More Akamas More Laona
a 5-nights walking trip that combines 2 walks in Akamas with 2 walks on the Laona Plateau
Standard Adventure Average length 10 km per day (4 hours)
Short Walks Adventure Average length 7 km per day (2.5 hours) - options to make it shorter
This is a 5 nights self-guided walking trip that combines two walks on the rustic Laona Plateau with two walks in beautiful Akamas. The program includes at least a part of a Cyprus Top5 walking route and other nature trails that offer great vistas. The Laona villages are rustic and laid back, with few remaining inhabitants, traditional coffee shops and restaurants, interesting small new museums and great vistas. We offer two versions of this adventure. The Standard Adventure and the Short Walks Adventure. The Short Walks Adventure was composed for people who prefer shorter walks in general, and also for those who want to walk in summer, where longer walks may be uncomfortable in the summer heat. Both adventures on the Laona Plateau, dotted with well preserved traditional stone-built villages include a cultural walk (Droushia - Kathikas).
In the Standard Adventure the average walking distance per day is abt 11.5 kilometers. One of the walks passes by a waterfall and a medieval chapel. We offer this program all year round except for July and August.
For the Short Walks Adventure, the average walking distance per day is abt 7 kilometers. At the same time the Droushia - Kathikas Walk, could be cut significantly, as it passes through a number of stone-built traditional villages connected by public bus, further decreasing walking distances and walking times, especially if one wants to do the adventure in July or August. We recommend this program for all year round. In summer we suggest to complete the walks in the morning, when it is cooler. At the end of July at 07:00 the average temperature on the routes is between 23 and 25 degrees Celsius. At 09:00 it is between 26 and 28 degrees Celsius, still relatively comfortable for most people.
The area is lovely to walk and explore also in winter.
Standard Walks
Day of Trip | Expected Average hours for the walk | Distance in km | Total ascent (m) | Total descent (m) | Average elevation (m) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Day 2 | 3.5 | 10.5 | 300 | 250 | 600 | Droushia - Kathikas walk - a walk on the Laona plateau passing also through stone-built villages. |
Day 3 | 4.5 | 14.5 | 650 | 650 | 450 | Nature and culture combo - Gkremiotis Waterfall, Kritou Terra village and Ayia Paraskevi medieval chapel. |
Day 4 | 3.5 | 9.5 | 350 | 450 | 300 | Pissouromoutti trail and Smiyies trail ending at stone-built Neo Chorio village |
Day 5 | 4 | 11 | 500 | 500 | 200 | Top 5 walk - Adonis&Aphrodite coastal trails combo. It can be shortened (eg only Aphrodite - 7.5 km) or extended. |
Average | 4 | 11.5 | 450 | 450 | 400 | Combo of Cyprus beautiful nature and rich cultural heritage |
The itinerary (summary) - please remember that we have other options for shorter or even different routes in the package
Day 1 - Arrival at the accommodation in Droushia village. Travellers can choose packages with taxi from Paphos airport, Larnaca airport or no taxi (overnight in Droushia village).
Day 2 - Walk the linear route between Droushia village and Kathikas village - return on the relatively frequent public bus (or in a taxi at an extra price) (overnight in Droushia village)
Day 3 - Walk on a circular route from Droushia. For the Standard Adventure the walk is through Kritou Terra village, Gkremiotis waterfall, Ayia Paraskevi medieval chapel and back again through Kritou Terra village. For the Short Walks Adventure the circular walk is towards the north, past big boulders. (overnight in Droushia village)
Day 4 - Taxi ride to start - For the Standard Adventure walk also the Smiyies (the short version is the default) circular trail. For both, including the Short Walks Adventure walk the Pissouromoutti and then to picturesque stone-built Neo Chorio village. Taxi from Neo Chorio village to the hotel on the coast.
Day 5 - Walk or take the bus to Baths of Aphrodite, the start of the walk - In the Standard Adventure walk on a combo of Cyprus Top5 Aphrodite and Adonis trails, or if preferred, on only one of the two or a longer combo of the two. In the Short Walks Adventure walk the north west part of Aphrodite trail. Take the public bus back or if possible walk to the hotel (overnight on the coast west of Latchi)
Day 6 - Finish
Detailed Itinerary
On Day 1, walkers (who bought the relevant taxi airport package) are transferred by taxi from the (Paphos or Larnaca) airport to their chosen accommodation where they stay for three nights. Depending on the time of arrival visitors could relax and explore the area around the village of Droushia. They may also explore Polis (relatively frequent public buses).
