Why this ride
233 km from Kofínou to Kofínou, about 4 h 46 of riding. The stops in between: Painted Churches in the Troodos Region, Church of Ayios Nikolaos, Church of Ayia Sotira and back through Church of Ayios Nikolaos.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Choirokoitia and Church of Ayia Sotira
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 233 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 46
- 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. 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
Choirokoitia is where the day begins. Next is Painted Churches in the Troodos Region.
2. Painted Churches in the Troodos Region
From the outside they look like barns: low stone buildings with steep pitched roofs of flat tiles, sometimes covered by a second wooden roof to keep off the snow. Inside, every surface glows with Byzantine and post-Byzantine frescoes. The painted churches of the Troodos mountains in Cyprus, nine of them inscribed in 1985 and a tenth added in 2001, form one of the richest collections of Byzantine painting anywhere.
Read the complete Painted Churches in the Troodos Region write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Painted Churches in the Troodos Region comes up about 45 km into the recorded legs. Next is Church of Ayios Nikolaos.
3. Church of Ayios Nikolaos
Above the village of Kakopetria, on the slopes of the Troodos mountains in the middle of Cyprus, the Church of Ayios Nikolaos stands under a roof of its own. The name Agios Nikolaos tis Stegis means Saint Nicholas of the Roof, and the explanation is simple: the little Byzantine church was so precious, and the Troodos winters so wet, that a second, steeply pitched timber roof with tiles was built over the original to protect it. The church dates from around the eleventh century, and inside its walls are covered in frescoes from several different periods, from the Byzantine to the later Middle Ages.
Read the complete Church of Ayios Nikolaos write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 81 km into the recorded legs you reach Church of Ayios Nikolaos. Next is Church of Ayia Sotira.
4. Church of Ayia Sotira
This point lies in the northern foothills of the Troodos range, in a landscape of dry stone terraces, carob and olive trees, and villages that tilt down towards the Nicosia plain. What I can say is that the villages around it, Peléndri and Kyperoúnta among them, belong to one of the richest church regions in the eastern Mediterranean. The Troodos painted churches, ten of them on the UNESCO list, are small, steep-roofed stone buildings that hide Byzantine frescoes inside, and one of them, the Timios Stavros, stands at Peléndri.
Read the complete Church of Ayia Sotira write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Church of Ayia Sotira, about halfway. Next is back through Church of Ayios Nikolaos.
5. back through Church of Ayios Nikolaos
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Church of Ayios Nikolaos 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 Ayios Nikolaos sits at 119 km, about halfway. Next is back through Painted Churches in the Troodos Region.
6. back through Painted Churches in the Troodos Region
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Painted Churches in the Troodos Region write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Painted Churches in the Troodos Region comes up about 189 km into the recorded legs. Next is Choirokoitia.
7. Choirokoitia
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
Choirokoitia closes the day.
Leg by leg
Choirokoitia to Painted Churches in the Troodos Region
Choirokoitia → Painted Churches in the Troodos Region is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Painted Churches in the Troodos Region to Church of Ayios Nikolaos
Painted Churches in the Troodos Region → Church of Ayios Nikolaos is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of Ayios Nikolaos to Church of Ayia Sotira
Church of Ayios Nikolaos → Church of Ayia Sotira is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of Ayia Sotira to back through Church of Ayios Nikolaos
Church of Ayia Sotira → back through Church of Ayios Nikolaos is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Church of Ayios Nikolaos to back through Painted Churches in the Troodos Region
back through Church of Ayios Nikolaos → back through Painted Churches in the Troodos Region is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Painted Churches in the Troodos Region to Choirokoitia
back through Painted Churches in the Troodos Region → Choirokoitia is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.