When thinking of Troodos villages… Kakopetria is definitely a favourite. Only a short drive from Nicosia… this village is worth a visit. Here are the top 5 things to do in Kakopetria.
1. Get rid of your car
As soon as you enter the village the first thing you need to do is find a car park, grab your day bag and camera and then go exploring. We found Kakopetria quite stressful to drive through (okay we may have gone the wrong way down a one way street a few times)… and in order to navigate your way through the narrow and windy roads means that you miss out on A LOT of Kakopetria. So get out of that car and explore on those two feet of yours. Kakopetria is small, compact and gorgeous…. Take your time and really enjoy the character of this village.
2. Petra tou Antrogynou
This large stone is something of a tradition when it comes to weddings. After a wedding the married couple would come to “Petra tou Antrogynou” where another ceremony would take place. The couple would walk around the stone and then sit on it, once seated, the guests would all congratulate them and wish them all sorts of happiness. However, there is a bit of an unfortunate event that happened which may be why the village is called Kakopetria. Apparently after one wedding when the married couple was walking around the stone, it moved and crushed some wedding guests. Kakopetria in Greek means “Bad Stone” – so the thought is, that after this tragedy the village was named this due to the Stone being a little naughty (Does anyone else have a vision of someone yelling “Bad Stone…Bad Stone” like you would if it was a dog????)
3. Walk
The little streets of Kakopetria are so cute and exciting. Our boys loved running around exploring every little alleyway (sometimes accidentally ending up in someone’s house) – We walked around the city centre and loved all the local cafes and restaurants. However, we really felt like we were exploring Kakopetria when we started to explore the old Village. We started at Petra Tou Antrogynou and followed the old road up.
It isn’t that much of a walk, however, we stopped for a lot of photos, visited the “Old Olive Mill” – the “Eliomylos” Museum and loved seeing all the makeshift food stalls along the way.
On our way back we decided to walk along the River Clarios where we were treated to cute bridges, amazing nature and finished off at the stunning Mill Hotel.
4. Marina’s Rope Park
The boys were in heaven, this Rope Park is in the middle of nowhere and is a great place to have lunch and let your little humans burn off energy and push themselves to be brave. As much as the park looks quite small…. Our boys used the full 2 hours and we didn’t see them once get bored.
The best thing is that this rope park has levels. So there was the Junior and Level 1 section for our youngest and then there was Level 2 for our eldest. The health and safety here is perfect and there are instructors there at all time, watching to make sure everything is fine and cheering kids on for that extra bit of confidence.
5. Stay for dinner
For a small village it has a lot of atmosphere and the best way to experience it is by finding a fab restaurant, eat gorgeous food and watch the world go by. There are many restaurants to choose from, we went to Mylos Restaurant that is in the Mill Hotel. The food is lovely and the view is magnificient. However, if you want to be in the thick of the village then there is the Riviera Restaurant and Zoumos Restaurant.
To make life a little easier for you, here is a quick list and websites to check out when you decide to explore the stunning Kakopetria.
Kakopetria – Click here
Marina’s Rope Park – Click here
Old Mill Hotel – Click here
Riviera Restaurant – Click here
Zoumos Restaurant – Click here
