Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
PAFOS
Pop 64,900
Linked by a traffic artery, Kato Pafos (Lower Pafos) and Ktima (Upper Pafos; 3km to the
northeast) form a schizoid whole. Kato Pafos, the tourist centre, is blatantly geared towards
English tourists, with the inevitable all-day English breakfasts and bars. It could be worse:
construction along the palm-fringed seafront is low-rise and, as well as being home to a
vast archaeological site, Kato Pafos has backstreets hiding other historic gems like mediev-
al baths, catacombs and a simple fishermen's church. The official Pafos Archaeological
Site is the grand-slam sight, however, being one of the South's richest archaeological loc-
ales. When you're standing (relatively) alone here, surrounded by acres of history, a vast
blue sky and the wild fennel and caper plants that grow on the Mediterranean's edges, you
feel a thousand years away from Guinness on tap.
Ktima, the old centre of Pafos, is overall a calmer place, where locals go about their
daily business much as they have for decades. The neighbourhoods are rich with handsome
colonial buildings that house government institutions and many of the town's museums.
Ktima is also home to some good hotels.
TOMB TIPS
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Allow at least two hours for the Tombs of the Kings site.
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Try to visit during the early morning as it can get very hot walking around the sprawling necropolis later in the
day.
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Bring a hat and bottled water.
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Be very careful when descending into some of the tombs, as the stone steps are large and can be slippery.
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Sights
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Tombs of the Kings
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
Imagine yourself surrounded by ancient tombs in a desert-like landscape where the only
sounds are waves crashing on rocks. The Tombs of the Kings, a Unesco World Heritage
Site, contains a set of well-preserved underground tombs and chambers used by residents
