Tochni, the village with a church over the river

Tochni is the village I’d pick as a base for inland Larnaca. It’s quiet, a stone’s throw from Choirokoitia and the motorway, and it has a church in a spot as unusual as it is lovely, right on top of a bridge.

Where it is

Tochni is about 2.7 km from Choirokoitia and about 2.5 km from Kalavasos as the crow flies. It’s about 32 km to Larnaca. It had 439 residents in 2021 and belongs to the cluster of Larnaca hill villages that won the EU’s EDEN award for sustainable tourism.

The church on the bridge

The church of Saints Constantine and Helen stands in the village centre, built on a bridge over the Arkatzin river. The tourist board explains that, by tradition, St Helen herself built the bridge and the church and founded it with a piece of the Holy Cross. The building has been extended and renovated several times since. The main photo shows its arcaded porch and bell tower.

The church is part of the virtual Route of St Helen and the Holy Cross in Cyprus, which follows the places in the district linked to Constantine’s mother, such as Stavrovouni Monastery.

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

The ecclesiastical museum

Beside the church, a room serves as an ecclesiastical museum. It keeps gospels, icons going back to the 16th century, silver and bronze sacred vessels and a large cross in the middle. Most precious of all, for the board, are a small piece of the Holy Cross and a fragment of a relic of St Helen. It opens only on Wednesdays and Sundays from 17:00 to 19:00, by asking for the key at the church, and it’s free.

The Holy Cross church and pilgrimage routes

Tochni has another historic church, the Holy Cross, of which the tourist board has published a virtual reconstruction video. The Holy Bishopric of Trimythous has also created a website of pilgrimage itineraries across Larnaca province, with maps, religious routes and QR codes at the churches themselves, and Saints Constantine and Helen is among them.

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

Staying in Tochni

The tourist board includes Tochni among the Larnaca villages with agrotourism houses, alongside Kalavasos, Choirokoitia and Lefkara. Sleeping here means you can reach the Neolithic site when it opens, before the coaches and the heat, and keep the afternoon for wandering the village lanes and the church on the bridge. That’s the rhythm I’d choose for this part of the island.

Day trips from Tochni

From Tochni I’d see Choirokoitia, the Tenta roof at Kalavasos and Lefkara, about 10 km away. And for the sea, Zygi and its fishing harbour are about 6 km towards the coast, which makes Tochni a handy base for both hills and sea.

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 Tochni for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.