Louvaras, Commandaria vines and a 15th-century chapel

Louvaras sits on the edge of Pitsilia, already looking towards the Limassol wine villages, and its vineyard landscape shows it. It’s a quiet village with a 15th-century chapel worth the stop. The details below come from ANETroodos, the Limassol tourism office and the 2021 census.

On the north-eastern slope

The company describes Louvaras perched on the north-eastern hillside of the Troodos, surrounded by hills, with views over the tributaries of the Germasogeia river to the east and the Garyllis river to the west. It’s a place of fresh air and quiet slopes. At the 2021 census it had 365 residents, in Limassol district, and the company groups it among the villages of the Commandaria region.

Vines and Commandaria

Its position favours the vine, with white and red varieties used to make Commandaria, Cyprus’s ancient sweet wine. The vegetation is lush, aromatic shrubs scent the air and almond trees line the river. The village’s old olive press has recently been restored, and the company suggests simply strolling among the stone houses set amid the vegetation.

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The chapel of Agios Mamas

In the centre, among stone houses, stands the chapel of Agios Mamas, which the company calls the village’s ornament. It’s a 15th-century medieval chapel with frescoes showing the transition towards Italo-Byzantine art at the end of that century. UNESCO doesn’t count it among its painted churches of Troodos, but the company does put it on its 97 kilometre route around the monuments of Pitsilia, alongside Araka, Agiasmati, Pelendri and Palaichori. I haven’t found its hours from official sources, so I’d ask in the village.

The Kakomallis picnic site

Six kilometres south of the village, on the Louvaras to Kakomallis road and next to the forest station of the same name, the Limassol tourism office places a picnic site at 900 metres, among pines, with tables, barbecues, drinking water and parking for about 400 people. The board also points out that fires are forbidden in picnic sites and the surrounding forest.

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The land of Commandaria

As the company tells it, Commandaria is a controlled-origin wine produced in 14 designated villages on the Troodos southern slopes, north of Limassol, and that it’s thought to be one of the oldest named wines in the world, called by that name for eight centuries. Louvaras belongs to that vineyard landscape, and its slopes show it as soon as you arrive.

How I’d fit it in

Louvaras lies further south than the other Pitsilia villages I cover, so I’d see it on the way up from Limassol to the mountains, combined with Timios Stavros at Pelendri. For a mountain night, Agros has more choice.

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