North Cyprus: Walking, Birds, Flowers and Crusader Castles

By mid April the eastern Mediterranean is already benefiting from warm sunshine and clear blue skies. An extraordinary profusion of wildflowers carpets the landscape and huge numbers of northbound migrant birds pass daily, adding a special dimension to walks in the dramatic mountain and coastal scenery.

With few visitors and only low-key development; monuments ranging from Phoenician and Bronze Age sites to Venetian fortifications and splendid Crusader castles; select comfortable hotels and excellent Turkish Cypriot cuisine and wines, the north part of the island is a tranquil and rewarding destination.

TRIP ITINERARY

DAY 1

D included

After arriving at Larnaca airport we drive through the mountains (1.5 hrs) to our hotel where we are based for the next 6 nights. This very comfortable hotel (which was recently voted the best hotel in N. Cyprus) is owned by a particularly welcoming family, has an excellent Slow Food restaurant, and is beautifully situated beside the 13C Bellapais Abbey. It has an attractive pool, gardens scented with jasmine and orange blossom, and superb views down to the coast.

DAY 2

B, L, D included

We set off this morning to explore the romantic mountain-top Crusader castle of St. Hilarion, with its extravagantly crenellated walls and towers and long history as the summer residence of the Kings of Cyprus. From here we walk gradually down the path which leads to the whitewashed village of Karaman - wild iris and sages, anemones and rock roses are all about us and bird species include Sardinian, olivaceous and the endemic Cyprus warblers. We picnic - the first of the summer fruits and salads, sesame bread, sharp flavoured sheep's cheeses and local olives - then follow a quiet track which is particularly rewarding for orchids. Dinner in a traditional village restaurant is a typical meze, an array of small dishes reflecting the centuries of Turkish, Lebanese and Greek influences.

DAY 3

B, L, D included

Cape Korucam to the west is an unspoilt area of maquis and small carob orchards which is excellent for diurnal migration in spring: bee-eaters, woodchat shrikes, hoopoes, black-eared wheatears and golden orioles. We walk a circular route past the lighthouse seeing many orchids on the heathland, picnic, then have a free afternoon to explore the magnificent gothic ruin of Bellapais Abbey, and Bellapais village, once Lawrence Durrell's home and the setting for ‘Bitter Lemons’.

DAY 4

B, L, D included

A long morning walk (on an easy forestry track) in the mountains above Lapta village offers marvellous scenery and endemic species of both birds and flowers, including the Cyprus pied wheatear and myriad orchids. We enjoy lunch overlooking the yacht-filled harbour in Kyrenia and have a free afternoon to explore: the fine 9C Byzantine castle with its subsequent Lusignan and Venetian additions; an excellent Shipwreck Museum exhibiting a cargo ship wrecked in the 4C BC (complete with its cargo of almonds and wine amphorae; or shopping for ceramics, kilims and locally woven baskets.

DAY 5

B, L, D included

This morning we stroll from the hotel down an ancient cobbled track once used by the Crusaders, then drive high up into the Besparmak mountains to walk on a well graded track through a beautiful natural forest of Calabrian pine, the indigenous Evergreen Cypress and Eastern Strawberry Tree. Birds such as masked shrikes, Cretzschmar's buntings and great spotted cuckoos are readily observable as they vie to establish territories and raptors, including goshawk and peregrine, are often soaring above the crags. After visiting the North Cyprus Herbarium, we return to our hotel for some time to relax in the gardens.

DAY 6

B, L, D included

We drive round to the south side of the Kyrenia range for a day looking specifically for orchids with a local naturalist. Our walk follows the escarpment edge (good for little owls and raptor watching too) and we hope to find Holy Orchid, Bug Orchid, Ploughshare Orchid, Pyramidal Orchid, Giant fennel and many anemones, as well as the wild asparagus that all Cypriots collect to eat in the spring. Dinner this evening, within the floodlit ruins of Bellapais Abbey, is a memorable experience.

