Most of us will be heading to the beach for the long weekend, but for those who prefer a trip to the mountains and a brisk walk with a bit of socialising on the side, the Cyprus Strollers walking group will be heading to the Troodos forest area this Sunday for their last walk of the season.
The stroll on Sunday brings down the curtain on an eighth season of the Cyprus Strollers, and all participants are invited to a taverna lunch after the hike to celebrate eight years of walking together.
Not only is this a celebratory hike, it is also a two-in-one affair as the event involves two hikes with a common start at Almyrolivado. The first trail will be a linear one, and approximately two km long each way. It follows part of the old, abandoned paved road which leads from Karvounas to Troodos square. The paving of the trail, as described by hike leader Xenophon Hasapis, “is extensively damaged, which means you can expect to be walking on soil. The way out is essentially uphill and the way back is downhill.” Walking this first trail is expected to take one hour, and the degree of difficulty is marked as ‘Easy’.
The second trail is circular and is all on a dirt road which starts downhill, crossing a picnic site after 400 metres. “We will have a quite demanding downhill climb to look forward to and then a 600-metre climb uphill, which will lead us to a 500-year-old tree,” Hasapis said. This path is rich with vegetation, trees and ferns.
From the giant old tree, the hike will then follow the same path back until a point where the hikers will be able to follow another path back to the cars. Walking this second path will take around two hours, and this path is considered to be ‘Medium/Difficult’.
This eighth-season finale will give all hikers a chance to soak up the wonders of the Troodos forest area, with its pine trees, junipers, cedars and fir trees. You will also be able to wonder at the quiet majesty of the golden oak (a species that’s endemic to Cyprus), as well as a rich variety of bushes and wild flowers. All this natural wonder will keep us going until the ninth season, when we’ll hopefully have had our fill of summer beach fun.
The first hike will start at 11am and, at the end of the two walks, everyone can sit down together for lunch at a taverna in the area. If you will be staying for lunch, send an email to Hasapis on [email protected] by tomorrow, so he can reserve a place for you.
As always, participants have a choice of meeting the group at the start of the walk at 11am or at an open field in Archangelos (call Hasapis for the exact location) where some cars will be left behind. If you choose to join the car pool, the cars will leave at 9.30am. The benefit of the car pool is that you save petrol, are kinder to the environment, and can also get a kick-start on your socialising before your trainers hit the ground.
Make sure you wear comfortable clothes, wear a hat to protect you from the sun, and also take some water with you. Other than that, just keep on walking.
Cyprus Strollers
Take a hike with the club at Troodos forest area, followed by a taverna lunch. May 27. Car trip from a parking space in Archangelos at 9.30am, hike starts at 11am. Tel: 99-240323
