In the Troodos mountain range, in the central part of Cyprus, are some of the most important monuments to the history of Byzantine painting. These are frescoed churches that preserve to our day excellent examples of the various streams of Byzantine and post-Byzantine monumental painting from the 11th to the 19th century. Ten of these churches have so far been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The route is by road and can be started either from the village of Nikitari or from the village of Kalopanagiotis. The drive takes about an hour and a half without stops, with a total length of about 52 km. In the starting point villages, one can find tourist accommodation as well as good restaurants. The route can be completed in one or in two days, with an overnight stop in Galata or Kakopetria villages.
Starting from Nikitari you can visit the famous Panagia tis Asinou with the beautiful Byzantine frescoes. Then passing through the villages of Koutrafa, Tembria and Kaliana you enter the Solea Valley, where in the village of Galatas one will visit the church of Panayia tis Podithou and the small church of Ayios Sozomenos. The next stop is Ayios Nikolaos Stegis, which is built on the west bank of the Klarios/Karkotis river, two kilometers southwest of the village of Kakopetria.
From Ayios Nikolaos Stegis you are headed through a difficult mountain road with several turns to the west where you will arrive at the village of Pedoulas where the beautiful Byzantine church of Archangel Michael is located. At the entrance of the village of Moutoullas, at a height of 300m, from the main road is the church of The Virgin mary, called Moutoullas (formerly “Yperagia Theotokos tou Yerakioti”). The route ends at the monastery of Ayios Ioannis Lampadistis, built in the valley of Marathasa, opposite the village of Kalopanagiotis.
