Polystypos, the village of hazelnut trees

Polystypos is a village of water and woodland. It has no great monuments, but it does have one of the most distinctive landscapes in the mountains, the hazelnut wood it shares with Alona. I lean on what ANETroodos says about it and on the census.

Springs, streams and vines

The company describes a village dotted with springs and streams, coloured by vineyards and wild vegetation, that exudes calm. Its traditional houses keep the country character of the area, and the suggestion is to stroll its narrow lanes breathing in fresh air and the scent of evergreen oak and shrubs. At the 2021 census it had 133 residents, in Nicosia district, and it lies in the Pitsilia area, next to Alona and near Lagoudera.

The church of Agios Nikolaos

The village church is dedicated to Agios Nikolaos and was built between 1908 and 1912 in Franco-Byzantine style. It’s a curiosity in an area full of medieval churches, and shows that the building tradition lived on well into the 20th century. The company sums the village up as a place that exudes tranquillity, and its narrow lanes are the best way to feel it.

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The hazelnut wood

What matters most to walkers is the hazelnut wood. The company describes a waymarked trail following an ancient footpath across a rich hazelnut forest, and on its Pitsilia page it mentions the Alona and Polystypos trails through that same wood. One of them, Petros Vanzis, is a 1.5 kilometre loop done in half an hour, rated difficulty 2. Coming down from Madari, the company names Polystypos among the hazelnut wood villages, alongside Lagoudera, Alona, Platanistasa and Askas.

Around it

Polystypos has Alona right next door, at 1,200 metres, with its hazelnut valley and zivania festival in November, and Lagoudera, with Panagia tou Araka, the area’s great painted church. Higher up runs the Madari ridge, good for walking, with trails from which, according to the company, you look over the Mesaoria and out to Morphou Bay.

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Arriving from the east

If you come from Palaichori, you’ll pass through Askas, a valley hamlet with stone houses and a 16th-century church. Polystypos rounds off that route through the hazelnut wood villages nicely, before climbing towards Lagoudera and Madari, and leaves time for lunch in one of the area’s villages. In spring, when the almond trees and the wood are in bloom, the walk is at its best.

How I’d plan the visit

I’d see it on a walking morning, doing the short trail, and pair it with Alona and a visit to Araka, closed only on Mondays. For the night, Agros, in the middle of Pitsilia, is the base with the most accommodation.

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