楚多斯区彩绘教堂

The Troodos area is scattered with lovely little stone churches with stunning painted walls. The monastery in Kalopanagiotis being the best. It had a caretaker to let you in, but unfortunately the museum was closed as the monk was absent. Whilst a fortune was spent paving a new road to the earliest of the churches in Moutoulas there is no indication when you get to the church how to get hold of the key, and the local village is all but deserted in from November to May. Wonderful churches in Kakopetria worth seeing. Personally I found Kykkos Monastery underwhelming although the drive up was breathtaking. It has no sense of antiquity and the frescoes look as though they were painted yesterday. The was a group of wailing women in headscarves in the church apparently getting the icon to bless their shopping. The museum was spectacular with a painted icons and frescoes, ecclesiastical paraphernalia and gilded bibles and it is probably worth worth a visit to see this alone.

the monestry is a must visit for everyone inside all is hand painted in gold,surounded by anciant icons which is an unbelievable sight certainly a must see what an experiance you have to see to believe all the splendor,

Love the drive towards the Troodos mountains, the painted churches are unique to see and it really worth the visit. Plenty to do in Troodos and some really good food to enjoy

Some are hard to find, and harder to get into it, so you may have to be patient and inventive. I hired a local taxi driver (not a driver myself) and he was invaluable - he knew the key holders etc. It is a bit tough going to see all 10 UNESCO churches, so I set myself a day to see five, and I was more than content. The churches look like ancient barns from outside, but inside they are Byzantine jewel boxes. In some of the churches you are immersed in the paintings, which somehow stil exude something of the world of faith that made them. You should not take photos, but you can often buy (very good) guide books with pictures and descriptions. Any lover of art should not miss the churches of the Troodos Mountains. My favourites were Agios Nikolaos tis Stegis and Asinou Forviotissa

My fiancée and I went on a coach trip to Troodos & Kykos the trip was amazing visiting 3 different monastery's and 2 villages. On one of the stops we were told that only a certain nationality could go into a gift shop as one of the tour guides said that the English tourist doesn't spend a money in the gift shop. So that disappointed us. On the whole it was a wonderful day trip.

If you like church architecture, frescoes and icons the Unesco churches in the Troodos are a must. Be prepared for long drives and sometimes quite frustrating circumstances. One morning we headed for Galata. It is a pretty valley and we found the church easily and a couple of bemused German tourists. The church was locked. We'd been told the key was at a coffee shop. Ut which one? The people in the filling station were helpful so we hurtled back to the village in search of the man with the key. Park on the carpark and head straight across to a small coffee shop/bar. The man there made us wait, phoned a friend and saiD, the church is ope. Back to the church to find a tour bus had arrived and a talk in Italian was in full flow. We were obliged to follow them to walk through the olive grove to visit the other church.Was it worth it, yes, yes, yes. The frescoes are beautiful and the architecture unique. In the next village we failed to find the church, let alone the key and the locals weren't helpful. further frustration in Moutoulas! We found the church, new Unesco road leading up to it. Shame we couldn't get in! Locked. No sign of how you might enter. We later discovered 'a man' had the key, but which man, where, god only knows.Our star sites were Agios Ioannis Lambadistis, lovely monastery and amazing icon museum. Very friendly curator and stunning icons. Pedoulas also had pretty little church and a beautiful museum. Pelendri also had a beautiful church and a very hands on caretaker, the ubiquitous man with the key.The churches are well worth a visit but it would be very useful if their were more reliable opeNing times and that keys were easy to track down. Even local tourist offices can't help on this front. Don't bother with Trooditissa, you can't go in.

The famous 10 UNESCO Painted Churches in the Troodos Region are world known for their frescoes and their typical Byzantine architecture. Even if they are tiny, many of them have a lot of history behind and very beautiful sourroundings and show to every foreign tourist that Cyprus have to offer more than just good weather and beaches. Before you visit them, try to get the exact program or the telephone numbers of the people who have the key to open them (some, like Agios Ioannis Lampadistis or Agios Nikolaos tis Stegis are very easy to visit beacuse are open without calling somebody). The entrance for most of them is free, but the photos are not allowed inside (you can buy some postal cards or icons from their little souvenir shops).

I want to review all troodos area: The most interestng part of the country, the heart of it. The monasteries are very nice and the painted churches are well preserved but the highkight are the nice villages and the scenery, in particular the Cedar valley (a must!!). Go for the soul of the country, it's worthwhile both for a cool day out of your roasting beach vacation and for a nice day in your tour around the island

We happened on Panayia tou Araka (Panagia tou Arakas) at the village of Lagoudera when exploring the Troodos area.The architecture was so interesting and the preservation of the paintings amazing. Definitely some of the best examples. There are postcards available in the church and the pictures on these are excellent.Take time to explore the surroundings are on the top of the hill (see photos) there is seating and an area for services, there is another outdoor mass area beside the church itself.Entrance fee is by way of donation.

