Idleness Tours

Fly from London Heathrow /Stanstead or Gatwick via Istanbul to Ercan or directly to Larnaca Airport. On arrival brought to our hotel in Kyrenia for 7 nights’ accommodation. You will have some snacks & You can have a rest in the hotel and spend your first night in Cyprus.

We head first to the interesting hiking tour trough the beautiful Alevkayasi Forest! We start our day with a nice walk in the Pentadaktylos mountains then gradually descending towards the coast until we reach the Herbarium at Alevkayasi picnic area. We will have a packed lunch there before we continue our route to Sourp Magar, an impressive abandoned Armenian monastery dating back to the 12th century. We will then visit Kyrenia Rock where you can enjoy spectacular views on the Northern coastline. Return back to the hotel. Our day is a warm welcome of what to expect as our week progresses into more exciting landscapes.

Walking distance: 8 km ( 4 hours)
Walking level: easy to moderate

We will walk along beautiful forest tracks passing through stands of the strawberry tree arbutus andrachne. These tracks are typical for the Pentadaktylos mountains and we will soon reach the hidden Antiphonitis Church. We can enjoy our packed lunch within pure nature, accompanied by wonderful views. Antiphonitis Monastery is a very peaceful, enchanted little place, tucked away in the forest. It was built in various contrasting styles, such as Byzantine, Lusignan and Venetian and has beautiful frescoes. We will return back to the hotel where our dinner will be served as usual at the hotel. 

Walking distance: 8-10 km

Walking level: easy to moderate

We will climb to it by taking 700 steps, until we reach its impressive ruins that still show a number of rooms and a cistern chapel. Built in Byzantine times, Buffavento was once used by the king as a hideaway from Richard Lionheart. From the castle you again will have breathtaking views to the North and South. We will then have a lunch break under some trees. We continue westwards on the Southern flank of the mountain range. From there you can overlook the inland and the Mesaoria plain, the so-called breadbasket of Northern Cyprus. We will walk on the road, then uphill into the forest and downhill again, back to Bellapais. We will reach the hotel around 4:00 pm.

Walking distance: 16 km
Walking level: easy to moderate