Day 2 walk is on the Laona Plateau at an elevation of 600 meters, and offers vistas to the west coast of Akamas and to the bay of Chrysochou.
The route connects 4 stone-built villages, providing opportunities to see traditional village architecture, try Cyprus coffee, and visit a number of museums, including the Sea Turtle Museum in Inia, the Knights museum and the Geological museum in Pano Arodes, and the Akamas Information center in Kathikas. The route also passes by a winery near Kathikas.
The walk finishes at Kathikas, home to many restaurants on the island, that provides the opportunity for a well-deserved Cyprus village lunch, after the day's walk.
The walk can be great year round, showcasing the change of seasons, from green fields and wildflowers in bloom in winter and much of spring, to golder colours and some vineyards in summer, and more earthy colours in autumn.
Even though the route is the same in the Standard Adventure and the Short Walks Adventure, it should be noted that if travellers prefer, it can be cut significantly as they can finish at any one of the Laona Plateau villages. It should be noted that there is a relatively frequent public bus that runs through all four villages.
On Day 4 we propose a walk on the ridge of the Akamas peninsula, that presents travellers also with part of the west (Lara coastline). Our recommendation is to do an 'eight' route starting and finishing at the Smiyies picnic site, the legendary meeting spot of Adonis and Aphrodite (then the travellers walk to Neo Chorio village). The default route is about 9.5 km long and is based on the short version of the Smiyies trail and on the Pissouromoutti trail. The route can be easily extended by a couple of km if one does the long version of Smiyies trail instead of the short one. The route presents walkers with glorious views both of the west coast as well as of the Bay of Chrysochous. A significant cultural component of the trip is a stop at the church of Agios Minas, what remains of a medieval monastery on the site. The last part of the walking route passes by cultivated land (that hosts also carob trees, one of four main traditional cultivated plants in Cyprus, before ending at the center of stone-built Neo Chorio, which adds a taste of traditional village life to the experience.
In the Short Walks Adventure, we skip Smiyies trail and only complete Pissouromoutti trail, which offers better panoramic views, especially towards Lara coast.
On Day 3 in the Standard Adventure the travellers do a circular walk towards the east. It involves descending the Laona Plateau through the village of Kritou Terra, past the small waterfall of Kremmiotis (and back via Kritou Terra village again). One can extend the walk down to the tiny sandstone medieval chapel of Ayia Paraskevi (found in a nearby gorge - about 2 extra km, and a bit over 150 meters of ascent and descent). The descent is followed by an ascent again through Kritou Terra and back to the top of the Laona Plateau again. The historic village of Kritou Terra has a number of attractions, including the springs where ladies would do their laundry and the first casino in Cyprus, from the 19th century.
Kremmiotis waterfall has a small natural pool. The route is in rural Cyprus, mainly through cultivated land. At stretches it offers vistas towards the Bay of Polis Chrysochous. Ayia Paraskevi medieval chapel, found in the Djimenos Gorge is a highlight of the route. On the way back to Kritou Terra one passes by some caves and catacombs.
The Short Walks Adventure instead includes a circular walk towards the north of Droushia. The walk is mainly on cement roads and the shortest version is just 5.5 km long, making it doable for most people even during July and August. There are superb views towards Chrysochou Bay and also towards the ridge of the Akamas peninsula. During winter and spring the countryside is full of wildflowers.
On Day 5 in the Standard Adventure walkers do a combination of Adonis circular trail and Aphrodite circular trail. The route is excellent all through the year (more difficult in summer), including winter, when the place is largely green and full of wildflowers.
According to legend Aphrodite and Adonis regularly met in Akamas. After walking up the east stretch of Adonis trail walkers pass by the ruins of a medieval monastery and a huge old oak tree. The route ascends onto the imposing Moutti Tis Sotiras peak. Walkers enjoy glorious views of the north west coast, and of the north coast, upto Pomos village towards the north east.
The descent from the peak is probably one of the very best walking routes on the island.
The last part of the route is on the coastal dirt road, on the cliffs. The walk ends at tiny and mythical Baths of Aphrodite.
In the Short Walks Adventure explorers only do the low part of the west stretch of Aphrodite trail, which still offers great views towards the north west and north coast, as well as the west part of the coastal road of Akamas north coast, on the cliffs.
