Κοιλάδα Πλατύ και Χωριά Περιεκτική – Ο Κυπριακός ‘Αμαζόνιος’! / Platy Valley + Villages Comprehensive – The Cypriot ‘Amazon'

A comprehensive mega-trail, attempting to capture all that is to be experienced and enjoyed within the famous Platy Valley and the adjoining villages!

Almost everyone who lives in Cyprus (or has been to Cyprus), has at some point visited the marvelous Venetian bridge of Tzelefos. ‘Platys’ river is one of the tributaries of Diarizos river (which passes under Tzelefos bridge). The valley of Platys river is arguably one of the most beautiful sights of Cyprus. The adjoining area of the valley (including the villages) is of great aesthetic, ecological, and cultural significance. The proposed trail, although considerably long, will allow you to appreciate all these characteristics in detail.

The final design owns a lot to the following trail suggested by michaliss:

https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/kaminaria-agios-basileios-komititze-parekklesoui-gephuri-elias-57418625

However, it also adds to the experience the village of Treis Elies and its Venetian bridges. In total, if you follow this trail, you will visit 10 officially designated Ancient Monuments (6 churches and 4 bridges!).

The trail starts (naturally!) at the Tzelefos bridge. This the longest and quite possibly the most beautiful bridge of a network of Venetian bridges which facilitated (according to tradition) the trade between Central Cyprus and Paphos, including the camel trade of the Pera Pedi copper. We follow the asphalt road for 1.5 km and then turn left and down towards the junction of Platys and Kaminarkotis tributaries. This is where the forest road next to the Platys river starts. For the next 8 kms you will be able to experience a quite unique spectacle, which is an ‘Amazon-like’ experience! This is of course an exaggeration. But it’s true that the combination of the river flow with the very tall vegetation of Pinus brutia, Platanus, and Alnus orientalis, creates something special! You can add to this the fact that most of the trees’ are engulfed with hedera leaves from bottom to top. Fantastic!

This will be roughly your view until you reach the Komititzi pick-nick area. Please note the following: this section is on a forest road which is frequently (from April to November) visited by 4-wheel drive vehicles. Also, there is no drinkable water in Komititzi, last chance to refill before Kaminaria is the Parekklisoui spring at around the 6 km mark.

Before the Komititzi area, at around the 7km mark, the trail becomes part of the official E4 Cyprus-wide trail. After Komititzi, the forest road goes up and becomes much more open to the sunshine. This also allows much more diverse vegetation to grow, especially spring flowers like Ranunculus, Anemone, and orchids. Do make sure that you take the right junction at the 11.2 km mark. You then cross the Platys (this could be a bit tricky during winter time, especially if the season has been wet), and start taking the narrower forest road towards Kaminaria. This 5 km stretch is one of the 2 ‘fitness sections’ of the trail, Still plenty of vegetation and grandiose views to enjoy.

The ’Kaminaria’ section of the trail successively visits four churches (Agios Vasileios, Agios Ermolaos, Agios Georgios, and Panagia Kardiovastazousa), which are designated Ancient Monuments of the Republic of Cyprus. Fractions of frescos survive at three of them. The ones at Panagia Kardivastazousa are particularly beautiful, but most of these churches are (unfortunately) usually locked. Kaminaria is a lovely little secluded village, with many houses preserving traditional architectural elements.

The suggested trail then takes you to the Treis Elies village, another medieval village in the area. There you can refill with water at the spring next to the Archaggelos Church. You will also visit the Panagia Chrysosotira church. You should not expect to find any local shops open though. The main reason for suggesting the diversion to the Treis Elies village is the small ‘Venetian Bridges’ local trail (don’t get confused, the official nature trail which starts later on is also called ‘Venetian Bridges’). The former short 2.5 kms trail is a gem! It passes through the narrow green valley of Drakontas river, and it showcases another two Venetian bridges. At its culmination, around the 24 km mark, you will briefly re-join the E4 trail on the asphalt road, and then you can take the forest road which will take you up and down to the Elia bridge. There is a small section around the 25.5 km mark which is quite steep (considering that you have already walked 25 kms!). But apart from this, it is straightforward. After the 26 km mark you will be able to follow a proper hiking trail again and it's all downwards from this point on.

After you reach the Elia Venetian bridge, you will join the official ‘Venetian Bridges’ trail of the Department of Forests which will take you back to the Tzelefos bridge! This last section on the forest is also pretty special and very beautiful!

In summary: this is not one for the faint-hearted (in terms of length), but … an amazing day-hike if you are up for it! Enjoy! 😊