Local Area

Magic Dancing waters show

A place where you can have dinner or drink watching the Magic Dancing Waters, located in the heart of Protaras. A truly spectacular show with waters dancing to the music of Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and even Greek Zorba Music. You will enjoy the impressive show, which is spectacular combination of water, light and music. Experience an imaginative performance and be surprised and impressed watching the water dancing to the rhythm of the music, whirling up to 12 meters high or making amazing pirouettes and much more.

The last House before the Turkish Occupied Area

Annita's Viewpoint is situated on the border separating Dherynia from Famagusta. One of the closest houses to the Turkish occupied area. Here you can see Famagusta the Ghost Town of Cyprus, with its neglected hotels, residential homes and its destroyed lemon trees and farmland. You can also see in the distance the beautiful bay of Famagusta and the mountain range of Pentathaktilos. Since 1974, this town has stayed silent and dead waiting the return of it's legal citizens

Famagusta The most famous excursion from Protaras is to see the deserted town of Famagusta or Ammochostos, occupied for no apparent reason by the Turks in 1974. They totally ransacked the place, making refugees of its inhabitants and rendering the most popular resort in Cyprus a ghost town, which still stands for all to gaze at from a safe distance.

Take a boat trip from Protaras and look through binoculars at the incredible sight of old cars sitting in petrol stations, washing still fluttering in the breeze, and the odd Turkish soldier patrolling a look-out or reclining on a sun lounger.

A two hour guided boat trip should only cost between CY£5-10(£5.41-£10.81) and is well worth it. Try Captain Demetris who you will find waiting on the beach below the Sunrise Beach Hotel.

Glass bottom boat trip

For something a little more light-hearted that still involves bobbing along on the waves, you should go on a glass bottom boat trip. tootle along the coast down towards Cape Greko, marvelling at the fish and enjoying a drink or two. You will find numerous outlets offering these trips, but you could try Shirley Valentine trips, on the coastal road between Paralimni and Protaras.

Paralimni makes an easy excursion, and is the place to go if you want to do any shopping whilst you're in Protaras as it has much more to offer. The town still retains an old-worldly atmosphere, with its main square bustling with tavernas, three churches and traditional coffee shops. However, you will also find modern shops, offices and signs of everyday life that Protaras doesn't really have, being entirely a tourist resort.

Valley of the Windmills If you get out into the countryside in the interior of Ammachostos, you will immediately find yourself surrounded seemingly hundreds of windmills, turning serenely in the sun.

The area just inland from Protaras is known as 'Valley of the Windmills' as the mechanical beasts work away to irrigate the surrounding fields, keeping the land fertile for growing the major potato crop for the whole island.

Red Soil Villages

The picturesque villages in-between Protaras and Agia Napa are known as the 'Kokkinochoria' or 'red soil villages'. One of the most popular for tourists to visit is Deryneia as it is an excellent view point over to deserted Famagusta. Whilst it also has three interesting churches to visit, the real reason anyone comes here is to peer through binoculars at the abandoned town just across the UN buffer zone.

The villages of Liopetri and Sotira are most famous for their traditional basket-making, a craft which still goes on today and is actively encouraged by the Cypriot government who have recognised it as a piece of cultural heritage. There are also a number of beautiful chapels in these villages and also in Frenaros and Xylofagou, dating back as far as the 13th century.

Potamos Liopetriou is a picturesque fishing harbour not far from Protaras. Near the busy little harbour itself you will find the remains of a Venetian watchtower. In the late 19th Century, the French poet Arthur Rimbaud was inspired to write in this area. There is a somewhat rocky beach and a café come early in the morning to watch the fishermen.

The Holy Trinity

Even closer to home, in a picturesque bay just 3 km from Paralimni is the small chapel of Ayia Triada (the Holy Trinity). Here you will find a good sandy beach and a little collection of seaside tavernas and cafes dishing up basic food and drinks.

Monastery of Stavrovouni

If you venture a little further afield, you will find one of the most important sites of the region, the Monastery of Stavrovouni. The oldest monastery in Cyprus stands some 700m above sea level, commanding magnificent views across the surrounding coastal plains. The local claim to fame is that St Helena brought a splinter of the Cross back with her which still remains in the monastery, worked into the silver cross hanging next to the iconostasis. Open Mon-Thurs 9.30am-4pm, Fri & Sat 10am-4pm. Entry CY£1(£1.08).

The Ayia Napa Monastery

The Ayia Napa Monastery is an incongruous haven of peace and beauty right in the centre of the madness and hedonism that is Agia Napa today. Built in the 16th Century by the Venetians, the monastery has an arched cloister with an octagonal marble fountain in the centre dating back to 1530. The building is surrounded by a high wall, originally designed to keep out the pirates, and still doing a good job of holding back the hoards of revellers as they make their way out of the clubs into Platia Seferi in the early hours of the morning. Just outside the south gate is a huge sycamore tree, reputedly some 600 years old.