Cape Greco, the nature park at Cyprus's south-eastern tip

Cape Greco is unspoilt nature right next to two of the busiest beach resorts in Cyprus. In a single morning it gives you cliffs, caves, chapels above the sea and a swim in a cove. Here’s how to get the best out of it. It’s part of Famagusta district.

A small park between two beach towns

According to the Visit Famagusta tourism portal, the cape is a small peninsula between Ayia Napa and Protaras, 3.85 km² in size, protected as a forest park since 1993 and included in the Natura 2000 network for its biodiversity. The landscape is limestone, with cliffs some 30 ft, about 9 m, high and a coastline that’s almost entirely steep and riddled with sea-carved caves.

It has history too. According to the same website, one of the oldest Neolithic settlements in Cyprus was found here in 1992, and in 2007 divers discovered a 2nd-century AD shipwreck off the coast. The lighthouse dates from 1892, built by the British as the second on the island after the one at Paphos Castle.

What to see on the cape

The best known sight is the Kamara tou Koraka natural arch, a rock bridge whose name, local lore says, comes from the crows’ nests that once surrounded it. Close by, the blue and white chapel of Agioi Anargyroi stands on a sheer rock, with steps leading down to the cave beneath. I cover it on the Cyclops Cave page, together with the cave of the legend.

Kavos Hill, the park’s highest point, has an old quarry with marine fossils and a viewpoint from which, the region says, you can see as far as Stavrovouni Monastery. And between the cape and Ayia Napa lie the Ayia Napa sea caves, best appreciated from a boat.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Protaras on Expedia and filter by area before price.

The trails

The park is criss-crossed by short waymarked trails, with benches to rest on and purpose-built cycle paths. One of them is part of the E4 European long-distance path. The 2 km Aphrodite trail starts from the information centre and, according to the region, passes the ruins of an ancient temple to the goddess and caves once used by shepherds to shelter their flocks.

The longest runs from the Profitis Ilias church in Protaras down to Konnos, at 8.5 km, and the easiest with children is the 2.3 km Agioi Anargyroi loop. They’re all in the table on this page.

Plants and birds

According to Visit Famagusta, around 400 plant species have been identified on the cape, 15 of them endemic and 14 rare. One of these, Umbilicus horizontalis, is found in Cyprus only here and around Agios Ilarion, in the north. Some 87 bird species have been recorded, most of them migratory, as the cape is their first stop on reaching the island, among them the Cyprus warbler and the Cyprus wheatear, both endemic. Bottlenose and striped dolphins are occasionally seen offshore, though rarely.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Cape Greco and pick one that fits your day.

When to go and getting there

The region advises visiting early in the morning or in the afternoon in summer, while in autumn and winter you can explore at any hour. I haven’t found any admission charge or opening hours published. From the water, the boats running down from Ayia Napa to Konnos take it in, as I explain in boat trips in Cyprus. OSEA routes 101 and 102, between Ayia Napa and Protaras, stop at Sea Caves, Kavo Gkreko and Konnos Beach, for €2 a daytime trip. On the far side of the cape is Konnos Bay, and to stay nearby, see hotels in Protaras or hotels in Ayia Napa.

Where the bus does not go, a car does: compare car hire in Protaras before you arrive rather than at the desk.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Protaras on Booking.com and filter by area before price.