Vavla, the hamlet of Agios Minas convent

Vavla is one of the smallest hamlets in the Larnaca hills, with 50 residents, but it’s worth the detour for its convent and the calm that hangs over it. It’s the kind of place I’d put at the end of a route through Lefkara and Kato Drys, when you want silence after the busier lace streets.

Where it is

Vavla hides in the hills about 4.5 km from Lefkara, about 3.4 km from Kato Drys and about 12 km from Odou as the crow flies. Only 50 people lived here in 2021. It has agrotourism houses and the same EDEN label as the rest of the hills. The photo at the top of the page shows a stone church with its bell tower among cypresses and olive trees.

Agios Minas convent

The Larnaca Tourism Board dates the convent to the 15th century. It mixes Byzantine and Gothic styles, with a pointed vault of transverse ribs and side porticoes, and includes a church, cloisters and other monastic buildings. On the north and south walls are two large paintings of St George and St Minas dated 1757.

Besides their religious duties, the nuns make homemade preserves and herbs that can be bought at the convent. Modest dress is required to enter the church.

It opens daily and is free. From October to April, 9:30 to 11:30 and 14:00 to 16:00, and from May to September, 9:30 to 11:30 and 15:00 to 16:30. Groups should book ahead rather than turning up unannounced, and it’s closed on public holidays.

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

Bees in Vavla

Vavla is one of Larnaca’s honey villages. The tourist board suggests, at an activity centre here, becoming a beekeeper for a day, making your own beeswax candles and joining seasonal activities. With the Kato Drys bee museum and the Odou bee tour, it forms a small themed route.

The wine route

The wine trail across the Larnaca and Nicosia hills, with its ten villages, wineries and workshops as far as Fikardou, also stops in Vavla. One of the photos shows an arcade of stone arches in the village.

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

The hill environmental centre

At Skarinou, in the same hill area, is the Environmental Information Centre of the Larnaca mountainous area, funded by an EU rural development programme. It has interactive exhibits, a library, crafts and a lab with microscopes, opens Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 16:00, and costs €3, €2 for children, according to the tourist board.

Making a morning of it

With Lefkara and Kato Drys you have a full morning, and Vavla is the quiet end to it, after the lace shops and the museums. If you want more inland villages, have a look at Larnaca district.

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

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