Kalavasos, the village of the Tenta settlement

Kalavasos is a quiet village in inland Larnaca, but what draws most visitors is what lies next to it, the Neolithic settlement of Tenta, with its huge cone-shaped roof visible from far off.

Where it is

From Kalavasos it’s about 5 km to Choirokoitia, 2.5 from Tochni and about 26 km from Limassol as the crow flies. Its 880 residents in 2021 live in one of the hill villages carrying the EDEN label, and the board also includes it in its agrotourism listings.

The Larnaca history published by the board recalls that the area had copper mines in the Copper Age, and names Kalavasos among the best known.

The Tenta settlement

A short distance from the village lies Tenta, a Neolithic settlement of 8500-7000 BC that the board considers one of the most important on the island. It’s covered by a conical structure, a modern architectural intervention in the landscape, which is what the main photo shows. The board mentions a virtual reconstruction video that takes viewers 9,500 years back to the Aceramic Neolithic, when the island’s first permanent residents built a village west of the Vasilikos river plain.

The name comes with a legend. According to local tradition, in 327 AD St Helen camped here in a tent, «tenta», during her visit to the island after finding the Holy Cross in Jerusalem.

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Agrotourism in the area

The tourist board explains that in villages with agrotourism, such as Kalavasos, you can watch village bread or halloumi being made by hand, join each season’s harvest, from olives to grapes, and try meze with local wine at the village coffee shop. It’s a different way to get to know the interior, away from the coast.

Visiting Tenta

Tenta belongs to the Department of Antiquities, which opens it on weekdays only, between 8:30 and 16:00. Saturdays, Sundays and some public holidays it stays shut, so a weekend trip won’t get you inside. A ticket is €2.50, and the site is not adapted for wheelchairs.

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

Festivals and legends

Every May the village holds a silk festival, which appears in the board’s festival listings. The board has also made a series of short films of village legends, and the Kalavasos episode is called «The Little Bridge». The other photo shows the Kalavasos reservoir among the hills.

Tenta or Choirokoitia

If you have to choose, they’re quite different visits. Choirokoitia is bigger, a World Heritage site with five rebuilt round houses, while Tenta is smaller and sits under its striking modern roof. Tenta also only opens on weekdays, which settles the question for many weekend visitors.

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

A morning plan

I’d visit Tenta and Choirokoitia back to back and have lunch in Tochni or in Zygi, about 6 km away by the sea. Lefkara is about 10 km off. The rest is in Larnaca district.

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