Agios Nikolaos tis Stegis, the church of the roof

From outside it looks like a stone barn with an oversized roof. Inside it’s another story. Agios Nikolaos tis Stegis is, to me, the perfect introduction to the painted churches of the Troodos, because it’s easy to reach and packs a lot into a small space. What I know of it comes from UNESCO, from the valley notes of the Troodos Development Company and from the Nicosia Tourism Board’s own pages.

What remains of a monastery

The church stands some two kilometres south-west of Kakopetria, on the west bank of the Karkotis, which the company also names the Klarios. It’s the only building to survive from an 11th-century Byzantine monastery. The Nicosia Tourism Board presents it as Kakopetria’s most popular sight and mentions, in passing, that the village has a watermill built in 1754 by a deacon of that same St Nicholas monastery.

A name that comes from the roof

Tis Stegis means of the roof. The name is down to its very steeply pitched wooden roof, which you see from a distance. That roof is exactly the feature UNESCO highlights across the whole group of painted churches of Troodos, timber roofs with flat tiles that sometimes act as a second covering above Byzantine stone vaults and domes.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Kakopetria before prices climb.

The paintings

Inside, the company describes walls covered in frescoes that turn the church into a museum of Byzantine art. Among the paintings it singles out are the Forty Martyrs composition and the figure of St Nicholas, to whom the church is dedicated. I haven’t found a date for each phase of the decoration in the official sources I checked, so I won’t give one.

On foot or by car

From Kakopetria’s old quarter it’s a short walk. If you like hiking, there’s a more ambitious option. The Kannoures trail leaves the Karvounas road a kilometre from Troodos Square, starts at the source of the Karkotis river, follows its valley past the old chrome mine and ends at the church after about three hours. The company rates it difficulty 3, for the descent, and adds that you can carry on to Kakopetria, about three more kilometres along the Pedoulas road.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Agios Nikolaos tis Stegis and choose by the reviews.

Visiting and hours

UNESCO points out that the ten churches remain places of worship and are free to visit. I haven’t found its opening hours published by a permitted official source, so I’d go in the morning with time to spare rather than assume it will be open late in the day. You’re entering a church in use, so dress appropriately and don’t disturb any service. For more churches in the same valley, carry on to Panagia Podithou at Galata and to Asinou, which I gather in the Solea valley.

A car frees you from timetables: search car hire in Limassol on DiscoverCars and compare companies.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Kakopetria before prices climb.