Paphos Forest

Paphos Forest is the emptiest corner of Cyprus and one of its two shadiest, a pine forest that runs from sea level up past 1,200 metres. Twenty-two of our trails are in here, and most of them you will walk alone. Stavros tis Psokas, the old forest station deep in the middle of it, is the natural hub — several trails start within a few minutes of it, and the mouflon enclosure beside it is the easiest place on the island to see the endemic wild sheep.

The lay of the land

The forest holds both extremes of the island's walking. Chorteri climbs 277 m in a 4.6 km loop to a 1,290 m ridge with views across the whole forest, and collects just 1.3 hours of direct sun in a full midsummer day — one of the darkest trails in Cyprus. Moutti tou Stavrou is an easy 2.9 km circle from the same forest station, looking out over the Gulf of Chrysochous to Akamas. Down at the coast the character flips completely: the Argaka loops stand in the open for over twelve hours a day.

Between them sit the long ones. Venetian Bridges is a 19.3 km point-to-point with 660 m of climb, linking the medieval stone arches of Roudia, Kelefos and Elia along old trade routes. Kykkos – Panagia – Chrysorrogiatissa is longer still at 21.5 km and 941 m — a full day for strong walkers, with no easy exit.

When to go

Along with Troodos, this is where the shade lives: half the trails here take under five hours of sun even in July. Xystarouda – Agiasma – Vasiliki manages 1.8 hours, Moutti tou Stavrou 2.3, Cedar Valley 4.3. That makes the interior a genuine summer option, while the coastal loops around Argaka and Pachyammos are better saved for the cooler half of the year. Spring is best overall — the rivers are running, the long routes are comfortable, and the forest floor is in flower.

Four to start with

• Cedar Valley — 5.4 km through groves of Cedrus brevifolia, the Cyprus cedar, which grows nowhere else on earth and reaches 40 m here.
• Chorteri — the short, steep, dark loop to a 360° ridge, with the mouflon enclosure at the bottom.
• Treis Elies — 1.8 km and almost flat, past a Venetian bridge; the gentlest introduction to this forest.
• Venetian Bridges — the full-day classic, three medieval bridges and very little else.

Practical notes

Plan water before distance. There are twelve forest picnic sites here, more than any district but Limassol, but only five have drinking water — and Stavros tis Psokas, the obvious base, is not one of them. Pera Vasa, Agios Merkourios, Gefyri tou Livadiou, Xerargaka and Mavralis down on the coast are the ones that do.

Getting in takes longer than the map suggests: the approaches are forest roads, and the drive from Polis or Kykkos is slow. Fuel up and fill up in the villages on the way, and treat the two long routes as expeditions — they are remote, and you will not pass a shop or a tap.