Foinikas In Spring
Foinikas is an abandoned village on the banks of the Asprokremmos Reservoir that is steeped in history. Formerly a Knights Templar stronghold, it now lies in ruins. However, for a couple of weeks each Spring, it puts on an amazing floral display for anybody adventurous enough to see it.
Foinikas In Bloom
You won't get an associated festival, and Rambo certainly isn't putting in an appearance, but the Annual Flower Display at Foinikas is a joy to behold.
Reservoir View
When the reservoir is full it laps just below these rocks. It looks nearly empty in this shot, but it is in fact around 38% full, which is much better than even a month ago.
Upstream
The reservoir is still filling up too. I could hear the sound of the river from the amongst the ruins. And later, once we had finished exploring, we had to drive through it on our way out.
The Village
And this is the village itself. In the distant centre is the old school, next to a tree. In front of that you have some shops and an old mosque. Most of the buildings were to the right, with the old part closer to the centre of the valley. Foinikas was built in the 12th Century by the Knights Templar. You can see it mentioned at the Templar Museum in Arodes. The older part of the village is where I am standing, and it is beginning to show its age.
Fallen Arches
One of the first things I remember reading about Foinikas when I moved here, was that it had distinct archways which signified the Templar influence. The article stated that the archways were rare in Cyprus, but that is not actually the case. Indeed, our villa has one, and you can see them in numerous villages dotted about the countryside. Anyway, there used to be a lovely archway here in this room, but it has now collapsed. I guess the spate of earthquakes we had at the end of last year probably did for it, but it is nevertheless a shame.
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Abandoned Villages - Foinikas
Foinikas has a special place in our family's hearts. It was the first abandoned village we explored in Cyprus, some ten years ago. We have returned to it each time we visited Cyprus, and consquently have more pictures than we could ever possibly want of the village and surrounding area. We posted some of them on our blog about the Asprokremmos Reservoir. We wanted some up-to-date photos for the Abandoned Village blog series. So last saturday we revisited Foinikas, and couldn't believe what we found when we got there...
Foinikas Revisited
When we first blogged about Foinikas it was springtime, and the abandoned village was bathed in a sea of yellow. It was always an essential destination on our holidays, but we had never been in Spring, so it came as a pleasant surprise. However, it made it difficult to explore, as you never know what you might tread on when you have to wade through thigh-high flowers. As frequently happens with our blogs, people posted more information about the site in the comments. So we decided to pay another visit a few days ago, and explore it in more depth...
Foinikas by the Lake
The abandoned village of Foinikas lies on the banks of the Asprokremmos Reservoir. Now that the waters are lapping at the village boundaries, we thought we would pay it another visit, to see how it looks now.
Foinikas Heights
We love Foinikas, the abandoned village on the banks of the Asprokremmos Reservoir. We've already blogged about it twice though, so we thought we would take a look at some of the surrounding countryside, and see what else the valley has to offer. Hopefully we will show you that you can find stunning, remote scenery only a stones-throw from Paphos. You don't need to travel all the way to the Akamas or Troodos to lose yourself in rugged beauty...
Foinikas In Bloom
Foinikas is an abandoned village steeped in history, that lies on the banks of the Asprokremmos Reservoir, just to the East of Paphos. Current water levels make a visit a bit tricky, but if you perservere you will be rewarded by a sea of colour as the spring flowers bring the village to life.
Foinikas in 2024
Foinikas is an abandoned village on the banks of the Asprokremmos Reservoir. Well, usually. At the moment it lies on Asprokremoos Prairie. Anyway, the village itself has a long history. In the Middle Ages it was the home of the Knights Templar, who once ruled Cyprus. This fact ensures the village gets a fair number of visitors from more adventurous tourists. I went there recently to fly my drone, and as well as a nice film, it also took these lovely pictures...Related Pages
MapFoinikas in 2026
Foinikas is an abandoned village on the banks of the Asprokremmos Reservoir that is steeped in history. Formerly a Knights Templar stronghold, it now lies in ruins. However, for a couple of weeks each Spring, it puts on an amazing floral display for anybody adventurous enough to see it.
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eBookCyprus Road Trip 01: the Kathikas - Panagia Loop
Let me take you on a journey around the region of Paphos, Cyprus. Starting at Paphos itself, we travel to Akoursos, then Kathikas, Kritou Terra and Simou. We continue past Lasa and Kannaviou, before taking in the delights of Panagia. Getting a bit more adventurous, we visit the abandoned villages of Statos and Agios Fotios, before passing through Choulou, Letymbou and Polemi, and rejoining the main Paphos - Polis road.
The route is suitable for all types of vehicle, and requires no off-roading. The guide contains about 130 photographs including shots of all the road signs you need to pay attention to, as well as some of the highlights you may experience along the way.
There are also several maps which will help you keep your bearings.
You can do this journey in a day, or you can break it up into chunks. You can also do it in reverse, to get some completely different views. It is entirely up to you.
