A dream village called Lofou in the heart of Cyprus

It was just days before my visit with my colleagues to Cyprus that I realized that I should spend some days alone on the European side of this island and do some more sightseeing after our geological field trip. Field trips themselves contribute a lot to seeing a large part of the country apart from geology.  Still, I was searching on the internet where I can visit apart from popular places such as Paphos, Larnaca and Ayia Napa. I wanted to stay in a traditional house in a village somewhere in the country and came across the village of Lofou. I was impressed with the place and went forward with booking a stay at a traditional house situated in this village.

                           Traditional houses in Lofou  

      

I did not find much time to check how I would be reaching this village after my field trip and on the day before the visit, I found that buses travel from the city of Limassol to Lofou only three times during the day. By then, I had realized that public transport was not quite common in Cyprus, but this news was peculiar to me (even though I liked the adventure part!). 

The classic architecture of Lofou stone houses

The village is located on a small hill and locked between a series of surrounding hills. The name of the village itself takes after the Greek word 'Lofos', which means 'hill'. Therefore, don't be surprised to go uphill and downhill to get around the village!

As Lofou is situated behind hills and away from the main roads that connect different towns, this place really can give you the feeling of being in a strange land in the middle of nowhere. More strange to me was that I hardly met anyone apart from the hotel owner that evening, after my checking in at 17:00. Being on my own in this village, I could spend a lot of time for myself in a quiet atmosphere. 

A walk up the streets of Lofou                

There are some attractions such as the neoclassical school and the old church with Gothic remnants, but what attracted me the most is just the structure of the village- its narrow streets with cobblestones and stone houses stacked so close to each other on opposite sides of the road. There are small taverns and cafes to stop by and one can also get to taste the local wine of Lofou, which is popular in Cyprus. There is also a nice walking trail that can take you around the outskirts of the village. 

Outside a bar where there is a small pavement that leads to some stone houses

The village was already quiet during sunset.  The only sound that I could hear was my camera clicking and some occasional cars that passed through the village or on a nearby hill. I found a spot that the hotel owner suggested to me, to have a good view of the village. I don't remember how long I stayed at this spot to see the sunset, but I remember that I had one of my best times during solo travel.

                                                                    Sunset over the village of Lofou     

                                                                          

The story of the enchanting village of Lofou is not over yet! 

Look forward to my next post 😃