Asinou is the picnic site you pass on the way to one of Cyprus's great treasures. It lies about 2 km from Nikitari village, at 400 m on the road that continues to the church of Panagia Asinou (Forviotissa) a little further along — a 12th-century painted church, part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing of the painted churches of the Troodos region since 1985. The site itself occupies a green ravine of the Adelfoi state forest, squeezed between steep pine-covered slopes.
It is a small, family-friendly place: room for around 170 people, drinking water, a children's playground and access for visitors with reduced mobility. One thing to know before you pack: lighting fires is strictly forbidden here — this is a cold-lunch picnic site, not a BBQ station.
For a walk, the Agios Theodoros - Asinou trail passes about 1.3 km away, linking the Asinou valley with Agios Theodoros, and Agios Georgios Kafkalou is roughly 3.3 km off. Combined with the church, the site makes an easy, rewarding half-day out of Nicosia.