Our excursion of Saturday 21 December 2019 takes us to the fields between the village of Kornos and the village of Delikipos, in the district of Larnaca, south of Nicosia and west of Larnaca. Our destination is a short trip of 29 km from Nicosia. At a low elevation, this area is rich in agricultural produce. The hike is linear, almost entirely on level ground and follows dirt roads connecting the various plots of land, used by the farmers. Along the route, we shall visit the remote church of Agios Georgios ‘Sopotamou’, sitting on a hill, in a beautiful location. If you visit the area in spring, you will enjoy the feast of colours, as many flowering plants are in bloom. The sighting of not so common birds is possible; your walk leader was lucky to come across a grown-up hoopoe (tsalapeteinos) one day. If you visit the area in colder weather, you will enjoy a hike in mild climate conditions, while avoiding the hot sun. The hike starts at the Kornos picnic site, outside the village of Kornos. The hike starts at 10:45 am. Xenophon is leading the hike, which will go ahead even in light rain; if you need to, call 97613720. The hike is 11 km long, will take about 3 hours hiking time, and involves just one demanding uphill section of 400 m distance and is classified 1 (easy) to 2 (medium) for difficulty.

At the end of the hike, we shall drive to our taverna of choice in the village of Lythrodontas for lunch. To facilitate arrangements, for your better service, you are required to pre-register, if you are joining us for lunch. To do so, please e-mail Xenophon by end Thursday. No need to register if you are not dining.

You have the choice of meeting the group at the hike 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 Handicrafts Centre (Kentro Heirotechnias) on Leoforos Athalassas (Athalassa Avenue), which offers ample parking space. The car trip starts at 10:00 am. Please ensure you observe start times, for the benefit of the group.

How to get to the walk start: Get to the main junction between Leoforos Lemesou/ Limassol Avenue and Leoforos Athalassas. Zero your odometer at this junction. Drive along the Nicosia-Limassol motorway, heading towards Limassol. At the 25.4 km reading you exit the motorway on your left, at exit number 11, following signs to Kornos and Stavrovouni. At the 25.5 km reading you reach a T-junction; turn left, following signs to Stavrovouni. At the 26.0 km reading you reach a crossroads; turn right, following signs to Stavrovouni. At the 27.8 km reading slow down and look out for a very small church on your right; there is a road sign (on your left) at this point indicating a right turn leading after 1 km to the Kornos forest station; turn right just before the little church. The road passes through a very short tunnel and at the 28.1 km reading gets to a T-junction; there are white signs at this junction, one of them indicating the way to the picnic site. At the T-junction go straight onto a dirt road, which soon reaches a Y-junction; at this point you see the forest station a few hundred metres ahead and on your right. Take the left bend at the Y-junction; the dirt road climbs up a hill and after a few hundred metres reaches the picnic site. Park your car at the picnic site. We meet here. Note, if you have missed the indicated right turn by the church, immediately after you reach a junction, with a left turn signposted ‘Stavrovouni 7 km’.

How to get from the walk finish to the taverna:

Drive back as you came, on the dirt road. At the end of the dirt road zero your odometer and take the tarmac road going straight. After 100 m you pass a very short tunnel. At the 0.2 km reading you reach a T-junction where you turn left. At the 2.0 km reading you reach a crossroads, where you turn left, following signs to Kornos and Delikipos. At the 2.6 km reading you go under a bridge. At the 4.7 km reading stay on the main road, ignoring a road going right at an angle. At the 7.0 km reading stay on the main road, ignoring a sign indicating a right turn to the village of Delikipos. At the 7.4 km reading you pass the Delikipos picnic site on your left. Slow down. Just 50 m past the picnic site zero your odometer and turn right onto a narrower tarmac road, with no signs.

At the 0.5 km reading, you reach a junction where you turn left; there is a road sign indicating Lythrodontas here. At the 2.9 km reading you ignore a right turn, continue straight. At the 5.8 km reading you reach the first houses of Lythrodontas. Soon after the road exits onto the main road crossing the village, at a T-junction; at this point zero your odometer and turn left, to drive to the village centre. At the 0.8 km reading you pass a large supermarket on your right and the road bends left. The road then narrows as it winds through the village centre. At the 1.1 km reading you see a large church on your left and the village coffee shops. The taverna is on a road to the right, opposite the church. It is the second building on your left on this side road. Search for parking in the side streets.

How to get to the meeting point for the car trip, coming from the Landmark (formerly Hilton) hotel area: Get yourself on Makarios Avenue, heading out of town and set your odometer to zero as you drive past the Nicosia Landmark (formerly Hilton) hotel. At the 0.1 km reading you reach traffic lights (with the Apoel club building on your right), go straight. At the 0.5 km reading you reach another set of traffic lights, go straight. Driving along, you pass a few more traffic lights, staying on this main road (named Leoforos Lemesou/ Limassol Avenue). At the 2.1 km reading, you reach a principal set of traffic lights. Set your odometer to zero again and turn right here. You are now in Leoforos Athalassas, a very busy avenue. At the 0.2 km reading you see a large empty space on your right and the Handicrafts Centre (a single-storey building) on your left. Park in the parking area. We meet here. The Handicrafts Centre is next to the church of St. Barnabas.

How to get to the meeting point for the car trip, coming from the Presidential Palace area: Get to the round-about next to the Presidential Palace. From downtown Nicosia you reach this along the Kyriakou Matsi avenue or along the D. Severi avenue. Set your odometer to zero on the round-about and drive along the principal road towards Strovolos. At the 0.3 km reading you reach traffic lights. Go straight. At the 0.6 km reading you reach a 2nd set of traffic lights. Set your odometer to zero again and turn left. You are now in Leoforos Athalassas, a very busy avenue full of shops. At the 2.6 km reading you see a large empty space on your left and the Handicrafts Centre (a single-storey building) on your right. Park here.

Google Maps: Here is a map for those coming from the Landmark (formerly Hilton) area to the meeting place for the car trip  http://tinyurl.com/phjc6s7

Google Maps: Here is a map for those coming from the Presidential Palace area to the meeting place for the car trip http://tinyurl.com/neo9duy

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