Odou, a village of bees in the Larnaca hills

Odou sits in the far corner of the Larnaca hills, almost where Limassol’s begin. It’s small, quiet and surrounded by pines, and its big draw, according to the tourist board, is bees.

Where it is

Odou occupies the western edge of the Larnaca hills, about 12 km from Vavla, about 14 km from Lefkara and about 25 km from Limassol as the crow flies. In 2021 it was home to 202 people. Like the rest of the Larnaca hill villages it holds the EU’s EDEN label, which the board puts down to the area’s authentic architecture, history and crafts. The main photo shows a stone chapel in the village among the pines.

A destination of excellence

The EDEN label comes from national competitions held every other year in the participating countries to choose a destination of excellence in sustainable tourism. In the Larnaca hills, the board credits the success to the district development agency and the women’s association of rural Larnaca, which promote agrotourism and village experiences.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Lefkara for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.

The honey villages

The tourist board groups several hill villages under the Larnaca Rural Honey Villages brand, for their shared beekeeping tradition, and suggests touring them independently. In Vavla you can be a beekeeper for a day and make beeswax candles, in Kato Drys there’s the bee and embroidery museum, in Melini a bee park, and in Odou there are two options, a journey of knowledge about bees and a visit where you watch honey being processed and can bottle your own.

Odou is also one of four villages, with Layia, Melini and Ora, that have a bee hotel, designed to raise awareness of solitary bees. The board also mentions honeybee nature paths in the Larnaca hills.

The wine route

Odou is one of the stops on the wine trail that crosses the hills between Larnaca and Nicosia. According to the board, that trail takes in ten villages, three wineries, museums and workshops, from Skarinou to Lefkara, Kato Drys, Vavla, Ora and Odou, before continuing to Farmakas, Gourri and Fikardou. Although it’s outside the traditional wine regions, growers here have planted varieties such as Assyrtiko, Malvasia Aromatica, Chardonnay and Maratheftiko.

So you do not lose the morning at the ticket office, browse tickets and tours in Lefkara on GetYourGuide.

Before you go

No official source I could find gives opening times or prices for the bee activities, so I’d phone or ask in the village before making the drive. Odou is a long way from the coast and from the bigger villages, and arriving to find nobody there would be a shame after such a long drive.

A route through the hills

My order would be Odou first, then Vavla and Kato Drys, with Lefkara last for dinner. I gather the other inland villages on the Larnaca district page.

If you would rather go at your own pace, see the car hire deals in Larnaca: the earlier you book, the more cars are left to choose from.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Lefkara for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.