Platres, the classic mountain resort

Platres is the closest thing Cyprus has to a classic mountain resort. A summer retreat for generations, it spreads like an amphitheatre across the southern slopes of the Troodos and gathers hotels, restaurants and walks in one place. My figures come from three places, the Troodos Development Company, Limassol Tourism and the ski club.

Two villages in one

There are really two. Pano Platres, the upper village, is the resort, with 200 residents at the 2021 census. The company gives it 1,100 metres on one page and 1,230 on another, and places it five kilometres from Troodos Square. Kato Platres, the lower village, had 123 residents and, according to the company, is older, recorded back in the Middle Ages, with traditional houses, paved lanes and fountains among vines and fruit trees.

Both are in Limassol district, on the side of the mountains that faces the sea.

The waterfalls

Platres is the gateway to the best-known waterfalls in the mountains. Caledonia lies at 1,330 metres, north of Pano Platres, on the Kryos river, which flows all year round. The company gives it 12 metres on one page and 13 on another, and says it owes its name to a Scottish visitor who called it after the ancient name of his homeland. You reach it on a trail that comes down from near the Presidential Summer Residence or climbs from the Psilo Dendro, above the village. I go into detail in the Caledonia waterfall. The mountain’s four waterfalls, with heights and access, are covered in waterfalls in Cyprus.

Millomeris is, according to the company, the highest in the range, at 15 or 20 metres depending on which page you read. A one-kilometre trail leads to it from the Faneromeni church in Pano Platres.

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

The village

The village church is dedicated to Panagia Faneromeni and was built in 1880. There’s also a chapel of Panagia Iamatiki, built on the ruins of an old monastery, and another of St Nicholas. The old municipal market has become the cultural centre, with old photos of the village, and the company also mentions a chocolate workshop and a rope adventure park, which works well if you’re travelling with children.

A base for the mountains

From Platres everything is close. The Olympus slopes are 12 kilometres away, according to the Cyprus Ski Club, and Trooditissa Monastery about five, on the road that carries on towards Prodromos. Heading south, the Limassol wine villages begin, and to the north-west lies Foini, the potters’ village. Beside the Troodos to Platres road, Limassol Tourism also points to the Presidential Summer House nature reserve, part of the Natura 2000 network, with black pine, golden oak and plane trees.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Platres and choose by the reviews.

Where to stay

It’s the village in the Troodos Mountains with the most hotels, including some of the largest in the mountains, such as the Forest Park. My pick is in hotels in the Troodos. If you’d rather have something more rural and secluded, the villages of Marathasa and Solea have traditional houses, but you’ll lose the convenience of having everything on foot.

A car frees you from timetables: search car hire in Limassol on DiscoverCars and compare companies.

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