Why this ride
245 km from Kakopetriá to Kakopetriá, about 4 h 59 of riding. It goes by way of Church of Stavros, Choirokoitia and back through Church of Stavros. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ayios Ionannis and Choirokoitia
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 245 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 59
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Ayios Ionannis
Ayios Ionannis here means the monastery of Saint John Lambadistis, at Kalopanagiotis, a village in the Marathasa valley on the northern side of the Troodos mountains. It is a strange and lovely building, three churches joined together under one big wooden roof, each added in a different century, so that stepping from one to the next is like walking through the history of Cypriot painting. Frescoes cover nearly every wall, from the Byzantine saints of the twelfth century to the more elaborate cycles of the fifteenth, in colours that glow in the dim light. It is one of the painted churches of the Troodos, listed by UNESCO in 1985.
Read the complete Ayios Ionannis write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ayios Ionannis is where the day begins. Next is Church of Stavros.
2. Church of Stavros
High in the Troodos mountains of Cyprus, in a quiet valley below the village of Platanistasa, stands a small church with a steep, pitched timber roof that comes almost to the ground, making it look more like a barn than a place of worship. This is Stavros tou Agiasmati, the Church of the Holy Cross, and inside it holds some of the finest late Byzantine frescoes on the island, painted in 1494 by Philip Goul, an artist whose name is recorded in a dedicatory inscription. The scenes from the life of Christ and the legend of the True Cross, rich in colour and detail, cover every wall. The church is one of ten painted churches in the Troodos region listed by UNESCO.
Read the complete Church of Stavros write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Church of Stavros comes up about 63 km into the recorded legs. Next is Choirokoitia.
3. Choirokoitia
Long before the Greeks, the Phoenicians or the Romans arrived in Cyprus, people lived on a hillside above the Maroni river in the southern part of the island, in round stone houses with flat roofs, packed close together inside a defensive wall. Choirokoitia is a Neolithic settlement dating back to around the seventh millennium BC, one of the most important prehistoric sites in the eastern Mediterranean. The inhabitants farmed, herded animals and buried their dead under the floors of their houses. Several of the round houses have been reconstructed near the entrance, giving a vivid sense of how they lived. The site received UNESCO recognition in 1998.
Read the complete Choirokoitia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 128 km into the recorded legs you reach Choirokoitia. Next is back through Church of Stavros.
4. back through Church of Stavros
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Church of Stavros write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Church of Stavros, late in the day. Next is Ayios Ionannis.
5. Ayios Ionannis
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ayios Ionannis write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Ayios Ionannis. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Ayios Ionannis to Church of Stavros
Ayios Ionannis → Church of Stavros is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of Stavros to Choirokoitia
Church of Stavros → Choirokoitia is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Choirokoitia to back through Church of Stavros
Choirokoitia → back through Church of Stavros is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Church of Stavros to Ayios Ionannis
back through Church of Stavros → Ayios Ionannis is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.