The Kokkinochoria, the red soil villages

Ten minutes from the beaches of Ayia Napa and Protaras, a different Cyprus begins, of red fields, windmills and villages whose lives revolve around the harvest. It’s worth heading inland for at least a morning. Here’s what the Kokkinochoria are and what to see in each village. The bigger picture is in Famagusta district.

The red earth

Kokkinochoria means red villages. The Visit Famagusta tourism site puts the name down to the colour of the soil and says that Ayia Napa is part of this wider area. Around Paralimni the earth is just as red and famous for potatoes, and the landscape is marked by the metal windmills that pumped water from underground for irrigation. Many now stand derelict, replaced by electric or diesel pumps.

The region points out that the villages are about ten minutes from the coast, with buses all year, more frequent in summer. It mentions stone Byzantine churches, festivals, tavernas and crafts such as basket weaving and lace.

What the land gives

Potatoes rule. According to the region, the main crop is planted from December to February and lifted from April to early June, with a smaller second crop later. Watermelons, carrots, taro, strawberries, citrus and pomegranates are grown too, and each village celebrates its own. Deryneia has its strawberry festival in May, Frenaros its watermelon festival in July, Liopetri a carrot festival in summer and Sotira a taro festival in September.

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The villages, one by one

Sotira, with 5,905 residents, has a network of Byzantine churches, the chapel of Agia Thekla on the coast and grows most of the island’s taro. Liopetri has the Potamos, a river that serves as a fishing harbour with two tavernas, and a barn museum recalling a battle in 1958. Frenaros keeps two 12th-century churches and is the village of watermelons and its own style of halloumi. Avgorou has a folk museum in a house from 1921 and a botanical park with a maze.

Deryneia, next to Paralimni, adds strawberries, craft museums and the crossing to the north. Achna, now Dasaki Achnas, a village built after 1974, has a dam from 1988 where migrating birds stop, an animal park and a 2.2 km motor circuit. And at Vrysoules-Acheritou stands the little chapel of Agios Georgios of Pigadia.

Getting around

By car you can link several villages in a morning. Without one, OSEA’s 700-series routes connect Sotira, Liopetri, Avgorou, Frenaros, Achna and Deryneia with Paralimni, Ayia Napa and Larnaca, and routes 501 and 502 loop through Deryneia, Frenaros, Liopetri, Ayia Napa and Paralimni. Daytime journeys cost €2 each. For a bed, the coast is the practical choice, at hotels in Ayia Napa or in Protaras.

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

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

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