A 5-days Aphrodite's Rock - Baths of Aphrodite trip - average 18 km per day

This is a six - days five accommodations walking route that focuses on Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty. According to Greek Mythology, Aphrodite was born from the sea between Limassol and Paphos, and used Akamas peninsula in the north west as her playground.  The route goes through dramatic and stunning sceneries in the west part of the beautiful island of Cyprus. It is suitable for those who prefer longer walks (with max daily walk length of 22.5 km). The route includes an overnight in Paphos town, which would give travellers the opportunity to see the Unesco World Heritage Paphos mosaics and experience the old part of a modern Cyprus town.

​The route is offered from November until April (also as a guided walking trip). Please check the relevant climate and sea water temperature information. We highly recommend adding at least an extra night before the start of the walk at Pissouri Bay and/or at the end of the trip near Baths of Aphrodite to explore more of beautiful Akamas.

Below one can see info about the walks. 

Day of Trip	​Distance in km	​Total ascent (m)	​Total descent (m)	Average elevation (m)	Description
Day 2	20	800	750	50	Pissouri Bay, over the White Cliffs, past Aphrodite's Rock
Day 3	16.5	650	550	150	From Aphrodite's temple at Palaipaphos/Kouklia go inland via Nikoklia, north of Asprokremmos manmade lake, ending the day at Episkopi Morou Nerou village
Day 4	22.5	1,000	500	450	From Episkopi walk upstream in Ezousa Valley and cross to the west and Laona plateau ending at Kathikas village.
Day 5	10	300	350	600	From Kathikas village walk north, largely on the plateau, ending at Droushia village
Day 6	22	500	1,100	350	Walk along Akamas ridge from Droushia to Moutti tis Sotiras peak, ending at Baths of Aphrodite, on the way enjoying excellent views of the coast.
Average	18	600	600	300

The itinerary (summary)  
Day 1 - Arrival to Start location of the Walk
Day 2 - Pissouri Bay - Aphrodite's Rock - Kouklia
Day 3 - Kouklia - Nikoklia - north edge of Asprokremmos manmade lake - Episkopi
Day 4 - Episkopi - Kallepia - Kathikas
Day 5 - Kathikas - Arodes - Droushia
Day 6 - Droushia - Akamas ridge - Baths of Aphrodite
Day 7 - Finish

Detailed Itinerary
​On Day 1, those travellers who book the transfer, from the airport are transported to their hotel at Pissouri Bay. Time to relax at the hotel and the beach. We highly recommend spending an extra night here.

​On Day 2 walkers explore one of the most dramatic coastlines in Cyprus: the White Cliffs between Pissouri Bay and Aphrodite's Rock. These are soft cliffs, usually white, but at stretches multicoloured, rising at places upto 100 - 150 m above sea level. The White Cliffs stretch is about nine km long (at the middle of the stretch there is a descent to a hidden beach, and an ascent again).The route needs care and the view is stunning.
Walkers at some point pass by Aphrodite's Rock.

​Aphrodite's Rock is a legendary place, a landmark of Cyprus, where according to mythology, Aphrodite (or Venus for the Romans) was born out of the sea.  It is interesting to know that Cyprus was formed in a similar way, rising out of the sea, about six million years ago (Troodos mountains were in fact formed at the bottom of the sea some 90 million years ago, and have been rising since then).

The coast to the west of Aphrodite's Rock is considerably mellower and at stretches the explorers will likely continue their walk on the pebble beach. The day finishes at Palaipaphos (present day Kouklia village). Palaipaphos, together with Aphrodite's Rock, are part of Unesco World Heritage Paphos sites (together with Nea Paphos). It was the  first town called Paphos, before the Ptolemies founded Nea (new) Paphos about 17 km to the west. We transport walkers back to Pissouri bay for their rest and overnight stay.

Episkopi Morou Nerou village

Day 4 route is the longest of the trip with a length of slightly over 22 km and total ascent of 1,000 meters. At the same time, the route passes through two villages on the way, providing travellers for good break possibilities.
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Initially from Episkopi village, walkers go upstream for a couple of kilometers along Ezousa river, exploring the area near the riverbed. Subsequently they ascend to Kallepia village and walk past Stroumbi village. They pass through cultivated land mainly comprised of vineyards, almond and other orchards. They reach Laona plateau and for a stretch walk on its western edge, at points enjoying vistas of the west coast of Cyprus.

​The day ends at picturesque stone-built Kathikas village. There is a relatively large selection of village restaurants in Kathikas.

The road descending to Lara beach (just outside the route)

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On Day 6 walkers traverse the pristine Akamas peninsula enjoying glorious views initially of the west coast and subsequently, on the imposing Moutti Tis Sotiras peak, of the north west, and of the north coast, all the way to Pomos in the north east (the Akamas Panorama Walk).

The Akamas peninsula was according to Greek mythology the playground of Aphrodite. She would roam around and meet with Adonis, her lover. Walkers leave Akamas from small yet mythical Baths of Aphrodite cave. The walk is a bit over twenty (20) km long and starts at Drousheia village, from where it goes north. 
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Together with the biginning walk of the route, near Aphrodite's Rock, the end walk of the trip are the ones with the most dramatic, coastal vistas along the Aphrodisian Way.  

The White Cliffs of Pissouri

At Aphrodite's Rock

On Day 3 walkers start from Kouklia village (Palaipaphos) and head north west, in the process passing by the stone built village of Nikoklia and crossing the valleys of Diarizos and Xeros Potamos, coming in the end of the day close to the river bank at Ezousa Valley and the stone-built village of Episkopi Morou Norou, characterised by a huge monolith. Naturally the route consists of ascents and descents, though they are not very steep. In Xeros Potamos Valley, the route passes by the north edge of Asprokremmos manmade lake.
​Those who want to can sidetrack and for an extra walk of four km, they can visit Finikas, an abandoned Turkish Cypriot village, standing guard at the side of the lake. 

