ll9fefj

Google Maps: Here is a map taking you from the Presidential Palace to the church of tis Theou Sophias: http://tiny-url.org/hEk7ggCF

Disclaimer: If you attend a Cyprus Strollers walk you do so entirely at your own risk. The Cyprus Strollers is a social club and neither the organizers nor the leader of the walk are responsible for the health and safety of those taking part.