Our hike of Sunday 30 November 2025 takes place in the beautiful Adelphi forest, north of the village of Spilia, an area off the beaten track and well preserved. This hike is circular, rated 2 ½ (medium difficulty to difficult), about 8 ½ km long, and is expected to take up ~ 3 hours, incl. visiting the caves. The hike involves uphill and downhill parts. The uphill is continuous and strenuous at places, and so is the downhill; you are advised to wear hiking boots and carry your hiking poles.

The walk starts at 10:15 am. Victor is leading this walk, which will go ahead even in light rain; if you need to, call 96667983. The area is quite lush with pines (Calabrian pine, Pinus brutia) and golden oaks along the way, which offer wonderful scents along the route. The route also offers beautiful views of Spilia and, across the mountains, to Morphou bay.

From the parking in Spilia, we walk 50 meters along the road to the hike start at ‘Laou’. We follow a narrow path parallel to the road, to Moutti tis Choras (a location at 1150 m altitude, which forms part of the Grand Circle of Madari) from where we take a dirt road into the woods. After a total of 2.5 km we will arrive at Selladi Straorouthkias resting point. This is a junction of many trails and the next part to the hideouts is a loop that brings us back to Selladi. From Selladi we take the steep and narrow footpath towards the EOKA hideouts (used by fighters during the uprising for independence over 1955 – 1959), at an elevation of 1225 m. We shall dedicate some time to visit the surrounding caves and some peaks offering panoramic views down to Adelphi forest and far out. The midway point is after 3.5 km total walking time, at the hideout headquarters (Spilies tou Digeni). Here we can take an extended break for people to view the hideouts and eat their banana 🙂. 

From this resting point we will take the dirt road that loops back to Selladi Straorouthkias. From Selladi Straorouthkias we will first take the narrow footpath down in the direction of Kourdali, until we meet a dirt road. We take this to the left and continue until we reach Spilia at Laou.

We shall follow the walk with a served meze lunch at our taverna of choice in Kakopetria.

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 the walk leader or e-mail Xenophon by end Friday, indicating whether you will be joining us for lunch or not. Participants registered for lunch will receive full details via e-mail the day before.

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 9:00 am. Please ensure you observe start times, for the benefit of the group.

How to get from Nicosia 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. Drive along the main road. After 25 km you pass the village of Kakopetria (principal access to the village comes at the 24.8 km reading, where there is a left turn going downhill). Continue to drive along the main road, in the direction of Troodos. At the 29.2 km reading take the left turn taking you to the village of Spilia. Once you have entered Spilia drive slowly and look out for the village church. We meet at the parking lot of Spilia, next to the church https://maps.app.goo.gl/gd2wpABTxqnPT9Ej9.

How to get from Limassol to the walk start:

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). Do not turn left, which drives uphill towards Troodos square. Do not turn right (this takes you to Kyperounda). Zero your odometer and go straight, downhill towards Kakopetria. At approx. the 2 km reading look out for a green sign ‘Agios Nicolaos 9 km’ pointing to a dirt road on your left. After a further 1.8 km you reach the right turn to Spilia. Turn right here. Once you have entered Spilia drive slowly and look out for the village church. We meet at the parking lot of Spilia, next to the church https://maps.app.goo.gl/gd2wpABTxqnPT9Ej9.

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   

Google Maps: Here is a map of the hiking path we are following

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.