exploring & escapades

The Akamas Peninsula is the last untouched corner of Cyprus. No cars allowed, literally. You need a four-wheeler to travel within its borders, unless you are on foot.

We *did* originally plan to spend a day off-roading across the area… that plan quickly dissolved at the airport when we learned that the rental car company had given our four-wheel drive reservation away to someone else. But it was (really) a blessing in disguise. We took the peninsula on foot instead, and it was one of the most memorable parts of our entire trip.

For Akamas, you can enter from either the south or the east. We did the latter, first passing through the seaside towns of Polis and Latsi along the way. Not far from Latsi, there’s a parking lot at the edge of the park – and the cutest little restaurant (pictured above). After a quick stop for pre-hiking coffee & a snack of Halloumi and tzatziki, we set off on the Aphrodite Trail, a 7km loop up into the hills and back down along the cliffs. 

It was so quiet and so fresh, magical, as if we were wandering through our own mythological adventure. We passed the legendary Baths of Aphrodite, unnamed ruins in the mountainside. There were goats. And then, at the highest point of the trail, we veered off the path to climb further still to the very peak.

That view. An entire piece of an island, no longer shielded by the treeline. No people, no cars, no buildings. Just the waves, crashing against the rocks on the coast for no one to see. 

It was hypnotic and hard to leave.