DAY 7

B, L, D included

En route to the Karpaz peninsula, the island ‘panhandle’ which extends northeast towards the coast of Anatolia, we visit the superbly sited Crusader castle of Kantara. Traditionally considered to be where Commenus surrendered to Richard the Lionheart in 1191, the castle enjoys commanding views, with Alpine swifts and very occasional griffon vultures floating above the cedar forests. We walk gradually down a track with long views, then investigate a small marsh which usually holds good numbers of waders, purple herons and glossy ibis as we make our way to a small Karpaz village where we stay the night in an Ottoman house, recently converted as a sustainable tourism project.

DAY 8

B, L, D included

This morning we have the opportunity to immerse ourselves in Cypriot village life, learning to bake traditional Cypriot bread in a brush-fired oven, to milk a goat (optional!), to make fresh goat and sheep's cheeses, and the preparation of organic vegetable dishes - culminating by eating everything for lunch. We also explore the village on foot, seeing the olive oil mill and village handicrafts (artefacts carved from olive, juniper and cypress, wild fennel stools and hand woven bags). In the afternoon we walk down from a ridge to the sea, enjoying marvellous views and looking out for golden orioles and flocks of bee-eaters.

DAY 9

B, L, D included

After a short drive, we wander through the impressive ruins of Salamis, reputedly founded by Teucer on his return from the Trojan War, walk or swim from the sandy beach, and visit the monastery of St. Barnabas, now an icon museum. In the mediaeval centre of Famagusta the 14C Lusignan cathedral was converted into the Lala Mustafa Pasha mosque by the Ottomans, following the terrible siege of 1571. We admire the colossal Venetian fortifications (Leonardo da Vinci acted as consultant) and Othello's Tower which inspired Shakespeare, then enjoy tea and delicious Turkish pastries before travelling to the far end of the Karpaz peninsula. We walk for a couple of hours before settling into our final small hotel, an imaginative conversion of a group of traditional stone village houses.

DAY 10

B, L, D included

We spend the day exploring this remote and unspoilt peninsula, virtually uninhabited and a proposed national park. Colourful rollers perch on olive trees and the curious grating call of the black francolin is the only sound. ‘Falls’ of migrants can occur, with good numbers of larks, pipits, wagtails and warblers, and the very rare Audouin's Gull breeds just offshore. After visiting the Greek Orthodox church of St. Andreas we swim and walk on a delightful long sandy beach. Dinner may well be a classic Cypriot dish of lamb, herbs and vegetables, baked for hours in a clay oven, accompanied by robust red wine from the Turkish mainland.

DAY 11

B, L, D included

Continuing our exploration of Karpaz we walk on paths through the aromatic maquis (where we often surprise the famous wild donkeys), looking out for turban buttercups and Cyprus gladioli, and observing raptor migration overhead (especially falcons, harriers and buzzards). Red-rumped swallows swoop around us as we enjoy lunch, and perhaps a swim, beside the 10C Byzantine church of Ayios Philon, its ruined mosaic flooring half smothered in wildflowers. In the afternoon we walk a sandy track through pines and then along the coast before returning to our hotel for a farewell dinner in the village.

DAY 12

B included

We follow small cart tracks between the carob and olive groves, passing fields where hay is already being harvested and red-footed falcons often gather to feed on crickets. Driving west, we pause to join the sheep wandering the mosaic floors of the delightfully bucolic 5C basilica of Ayas Trias before a light lunch overlooking a small fishing harbour, and on to Larnaca airport for flights home.

Price includes:

All accommodation for Days 1 through 12, on a double shared basis

All meals (with wine at lunches and dinners) as listed in the daily notation

All land transportation in a private vehicle as described except during free periods

All entrance and sightseeing fees except during free periods

Gratuities for hotel and restaurant staff

Visa and Health Requirements

Currently all visitors require a valid passport, but not a visa, for entry to North Cyprus. At present there are no specific and compulsory health requirements for entry to North Cyprus. You may also wish to check the advice given to travellers by the Department of Health and the FCO.

Insurance

It is essential, and a condition of booking, that you protect yourself with a suitable travel insurance policy as soon as you book a trip. Follow this link for information on a policy available to UK residents.

If you are already insured, or a non-UK resident, please inform us of your policy at the time of booking.