UPDATE: We shall follow the walk with a meze lunch at Forviotissa, our taverna of choice in Asinou. Besides meat dishes, there will be offerings for persons vegan and fasting. Kindly clarify if staying for lunch or not, when you register. Participants staying for lunch will receive further info via e-mail the day before.

Our walk of Sunday 26 March 2023 takes place at the Adelphi forest area. We start a couple of hundred metres after the historical church of Panagia tis Asinou, which is a National Heritage monument. The walk starts at 10:45 am. Xenophon is leading this walk, which will go ahead even in light rain; if you need to, call 97613720. The walk will take 3 hours and is of medium difficulty (2+ on a scale from 1 to 3), involving several demanding uphill and downhill sections. We follow well marked paths, mostly in a pine covered forest, up to the village of Agios Theodoros, in the Solea valley. We take the same paths back. The altitude at start is ~500 m, at the highest point it becomes 650 m, while at the village of Agios Theodoros it is 460 m. The total distance (to and fro) is 11 km. The walk offers spectacular views at several places.

If you are rather concerned about the difficulty of this hike, do not be deterred: a provision will be made for those wishing to walk a shorter distance.

Depending on the government restrictions on the day, we shall follow the walk with a meze lunch at the Forviotissa taverna, right opposite the area where we have parked. Kindly visit this page in the week prior to the activity for updated news.

To provide you with maximum safety vis-à-vis covid-19, and in order to have maximum traceability, we require every participant to register, irrespective of your participation at lunch or not. To facilitate arrangements, for your better service, you are required to e-mail Xenophon by end Friday, indicating whether you will be joining us for lunch or not.

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 an open field which offers ample parking space in Archangelos. 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 take the A9 motorway towards Troodos. The A9 smoothly becomes the B9 highway (towards Troodos), when the motorway ends (near Kokkinotrimithia). On the B9 you drive past the villages of Akaki, then Peristerona and then you reach the village of Astromeritis. At the Astromeritis traffic lights, where most cars turn left towards Troodos, zero your odometer and turn left. At the 3.8 km reading follow the road sign and turn left towards Asinou. Drive past the villages of Vyzakia and Nikitari. At the 14.4 km reading you drive past a picnic area on your right. At the 15.9 km reading you arrive at the Asinou church on your right. Continue to drive straight and after three hundred metres you reach a taverna (named Forviotissa) on your right. There is plenty of parking space opposite the taverna. Park your car. We meet here. The starting point for the walk is a few meters further on from the taverna, where the road bends right and the tarmac leads into a dirt road.

How to get to the walk start coming from Limassol:

We recommend that you take the main road towards Trimiklini, then Saittas (exit number 28 on the Limassol-Nicosia motorway). Get to the principal junction at Saittas, where you have the options of going straight to Platres or left to Pera Pedi, or right to Amiantos. Zero your odometer and turn right. At the 10.9 km reading you reach the principal junction of Karvounas (note, no traffic lights). Continue straight, towards Kakopetria. From Kakopetria continue straight, in the direction of Nicosia. About 22 km from Kakopetria (3.8 km before Astromeritis) zero your odometer and follow the road sign and turn right towards Asinou. Drive past the villages of Vyzakia and Nikitari. At the 12 km reading you arrive at the Asinou church on your right. Continue to drive straight and after three hundred metres you reach a taverna (named Forviotissa) on your right. There is plenty of parking space opposite the taverna. Park your car. We meet here. The starting point for the walk is a few meters further on from the taverna, where the road bends right and the tarmac leads into a dirt road.

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 go straight, along Archangelos avenue, in the direction of Troodos. At the 0.3 km reading you reach the first traffic lights; turn left into Agiou Alexiou street. At the 0.4 km reading you reach a T-junction; turn right into Agiou Gennadiou street and immediately after you observe on your left an open field used for parking; get onto it and park your car. We meet here. In front of this field there is a violet box for collecting clothes and also a water tank from where people can buy water. For additional parking spaces, while in Agiou Gennadiou street turn first right into a road with a cul-de-sac sign.

Google Maps: Here is a map taking you from the junction between Cineplex and Apolloneion Hospital to the parking field on Agiou Gennadiou street http://tinyurl.com/lg3u78q  

Google Maps: Here is a map taking you from the Presidential Palace to the parking field on Agiou Gennadiou street: http://tinyurl.com/k9gabhs

About Panagia tis Asinou church: The famous Byzantine church of Asinou, a Unesco World Heritage site, has some of the finest examples of Byzantine wall painting on the island. Asinou comes from the Greek Asine, which is an ancient city founded by immigrants from the Greek city Argolis in the 11th century BC. The church dates to the early 12th century and the murals inside date from the 12th century to the 17th century.

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. If you do not wish to receive further e-mails, reply to this message, stating so.