Kathikas to Agios Georgios

This walk uses the frequent 615 bus from Kato Paphos Harbour to Coral Bay. The 648 from Coral Bay to Kathikas and Polis departs at 10 am. The walk down to Agios Georgios was surprisingly easy with little tarmac and not too much uphill walking. The 616 bus from Agios Georgios gets you back to Coral Bay. This departs on the hour. And finally the frequent 615 service goes back to Kato Paphos Harbour.

Although this walk is easy, getting it wrong could be nasty. As you approach Agios Georgios, there are deep ravines and cliffs both north and south of the path. This leg mostly heads due west so getting lost is unlikely.

From Kathikas head NE, then roughly north and finally NW. The main road is the unpleasant option. This walk uses little lanes just east of the much busier road. This is on the east side of the ridge and there were hazy views to the sea and the mountains of Northern Cyprus. On a clearer day, this could be spectacular. This avoids 2 to 3 km of tarmac main road.

Cross the main road and head roughly west. Kathikas is about 600 metres above sea level and was noticeably cooler than the coast. The route does not descend much until kilometre seven. So this leg was almost level. There is a zig zag in the farm tracks where you head north for 300 metres. Then the path heads SW into a dip. On either side are deep ravines. The northern ravine is the Avakas Gorge. In dry weather it might be possible to walk down the gorge but it was not an option today, having failed to walk up the same route two days earlier. The January floods had left a deep pool with a huge boulder above it. This would be swimming, not paddling.

Follow the track west along the highest part of the ridge and head uphill between the ravines. Here my way was briefly blocked by a large black boar running wild and free. This was the third pig sighting. These are domestic pigs, gone feral. There were some farm sheds nearby so perhaps this one goes home for dinner.

Most of the descent is in the last few kilometres. The path zig zags a lot but the route was never in doubt. Near the sea, you could head to the coast road. The downloadable track and the map route stay inland, briefly joining the E4 Trans-Europe path. There is a track, SW, leading to Agios Georgios. If you encounter a dead end, just follow the field perimeter 75 metres south to rejoin the road.