Why this ride
From Kofínou it runs 257 km to Kofínou; allow about 5 h 35 of riding. The stops in between: Painted Churches in the Troodos Region, Church of Timios Stavros, Church of Stavros and Church of Panayia.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Choirokoitia and Church of Panayia
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 257 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 35
- 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 Timios Stavros.
3. Church of Timios Stavros
The painted churches of the Troodos mountains look plain from outside. Squat stone boxes with steep timber roofs, built that way to shed the snow, they hide inside some of the finest Byzantine frescoes in the Mediterranean, and nine of them were listed by UNESCO in 1985, with a tenth added later. The Church of Timios Stavros, the Holy Cross, at Pelendri, is one of the group, with frescoes from the fourteenth century that show scenes of the life of Christ, in the dark blues and ochres of the period, and an interior lit by only a little daylight so that the figures seem to glow.
Read the complete Church of Timios Stavros write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 67 km into the recorded legs you reach Church of Timios Stavros. Next is Church of Stavros.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Church of Panayia.
5. Church of Panayia
The churches of the Troodos mountains look, from outside, like barns. In the high, cool country of the island's interior, where snow can fall in winter, builders covered their churches with a second, steeply pitched timber roof of tiles to protect the older domed buildings underneath, and the result is a plain, sturdy exterior that gives no hint of the paintings within. Inside, walls and ceilings are covered with Byzantine frescoes, some from the eleventh century and later, showing saints, angels and scenes of the life of Christ in rich, deep colours. Ten of these churches are listed by UNESCO.
Read the complete Church of Panayia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Church of Panayia sits at 88 km, about halfway. Next is back through Church of Stavros.
6. 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 comes up about 162 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Church of Timios Stavros.
7. back through Church of Timios Stavros
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Church of Timios Stavros write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 189 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Church of Timios Stavros. Next is back through Painted Churches in the Troodos Region.
8. 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, late in the day. Next is Choirokoitia.
9. 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
The route ends here after 257 km.
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 Timios Stavros
Painted Churches in the Troodos Region → Church of Timios Stavros is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of Timios Stavros to Church of Stavros
Church of Timios Stavros → Church of Stavros is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of Stavros to Church of Panayia
Church of Stavros → Church of Panayia is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of Panayia to back through Church of Stavros
Church of Panayia → back through Church of Stavros is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Church of Stavros to back through Church of Timios Stavros
back through Church of Stavros → back through Church of Timios Stavros is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Church of Timios Stavros to back through Painted Churches in the Troodos Region
back through Church of Timios Stavros → back through Painted Churches in the Troodos Region is 23 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.