Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The beach is 5km before Zafer Burnu (Cape Apostolos Andreas). Situated between
scrubby headlands and stretching for several kilometres with some basic restaurants and
accommodation options.
Now part of a national park (
Click here
)
and also prime turtle-nesting ground. If you're
visiting in September, contact the certified volunteers (
www.cyprusturtles.org
) who mon-
itor the progress of the turtles and you may even be lucky enough to witness baby turtles
hatching.
Agios Filon Beach
BEACH
With its soft sand and big, flat sea rocks, this is another fantastic beach, near the Oasis at
Ayfilon hotel and restaurant. It's also a turtle-hatching beach and a great place to watch
the sunset.
8
Getting Around
The only public transport in the area is the bus from Famagusta to Yenierenköy (6TL, 1¼
hours). Thus your own transport is necessary to explore this region properly. Taxis can be
arranged locally.
The main road to the peninsula is first-rate, though signs to some of the sites lack clar-
ity and prominence, so bring your own map.
Kantara Castle
Kantara Castle
HISTORIC SITE
(Kantara Kalesi; adult/student 6/3TL;
h
9am-5pm Jun-Sep, to 3.30pm Oct-May)
The best vantage point on the Karpas is from this Lusignan Gothic castle, one of three in
Cyprus. Kantara Castle, is the furthest east and the lowest in elevation at 690m. It has a
360-degree view of the region and a clear day, you can see the coast of Turkey and even
Syria. The castle's documented history dates back to 1191 when Richard the Lionheart
seized it from Isaak Komninos, the Byzantine emperor of Cyprus.
Kantara was used as a beacon station to communicate with Buffavento Castle to the
west. Its significance faded in the 16th century when Venetian military strategists began to
depend more on firepower than elevation for protection. In 1521 they relocated their gar-
rison from here and the castle was left open to raiders searching for the treasures told of in
legends about Kantara.
Today you can see the castle's well-preserved northern section, its towers and walls still
resolutely standing. The outer entrance leads into the now somewhat overgrown barbican.