Walking upstream in Ezousa Valley

The Day 5 route is the shortest in the trip, providing travellers with the opportunity of exploring many of the lovely villages on the Laona plateau, and possibly mixing with the locals at village coffee shops. 
The route stays on the western edge of the plateau. It starts at Kathikas village and passes through Pano Arodes, Kato Arodes and Ineia villages, before finishing at Drousheia village, the last one before entering the ridge of Akamas peninsula from its south end. 
​For those who prefer to, we can extend the walk in a number of ways (eg by about ten km, to include Avakas Gorge to Lara beach, or a descent to Lara beach with a taxi ride - at an extra fee - from Lara beach to Droushia village).

The last stretches of the Aphrodisian Way

​​​On Day 7 morning, the package finishes. If travellers want, we can arrange a taxi for them, book additional nights, etc.
We highly recommend that travellers spend at least one more night on this trip. Akamas north coast would be great for relaxation and/or further exploration on foot, by boat, or otherwise. We would recommend Pissouri bay mostly for relaxation and beach going.
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​Enjoy the Aphrodisian Way!
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Summary of our services
We offer Independent Self–Guided Walkers interested in exploring beautiful Cyprus, a menu of services:

• Extensive information on our inhouse designed route that presents the best Cyprus has to offer, combining top elements of its cultural and natural heritage. We provide information on each day's walk and instructions to find one's way, as well as relevant useful information material on Cyprus.  We recommend the use of GPS data (which we can gladly provide) as an excellent addition to maps and navigation tables.
• Booking of appropriate accommodation on the route, where possible in small, family run establishments.
• Booking of meals, including breakfast, dinner (as per the package) and optionally lunch packs , with a high element of local cuisine, where available.
• Arranging all applicable luggage transport.
• Arranging transfers to location of arrival/departure and other transfers if required.
• On the ground support for the independent walker.

The package
It includes the following:
a) Information on the walking routes and nearby attractions (as well as public bus info where applicable), in the form of GPS readings, electronic material (PDF), printed material (at an additional fee) and/or other media.
b) Transportation
     1) For Day 2 pick up from the end of the walk at Kouklia village and return to Pissouri Bay
     2) For Day 3 morning transport from Pissouri Bay to Kouklia to continue the walk
     3) For Day 3 afternoon transport from the end of the walk at Episkopi Morou Nerou to Ktima (old part of Paphos)
      4) For Day 4 morning transport from Ktima to Episkopi Morou Nerou to continue the walk

 c) Accommodation as follows:  

1) First and second night at five star Columbia Resort in Pissouri Bay
2) Third night in Axiothea hotel or similar in the old part of Paphos town
3) Fourth night in an agrotouristic studio or similar in Kathikas village
4) Fifth night in Droushia village (Droushia Heights hotel - if not available then Palates hotel)
5) Sixth night near Baths of Aphrodite in Akamas (Aphrodite Beach Hotel or Souli beach hotel, if no availability at Aphrodite Beach Hotel)

d) Breakfast for all accommodation (in Kathikas village this is arranged at a village coffeeshop/restaurant)
e) Luggage transfer as required
f) On the ground support

Notes : 
1) The package does NOT include transport to the first hotel at Pissouri Bay or from the last hotel near Akamas. We can arrange such transportation upon request.
2) We have agreements with more hotels in the rare case that the rooms in the above organisations are occupied. In this event walkers will have the option to accept alternative accommodation, reschedule or cancel the booking.  
​3) We can customise accommodation arrangements. Eg, use lower category accommodation in the first two nights, etc.
    
Prices
The price for the Standard package (1st November 2021 - 31st March 2022):
  a)  two walkers travel together on a Double Occupancy basis is 620 Euro per person
  b) two single travellers is 835 Euro per person
  c) a solo traveller is 990 Euro per person
It should be noted that we an offer an alternative, cheaper package (let's call it 'Alternative Package') that has instead, six accommodations along the way, with only one accommodation at Pissouri Bay (not a five star hotel) and no accommodation in old Paphos. If requested, we can provide relevant information and (lower) prices. Yet we believe that our standard package enhances the experience for the traveller and is very good value for money. 
The Alternative Package would be appropriate if one wants to do the route in the period between April 1st to October 31st, as the price for our Standard Package for this period would be significantly higher, compared to the price for the period November 1st to March 31st.

   

CANCELLATION POLICY

If Customers cancel:
Cancellation charges for a booked trip:

• Until Day 31 prior to travel date: 100 Euro per booking
• Day 30 to Day 16 prior to travel date : 20%
• Day 15 to Day 3 prior to travel date: 50%
• Day 2 prior to Day 1 prior to travel date: 80%
• Day 0 of the trip onward: 100%

If Cyprus Walks Etc cancels
If Cyprus Walks Etc cancels for severe expected weather or other reason we provide our customers with full refund for the services paid to us. Where possible we provide alternatives, which customers can select instead of refunds if they prefer.


TRAVEL INSURANCE
We expect that all users of our services will make all necessary arrangements to, and will for the duration of their trip with us, be covered by adequate insurance related to our services (personal accident, medical expenses, etc).

​​Please keep in mind that walkers may buy services from us for a shorter version of the trip (eg, a 4-day walk instead of the 6-day walk) or they may extend their trip staying at any of the accommodation options on our route for more than one day.