Cape Greko

Cape Greko is the sunniest walking on the island: all nine trails on this headland stand in direct sun for eleven hours or more on a midsummer day. It is the only district where that is true of every single route. What you get in return is the best short-walk coastline in Cyprus: sea caves, white limestone, chapels on the clifftops, and water that really is that colour.

The lay of the land

Everything here is short and nearly flat. Seven of the nine trails are under 5 km and none climbs more than 140 m. They also interconnect, which is the trick to using this park: park once and chain two or three together rather than driving between trailheads. Profitis Ilias – Konnoi is the backbone at 8.5 km, threading inland viewpoints and chapels down to the Konnos side; the shorter routes hang off it.

The coast does the heavy lifting. Sea Caves runs 4.6 km east of Agia Napa over craggy, sea-carved ground, and Konnoi – Cyclops Cave is under 2 km from Konnos Beach to the caves and back. Inland, Agioi Anargyroi loops 2.4 km through thick Phoenician juniper by the chapel of the same name.

When to go

November to April, without hesitation. Winter here is the point — mild, bright, empty, with the sea beside you the whole way. In high summer these trails are genuinely unsafe in the middle of the day: Agioi Anargyroi takes 12.9 hours of direct sun, Profitis Ilias – Konnoi 12.8, and there is no canopy anywhere on the cape to break it. If you walk in July or August, be finished by nine in the morning. Our shade model has more on why the coast behaves this way.

Four to start with

• Sea Caves — the most dramatic ground on the cape, and the one to pick if you only walk once.
• Konnoi – Cyclops Cave — an hour from Konnos Beach, turquoise water the whole way.
• Profitis Ilias – Konnoi — the long linking route, and the best way to see the whole park on foot.
• Agioi Anargyroi — an easy juniper loop by the chapel, with a picnic site attached.

Practical notes

Water and shade are the only real hazards. There are four picnic sites in the park and three have drinking water — Agioi Anargyroi, Agios Antonios and Agios Nikandros; Panagia Asprovouniotissa does not. Carry a hat and more water than the distances suggest, because the distances are not the problem.

Access is easy: Agia Napa for the western trails, Konnos Beach and Protaras for the eastern ones, all within a few minutes of each other. The cliff-edge sections are unfenced, so keep children close on the coastal routes.