My main aim on this visit was to fly the drone, do a walking tour film, and take some 360s. Alex on the other hand, had her eye on some closeup shots.

The only problem with closeups is that there isn't a lot I can say about them that adds to the narrative. So I will give you a potted history of my visits to the place instead.

Maximos Ranch was one of the first urban exploring adventures we had in Cyprus. Ok, we had visited abandoned villages, but that's not quite the same.

Since we found this place, we have of course visited other such locations. The abandoned hospital at Amiantos Asbestos Mine for a start, and the spooky hotel in Prodromos.

Our most interesting find was probably Pantheon Hall, above Limassol. That place was amazing. Unfortunately, they have locked the side door to that place now, so you can no longer get in. There are no such restrictions at Maximos Ranch though.

To get to the ranch, take the Kouris Dam turning from the main Paphos - Limassol motorway. Drive up to the dam and keep going. After a while you will come to a turning on your left, with a big gateway, partly concealed by shrubs.

The road up to the top is a bit tricky to negotiate. The manhole covers have all been removed - presumably to recycle the metal - leaving a number of gaping holes that need to be avoid. When you do make it to the top you are in for another surprise.

There used to be another gateway there, identical to the one you drove through. However, it has gradually been demolished, by a guerrilla recycling team. This will be a common theme in this article.

As well as recycling, you will also see nature reclaiming her kingdom here. Roads gradually get covered in undergrowth again. Indeed, you could barely see the road leading down to the guard dogs we saw in the drone photo earlier on.

Anyway, when we first found the place it was a lot more intact. We blogged about it at the time. I won't put a link here though, as I include all the links in the virtual tour I created which you will find out about in a couple of pages.

At the time, I was able to work out that the place used to be run by Maximos Holdings. There was still a website of it, promoting it as a going concern. That site is no longer running, but fortunately I used pictures from it in the original blog, so we can still see what it used to look like. I have also been able to copy the site text from the internet archive, so over the next few pictures I will give you all the info that appeared on the Maximos Ranch website. I will quote verbatim, so when it says it is available to lease you need to bear in mind that, no, it isn't really.

Rancho Appaloosa was created by Christos Maximos modeled after the famous horse farms of Middleburg Virginia (USA). It is an environmental sanctuary within the bucolic atmosphere of which to house several of the activities of the family's group of companies including the breeding of Appaloosa horses – the horses of American Indians.

The property is now available to be let on a prolonged lease as a ranch or for horse breeding.