Cyprus has a church for every season, and the finest are hidden in the folds of the Troodos mountains. These small, plain stone chapels, with steep timber roofs that stretch over the older walls like a wide-brimmed hat to shed the winter snow, hide inside a world of colour: Byzantine frescoes, painted from the eleventh century to the sixteenth, of saints with huge dark eyes, scenes from the Gospels and the Virgin enthroned. A group of these painted churches in the Troodos region was listed as a World Heritage property in 1985. The Panayia, the Virgin, is the dedication of many of them, and the stop on this ride is among the foothills on the northern side of the range.
The frescoes were made by itinerant painters, some trained in Constantinople, others local, who worked on the walls with natural pigments and a lively sense of the human face. The painters often added portraits of donors, a monk, a knight or a family, kneeling at the feet of the saints. Light enters through narrow windows, and the interiors are dim and cool, with a smell of old wood, wax and stone, so wait for your eyes to adjust before looking up. The churches are often locked, and a caretaker keeps the key, so a small donation is appropriate, and photography may be restricted.
The Troodos range is a joy for riders, with smooth, well-surfaced roads that twist through pine forests and past terraced villages, with long views to the sea and a series of tight, well-engineered bends. Mount Olympus, at 1,952 metres, is the highest point on the island, and in winter it can be covered in snow, with a small ski area. Traffic on the island drives on the left, a legacy of the British period, and the roads are well signed in Greek and English. In summer, the mountains are cooler than the coast, and in spring, the wild flowers and almond blossom are lovely.
Lefka, thirteen kilometres by the map, is on the other side of the buffer zone, so for fuel the plain around Nicosia and the mountain villages on the southern side are the places to look, and it is wise to fill up before leaving the main roads. Local specialties include halloumi, the grilling cheese, honey, wine from the high villages and loukoumi, the soft sweet known elsewhere as Turkish delight. Carry water and a layer for the evening, since the mountains cool quickly after sunset.