Cyprus Walking Friends

The Medieval Bridges

The most easterly bridge and the smallest is the Elia built on a tributary of the Diarizos River, the second and largest the Kelefos is further west on the main Diarizos River, while the third; the Roudhia spans the next major river further to the west called the Xeros. We have created a series of options to allow our customers to see one, two, or all three bridges in a day, but at the same time have a chance to walk through the beautiful forests to the bridges rather than arriving by car.

Option 1. This is a linear walk from near Mandria Troodos, via an undulating forest trail twisting along the edge of river valleys thick with vegetation and huge calabrian pines. The feeling of being in the wilds is intense. The last 30 minutes of the walk is on the second of the five “Venetian Bridges Nature Trails” laid out through the trees, which after much twisting and turning drops steeply to arrive out of nowhere it seems at the Kelefos Bridge. The Kelefos bridge sits on a glittering river with a pebble bed, small fish and crabs can be seen in the clear water and the light filters through the cover of alder and plane trees, in short it's beautiful! Time 2.5 hours

Option 2. This is a linear walk taking a longer route. Setting off north from the same start point as option 1 we descend through vineyards and orchards into a narrow but lush valley feed by a small stream that is thick with golden oak, plane, alder, ivy, dog roses, wild honeysuckle and more. After 30 minutes we emerge at a “mini” medieval bridge not marked on the map with its own falls, on the Phini River.

Climbing out of the river valley past fruit orchards of all types, we arrive at a wide forest trail, and head west. The calabrian pines and oaks here are huge but more widely spaced reaching up from the river valleys to catch the light over the high ridges all around. Look carefully and you can see the footprint of Moufflon who go down from the ridges to the streams at the valley bottom to drink in the early morning. It is not unusual in this area to catch site of a Moufflon or two crossing the trail.

The trail ends on a tarmac road near the Elia bridge, water rushing over the rocks beneath it. Sometimes on a cloudy day it seems gloomy, below huge rock cliffs weeping water. We walk now for a short period on this road under the cliffs with the river rushing far below on our right before ascending left for 15 minutes to reach the nature trail in option 1 taking us to the Kelefos Bridge. Time 3.5 hours.

Option 3. The Venetian Bridges Nature Trail. This beautiful trail laid out a few years ago by the Forestry Department consists of 5 nature trails of differing lengths, starting near the village of Kaminaria near Troodos, and finishing at the deserted Turkish village of Vretsia, to the north of Pafos.

The nature trails, including two short linking sections, total 13 miles in length, and they are marked all through the route with 131 signs giving descriptions of the flora and geology to be seen. Overall they offer access on narrow “walking only” paths to a wide variety of natural environments, that cannot be seen from any drivable track or road.

Trail One; Kamineria to the Elia Bridge 1 to 1.5 hours. The trail climbs gently though old orchards and vineyards on the slope of a river valley with some wonderful panoramic views, before passing into forest, and descending to the Elia Bridge. There are 39 signed examples of flora and rocks, including terebinth (turpentine), fig trees, wild honeysuckle and clematis, oriental plane, and black pine

Trail Two; Elia Bridge to Kelefos Bridge 1 to 1.5 hours. After a 1 mile road walk the trail climbs briefly before settling into a gentle undulating path through calabrian pine and hawthorn forest with around 20 signed descriptions. Near its end there are exceptional views down onto the valley of the Arminou Reservoir, which has an almost alpine feel in winter. Finally the trail drops suddenly to appear at the Kelefos Bridge on the Diarizos River.

Trail Three; Kelefos Bridge to Pera Vasa Picnic Site 0.5 to 0.75 hours. This short section climbs steeply through the rocks behind the Kelefos Bridge to appear at a rest and viewpoint directly above the Arminou Reservoir and Dam. From here it takes a winding forest track to the picnic site with around 10 example signs of flora and geology. At Pera Vasa, the trunk of the largest tree ever felled in the Pafos Forest is preserved.

Trail Four; Stavri to the Roudhias Bridge 2.5 to 3 hours. A 1 mile walk on a dirt road brings us to the fourth of the Nature Trails starting at a point called Stavri. This trail is the longest of the 5 and has 38 information signs. The trail initially winds through forest of pine, hawthorn and kermes oak, with the occasional remains of old vineyards. Quite suddenly we come upon a deep valley, and on the opposite side are the massive and imposing limestone cliffs 600 to700 feet high of the mountain of Ayios Ioannis, we track along the valley edge with the cliffs in view for sometime, before turning down over excellent examples of pillow lavas descending steeply through the pine forest to the shaded Roudhias Bridge on the Xeros River.

Trail Five; Roudhias Bridge to Vretsia 1.5 to 2 hours. Crossing the bridge we take a climbing path through the basaltic rocks, and then descend to a ruined water mill, no longer on the river's route. All around are signs of past cultivation of Carob and Olive Trees. Taking a track by a side stream we see Oleander growing, its seeds deposited there by the water flow in past years. Gradually we move back into forest as we ascend quite steeply. There are 30 signs for flora and geology and some of them are quite surprising, giving us the excuse to take our time! Finally we reach the end of the trail about half a mile below the deserted village, which is well worth a visit. In the opposite direction at a similar distance is the Vulture observatory.

It is possible to walk all five trails in one full day, but, taking your time, and splitting them into two days is more relaxing! We provide 4x4 vehicle support to any start and finish point on the trails so there are no worries about the return journey, or about having to walk the linking tracks if you choose not to!

(MOUNTAINS BUS WALKS, the option 1 walk is possible from the bus, having got off at Mandria. Car ferrying to the start of the walk and from the Kelefos Bridge back to Mandria will be required.)

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