To get away from the coast line heat & humidity of the Middle East in the summer I can heartily recommend Piatres [ choice of several hotels] in the Troodos Hills of Cyprus. This is the Greek speaking side of the island and a hire car will bring you right up to the northern border. both the coast to the west and east of the island are readily accessible by car with many attractions eg Nicosia with its Templar fortifications in the east; Paphos in the west with an expansive presentation of well preserved Roman floors , a port with a lighthouse and castle; also Limassol & Lanarca for shopping. Troodos sports an annual summer vintage car rally and is a 20 min drive from a well known monastery [ Agios Dimitrios] which has preserved the old ways of life on the island.Also must not forget to view the salmon fish farm adjacent to the well known fish restaurant in the area.Finally there is the Piatres Chocolate workshop run by an ex-pat UK where you can spend a couple of days to learn the secrets of a chocolatier oceanestates@cytanet.com.cyMost of all if you are from the UK you will feel at home because English is the second language . driving does not require readjustment; the postboxes look the same and so do the wall electric sockets.

In Troodos area, there are some paited churches dated from 11th -17th century, that are now as UNESCO WORLD HERRITAGE, because of their architecture and their fine wall paintings.On the way from Nicosia to Troodos, the first one is Panayia tis Asinou and then at Galata village is Panayia tis Podithou and Archangelos, at Kakopetria village is Ayios Nicolaos Stegis, at Kalopanayiotis village is Ayios Ioannis Lambadistis, at Pedhoulas village is Archangelos Michael and at Lagoudera village is Panayia tou Araka. All churches are small, beautiful, excellent archutecture and paintings and as you are inside, you have a wonderful and peaceful fealing . As i love visiting this kind of churches, i have been to all of them and take pictures that i want to share with you.

If you are in the Troodos area, try to include a visit to these churches as part of your itinerary. You should definetely do this if you are renting a car. There are actually 10 churches and as a local i ve only visited 6 of them so far! They are all impressive with magnificent frescoes and interesting architecture. If you visit 2 or 3 you still get the idea. I would definetely recommend (i) Virgin Mary Phorbiotissa (also known as Our Lady of Asinou) near the village of Nikitari, (ii) Agios Nikolaos Stegis near the village of Kakopetria, with the impressive double roof (stegi) and (iii) Agios Ioannis Lampadistis Church in the village of Kalopanayiotis, which is my favourite. These 3 churches are easliy accessible (compared to others that are more difficult to find). As other commentators mentioned, some churhes are sometimes locked and its difficult to locate the key holder. The 3 churches i mentioned are quite popular and whenever i went, they were open and there was always someone there (eg the local priest) who was willing to give a small tour for the visitors and point out the unique frescoes and other artifacts. You can visit all 3 churches in the same day. The route is very nice as you are surrnounded by green forest. Close to the church of Asinou there is a tavern where you can have a stop. The village of OLD Kakopetria (5 minutes drive from church 2) is also lovely and maybe you should consider a stop there too. And finally for church number 3 in Kalopanayiotis, there is also a very interesting museum with Byzantine artifacts next to the church. From the church you can see the village of Kalopanayiotis which is very pretty and within walking distance. Very near the church there is a small river with an old bridge and its nice to go for a walk there too. Do consult the following site on the internet (The Cypriot Monuments of UNESCO Religious Route), for the opening / closing times of each church as it would be a great pity to visit and find them closed - the interesting bits are inside the churches! Arrange you itineray accordingly, but with the above suggestions you can spend a very nice WHOLE day in the Cypriot mountains!

Ranging in building eras from 1100 to 1500 these little stone churches are delightful. Unfortunately many have to be kept locked against thieves and vandals and finding the key holders is hard work! Worth the effort, though.

We approach 3 of the 10 churches on the Unesco list and fully understand why they have been put under safety. From the outside most of them do not look astonishing, actually in some smaller cities one could walk next by and not notice what is hidden inside. The quality of the paintings and the small cities they are located in make it nice mixture of history. Byzantine churches at their best.

We are always on the look out to chalk up another UNESCO site so we made a real effort here. We went in October, so out of season and I think that was important. The churches are all small and I suspect many of them are now not used and if they are it will be a very specific times, as such for the majority of the day, they are shut. The churches are very spread out and it requires a dedicated trip to reach one, which is a real frustration if you then find it is closed. We made 5 attempts to visit 3 churches and managed to get inside only 2 of them.Once we got in one then it was lovely but care needs to be taken in working out whether it will be open, so I can see the attraction of an organised tour. We manaded to get into two which had the benefit of being in or near large places, so the foot traffic justified the place being open or manned. We went to the church of St Michael in Pedoulas opposite a museum and the church of St Nicholas outside Kakopetria (which closes at 16:00 in october not 18:00 as the lonely planet indicates).The churches are a window into a simpler smaller more devout world, and if I could get into more of them would get 4 stars...