The Cyprus Strollers excursion of Saturday 11th May 2024 takes place in Paphos forest, near the area of Tzielefos venetian bridge; more specifically by the Platys River, one of the two main streams which feed into Diarizos river. All the way will be on a dirt road next to the river, enjoying the valley’s extraordinary microclimate and very rich plant life created from the stream. The hike is linear, with a distance of 8 km each way. At the far end, it reaches Komititzi picnic site. Hiking is a steady gentle uphill on the way out; a steady gentle downhill on the return leg, and will take about 4 ½ hours. 

The hike starts at 9:30 am. Antonis is leading the hike, which will go ahead even in light rain; if you need to, call 97803728. N.B. Allow plenty of driving time: there are narrow roads, with trucks which you will not be able to overtake.

Do not be deterred by the 16 km hike length; given the trail is linear, Xenophon will lead a shorter length, for those who choose to take longer pauses to enjoy the scenery. Strollers opting for the shorter distance also start hiking at 9:30 am.  

Starting point is about 1,5 km north of Tzielefos bridge, at the crossroad with a signpost to Mylikouri village (coordinates: 34.89712966, 32.75657385).

We shall follow the walk with a served meze lunch at the restaurant of our choice in the area. Registered participants will receive full details via e-mail the day before.

To provide you with maximum safety, 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 sms Antonis or e-mail Xenophon by end Thursday, indicating whether you will be joining us for lunch or not.

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 7:45 am. Please ensure you observe start times, for the benefit of the group.

How to get to the walk start, coming from Nicosia:

Get to the main junction between Leoforos Lemesou/ Limassol Avenue and Leoforos Athalassas. Drive along the Nicosia – Limassol motorway, heading towards Limassol. Upon reaching Limassol, zero your odometer as you pass exit number 28, and continue to drive towards Paphos, on the A6 motorway. At the 11 km reading you exit the motorway on your left, signposted Kantou village (exit number 34A). Follow road E601, passing the villages of Kantou, Souni-Zanakia, Agios Amvrosios. After about 20km from Kantou village, on an uphill, look out for a junction with signpost directing to Malia and Arsos villages – turn left here onto road E612. Follow this road, passing outside Arsos village on your left, until you reach a T-junction (this comes after 10,5km from the previous turn). Go right here and then immediately left towards Tzielefos bridge. You are now driving downhill on a narrow road for about 6 km, until you find Tzielefos bridge on your left – continue straight (in the direction of Kaminaria village) for an additional 1,5 km to reach our destination. We meet at the crossroad with signposts to Kykkos and Mylikouri village (dirt road on your left). Here is a general map of the area https://www.google.com/maps/place/Platy+Valley/@34.898247,32.686415,12z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x14e741f4c662539d:0xa70c1795cd7134c1!8m2!3d34.898247!4d32.7564528!16s%2Fg%2F11tczzsy5q

How to get to the walk start, coming from Limassol:

Get to the Limassol – Paphos motorway (A6), in the direction of Paphos. Zero your odometer as you pass exit number 28. At the 11 km reading you exit the motorway on your left, signposted Kantou village (exit number 34A). Follow road E601, passing the villages of Kantou, Souni-Zanakia, Agios Amvrosios. After about 20km from Kantou village, on an uphill, look out for a junction with signpost directing to Malia and Arsos villages – turn left here onto road E612. Follow this road, passing outside Arsos village on your left, until you reach a T-junction (this comes after 10,5km from the previous turn). Go right here and then immediately left towards Tzielefos bridge. You are now driving downhill on a narrow road for about 6 km, until you find Tzielefos bridge on your left – continue straight (in the direction of Kaminaria village) for an additional 1,5 km to reach our destination. We meet at the crossroad with signposts to Kykkos and Mylikouri village (dirt road on your left). Here is a general map of the area https://www.google.com/maps/place/Platy+Valley/@34.898247,32.686415,12z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x14e741f4c662539d:0xa70c1795cd7134c1!8m2!3d34.898247!4d32.7564528!16s%2Fg%2F11tczzsy5q

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 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) hotel 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

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.