On Day 6 morning, the package ends. If travellers want we can book additional nights, etc, otherwise (for those who bought a package with taxi to the airport) we arrange a taxi for them.
Summary of our services
We offer Independent Self–Guided Walkers interested in exploring beautiful Cyprus, a menu of services:
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Information on our inhouse designed route that presents much of 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 provide GPS data as the basic navigation tool (usually on the travellers' mobile phone). We also provide information of the route on Google Earth imagery.
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Booking of appropriate accommodation on the route, where possible in small, family run establishments.
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Booking of meals, including breakfast, dinner (as per the package) and optionally lunch packs , with a high element of local cuisine, where available.
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Arranging all applicable luggage transport.
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Arranging transfers to location of arrival/departure and other transfers if required.
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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 1 transport from the airport (Paphos airport or Larnaca airport) or no airport transport, depending on the package bought
2) For Day 2 return, travellers are expected to use the relatively frequent public bus between Kathikas village and Droushia village. If instead a taxi is preferred (at an added fee), please let us know.
3) For Day 4, taxi will transfer the travellers with their luggage to the hotel on the coast, and then a taxi ride to start - Walk the Smiyies (long or short version) circular trail for the Standard Adventure. For both Adventures walk the Pissouromoutti and then to picturesque stone-built Neo Chorio village. Taxi from Neo Chorio village to the hotel on the coast.
5) For Day 6, transport to the airport (Paphos airport or Larnaca airport or no airport transport, depending on the package bought)
c) Accommodation as follows:
First three nights in Droushia village (Droushia Heights hotel or Sappho Manor or Palates Hotel if no availability at Droushia Heights hotel).
Last two nights at Aphrodite Beach hotel (or Souli Beach Hotel if no availability).
d) Breakfast for the five mornings
e) On the ground support
Notes :
1) We have agreements with more hotels in the 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.
Prices until the end of 2026
We offer the package throughout the year, but we do not recommend walking during summer (unless one does the short versions and it is managed well - eg start at 7:00).
The price for the standard package using (taxi from and to) Paphos airport, when
a) two walkers travel together on a Double Occupancy, bed and breakfast basis is 520 Euro per person.
b) two walkers travel together on a Single Room, bed and breakfast basis is 640 Euro per person.
c) a single traveller on bed and breakfast basis is 800 Euro per person.
The price for the standard package using (taxi from and to) Larnaca airport, when
a) two walkers travel together on a Double Occupancy, bed and breakfast basis is 625 Euro per person.
b) two walkers travel together on a Single Room, bed and breakfast basis is 745 Euro per person.
c) a single traveller on bed and breakfast basis is 1,010 Euro per person.
The price for the standard package using no (taxi from and to an) airport, when
a) two walkers travel together on a Double Occupancy, bed and breakfast basis is 450 Euro per person.
b) two walkers travel together on a Single Room, bed and breakfast basis is 570 Euro per person.
c) a single traveller on bed and breakfast basis is 660 Euro per person.
We can easily extend the package to more days. We have additional walking route that we can arrange for explorers.
There are surcharges during specific periods (Easter, Christmas).: 25 Euro per person for double/twin and 60 Euro for single rooms.
INQUIRIES
Please contact us via phone (or whatsapp or viber) at +35799458366, or email at phivos@cypruswalksetc.com with your questions.
BOOKING PROCESS
After one books a trip we enquire with the hotel(s) and (provided that there is availability) book (and issue an Invoice to you to pay a non refundable one hundred Euro deposit within a couple of days. If the payment is not made within a couple of days, the booking is cancelled. The balance must be paid at least more than a month before the start of the trip. If the payment is not made on time, the booking is cancelled (the deposit is not refunded). You will be in due course receive relevant information with regards to the payment and the trip.
CANCELLATION POLICY
If Customers cancel:
Cancellation charges for a booked trip:
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Until Day 31 prior to travel date: 100 Euro per booking
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Day 30 to Day 16 prior to travel date : 25%
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Day 15 to Day 3 prior to travel date: 50%
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Day 2 prior to Day 1 prior to travel date: 80%
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Day 0 of the trip onward: 100%
If Cyprus Walks Etc cancels
If Cyprus Walks Etc cancels, in the unlikely case that we find no accommodation, or for other reason outside our control, 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 weeklong walk) or they may extend their trip staying at any of the accommodation options on our route for more than one day.