Paphos Life Road Trip #1

Published 19th of June, 2018

road_trip_01_119

This building I am not sure about. It might not be abandoned, but the garden has certainly seen better days. However, I won’t be attempting to get inside, as it may still be lived in. Bear in mind also, that some properties may only be inhabited at certain times of year, during the hunting season, for instance.

Oh one other thing, when driving through Statos, stick to the main road. If you want to explore a side road, park and walk. A lot of the tracks deteriorate quite quickly, or send you down farm tracks you might not be able to get back up again in your car. So park in one of the numerous laybys instead.

For Sale

road_trip_01_120

This house actually has a For Sale sign on it. I think it may have been forgotten about now though, but I am not going to take any chances.

Ruins

road_trip_01_121

These ones, however, are obviously abandoned, so feel free to explore them at your leisure. I do recommend long trousers and a decent pair of walking boots though. There is always a risk of snakes in Cyprus, but more importantly than that, some of the vegetation will attack on sight. Long trousers will save many scratches, so bring a pair with you, and change into them if you want to get really adventurous.

Take Care...

road_trip_01_122

Be careful when you explore though. Some of the buildings are unstable now, and you wouldn’t want to nut yourself by dislodging one of those rocks. Also, Statos is built into the side of a hill – hence the fear of landslides I guess – and the floors in the buildings by the side of the road on your right may well have floors below them. At least one house has a gaping hole in the floor which would catch you unawares if you dashed into it. Explore at your own risk!

Church Vista

road_trip_01_123

While you explore you may have noticed a church spire. There is actually a church in the village, which is still used occasionally. You will have fun trying to find it though. You need to find a turning to your right (do not drive down it) that looks like this. You then walk down this road which veers right. Somebody may well have parked a van here. Don’t worry about that. Just keep to the road and you will soon arrive at the church.

Page 18 of 26

If you like our blogs and the rest of our content, please consider slinging us a few euros to help us produce more content. Use the Coffee link below if you feel so inclined. Payments are taken on a secure gateway, with no contact!

Related Blogs:

Abandoned Villages - Agios Fotios

Given that I wrote a blog about Statos last week, it would be unfair of me not to cover its close neighbour, Agios Fotios. Their histories are intertwined, as they were both abandoned for the same reason. Indeed, they merged to form a new, single town, called Statos Agios - Fotios. So what was left behind...

Cyprus Road Trip #2: Paphos - Coast to Coast

It's time for another road trip! This time we are going Coast to Coast, from Paphos, to Agios Georgios, and across the island to Latsi and the Baths of Aphrodite. We are also stopping at lots of fun locations on the way, so buckle your seatbelts and let's get started!

From Pentalia to Polemi

A few weeks ago we produced a rather long film, showing a drive from Pentalia to Polemi. I was going to do a sped-up version, but I found the full version quite relaxing, especially with the soothing soundtrack, so I have left it alone. People were curious as to the route we took, so I retraced our steps, and stopped to take some photographs along the way...

The Legend of Akoursos

Akoursos is a little village situated above Coral Bay, nestled in the hillside. It is off most people's radars and most visitors are probably tourists still searching in vain for the "suitable for all vehicles" road that will take them to Aphrodite's Water Baths. The other week we drove through there just so we could explore the hills behind it. While passing through, we couldn't help but notice a striking cave, embedded high up a cliff face. We decided to investigate...

Simou

As promised at the end of our last blog about Skarfos Bridge, we now take a lot at the village of Skarfos, nestled 16km oustide of Polis, and see what it has to offer.

Abandoned Villages - Statos

Statos is unusual, as abandoned villages go. People deserted it not because of inter-communal fighting, but because of the threat of landslides. And then, no sooner had they emptied, some of the abandoned buildings were repopulated. Were villagers returning, or had outsiders moved in, prepared to take the risk of landslide?

Letymbou

Over the last few months, we have blogged about a number of abandoned villages in the Paphos region. As the summer holidays are approaching we thought it would be nice to change the focus to the non-abandoned villages. First up is Letymbou. We chose this first because on a recent forum discussion somebody mentioned that Letymbou was famous for having TEN churches. We felt that needed investigation, as we had only ever seen two on our travels.

Stroumpi Murals

If you drive along the B7 from Paphos to Polis, you will eventually hit Stroumpi. It is about midway between the two towns, and nestled on the Paphos Hills. If you look to your right as you ascend the hill, you will notice some lovely murals adorning the walls. In due course, I will write a blog on the whole of Stroumpi, but today, I just want to concentrate on these murals...

Latest Blog Articles

Latest News Articles