Viewpoints in Cyprus, from the Troodos ridges to the south coast cliffs

Cyprus is small and mountainous, so from up high you take in a lot. I’m especially fond of the Troodos viewpoints, where a single turn of the head brings in plains, bays and the island’s other mountain range. I group them by area using what the mountain’s development company and the tourism boards publish.

The Troodos ridges

The Madari ridge, in Pitsilia, is the best in my view. Between 1,400 and 1,600 metres the view reaches in every direction, and on the top of Mount Adelfoi, at 1,613 metres, stands the fire lookout tower, which the company suggests climbing. The Madari ridge trail adds cliffs and views over the Mesaoria plain and Morphou Bay.

Around Olympus, the Artemis Trail circles the summit at about 1,850 metres with views all round, and the Persephone Trail ends at Makria Kontarka, a spot the company praises for its views. The wheelchair-accessible Livadi trail has a lookout over the Chromiou river and the Solea valley, and the Kampos tou Livadiou path runs along a cliff edge facing Solea, Morphou and the tip of Chionistra. For facts on the summit itself, see Mount Olympus.

Between the churches

The Panagia tou Araka trail is a viewpoint all the way. The company’s notes explain that Kionia peak rises to the east, the Morphou plain and the Pentadaktylos lie to the north, the Troodos to the west and Madari to the south. For non-walkers, Lagoudera itself already looks out over peaks and wild vegetation.

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

The south coast

On 11 June 2025 the Melanda viewpoint opened at Pissouri, above the bay. The Limassol region tourism company backed it, the Deputy Ministry of Tourism paid for it, and it was designed by Giorgos Pontikas, an architecture student at Neapolis University Paphos. Further west, the Paphos tourism website lists the Moutallos cliffs, the Armou viewing platform, Evretou dam and the viewpoint by the Elysium as sunset spots, and adds the radio station viewpoint at Tala. In Akamas, the Aphrodite Trail has a panoramic lookout over Chrysochou Bay, the one in the photo. On that coast, Aphrodite’s Rock is the most photographed stop.

In the city

In Nicosia, the Shacolas Tower observatory, eleven floors up a building on Ledra Street, has telescopes and views over both halves of the capital and the Kyrenia range. To my mind nothing beats it for making sense of the divided city before you walk it.

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

How I’d combine them

I’d spend a ridge day in the Troodos using hiking in Cyprus and save the sunsets for the coast, after an afternoon on one of the Cyprus beaches. The protected areas where most of these viewpoints sit are in nature parks in Cyprus.

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

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