An Insiders View on Cyprus

By Evropi Navrozidou

Everything the guide books or tourism websites won’t tell you about the place

Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean, with spectacular scenery and an enviable climate. An island of beauty and a country of contrasts with its cool, pine-clad mountains forming a complete scene-change compared to the golden sun-kissed beaches. Cyprus may be a small country, but it is a large island with a big heart; an island that gives its visitors a genuine welcome and treats them as friends.

What makes Cyprus an ideal travel destination for all?

Whether you prefer to relax and enjoy your stay on the beach or want to experience new adventures, Cyprus is the ideal place to be. The island offers a wide range of activities such as cycling on the outstanding Limassol promenade, Segway tours, participating in dance workshops and yoga sessions, golf training, countless cultural and art activities. As for the more adventurous individuals visiting the island, guests have the opportunity to enjoy team building activities such as dragon boat racing, motorbike tours, off-road bike expeditions, mountain quad safaris, antique car rallies, jeep expeditions and even horse riding.

Quad Ride

Tell us something that every traveller should know when traveling to Cyprus?

Hospitality in Cyprus is legendary and Cypriots have a unique way of creating a warm and loving atmosphere that makes people feel relaxed and welcomed. The strong spirit of hospitality always leaves visitors impressed every time they visit Cyprus.

Bring a big appetite and try a traditional meze. Meze or mezze is a selection of small dishes. It is the Cypriot style of eating where there are many different courses, but each course contains just a little of each item, enough for everyone to have a taste while incorporating what’s fresh each season. The Mezze is more than just a meal it’s all about sharing and bringing people together.

Lastly, if you do not know what to do after a morning on the beach, you can head up to Troodos Mountains just an hour away and hit the ski slopes. Cyprus is able to offer just about everything.

Any essentials that one needs to carry when they traveling to Cyprus? 

A hat, swimwear, a pair of sunglasses and your sunscreen, these are your 4 must-have pieces!

Which are the most surreal places to visit when in Cyprus?

Some of the most surreal places to visit in Cyprus are the following:
Akamas Peninsula
Larnaca Salt Lake
Troodos Peaks
Cape Creco, Ayia Napa


Ayia Napa

Can you tell us a little about the life of the locals? 

If you want to immerse yourself into the local culture, you need to know a couple of things:

Experience the café Culture:
Cypriots love coffee and particularly frothy ice coffee that we have mastered to creamy caffeinated perfection! On Fridays and weekends all over the island, the Cypriots like to gather with friends and family to share their news and stories. Hang around long enough and some cafes turn into bars and music venues, where you can spend the rest of the evening drinking cheerfully with the locals.

The “Siesta”:
The sun rhythms the day of the locals, the sun rises early (get a few things done before temperatures rise…), burns at its zenith (just give into that sleepy feeling after lunch so you’re all rested after 5 pm) and sets when life on the island picks up again (dress up well and get ready for your nightlife as in line with Mediterranean culture dinner starts and lasts late).
Embrace the slow pace of life, eat well (and slow!), and you’ll come back rejuvenated and in love with this beautiful island.

What are the local delicacies/drinks which one must try and where in Cyprus?

Meze:  No visit to Cyprus is complete without enjoying the traditional meal of many small dishes known as ‘meze’. It comprises of an array of approximately 20 dishes, starting with dips, salads and followed by casserole dishes and charcoal grilled meat or fish or both!

Meze

Loukoumia:  It has a soft, jelly-like and sometimes sticky consistency, and is often packaged and eaten in small cubes dusted with icing sugar or coconut to prevent clinging. They are exotic, intensely sweets with a delicate flavor of sweetness from most of the times rosewater and icing sugar. “It is a Cyprus delight sweet.”

Soutzoukos:  Is a traditional, chewy sweet made from grape juice that has a unique appearance (it looks similar to a candle!), and is popular at traditional festivals. The sweet is made using the surplus of grapes after the grape harvest, which is why it is commonly made in the wine-producing villages of the Troodos and Paphos regions.

Zivania: With an alcohol content of 40-99%, it is no surprise that is also referred to nationally as ‘firewater’!

Halloumi: Is the island’s most famous cheese! Made from goat or sheep’s milk, this white semi-hard cheese has been produced on the island for centuries and is traditionally prepared with a precise recipe.

What are things which one must buy when in Cyprus?

Olives : Olive oil and associated goods are probably the must buy gifts that you should bring home from Cyprus. Olives have been cultivated on the island since ancient times, and the expansion of the olive cultivars has been growing at the beginning of the 20th century after the British founded 6 new olive farms that provided this rapid expansion.

Honey: Cyprus has a long-standing tradition of honey making, producing a large number of high-quality and award-winning kinds of honey that are known for their pureness.

Rose products: Deep in the heart of the Pitsillia region of the island, is a village, Agros, known for its rose-growing and production of rose-related products. From perfumes to cosmetics, to candles, liquors and others, you will definitely try some of the local products made with the fragile light pink flowers.

Wine : Cyprus has been a vine-growing and wine-producing country for millennia and wine is and used to be a major part of the Cypriot diet. Cyprus’s wines rank among the world’s best, finest-quality wines. A big percentage of Cyprus vineyards are planted with indigenous grape varieties that have “melodious-sounding” names like Xinisteri, Maratheftiko, Lefkada and Mavro.

Winery

Which is the most romantic places to visit in Cyprus?

Aphrodite’s Rock during sunset. The combination of the beauty of this place during the sunset and its status in mythology as the birthplace of the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite, make this place as one of the most romantic to visit in Cyprus.

Alphrodite

What are the local festivals which one must come to attend in Cyprus?

There are many local festivals in Cyprus, Limassol stages some of the island’s best-known festivals:

The annual Wine Festival in September, the pre-Lenten Carnival; with masquerade parties, balls and grand parades, and the ancient Drama Festival at Kourion theatre.

Kourion Theatre

The things guidebooks will not tell anyone about?

Cyprus is ranked as the fifth safest country in the world when considering life expectancy, CO2 emissions, national police personnel, traffic deaths, thefts and assaults. As a small Mediterranean country, with a stable political climate, Cyprus has a strong reputation as a trouble-free travel destination.

According to you what is the best thing about Cyprus?

The island has an efficient road transport and communications network, two multi-purpose seaports located in the coastal cities of Limassol and Larnaca and two modern international airports in Larnaca and Paphos. The island’s main resorts are connected by modern highways and make transfers a lot easier. Furthermore, distances in Cyprus are relatively short, which gives delegates the opportunity to explore different parts of the island in a limited period of time. It only takes around 40 minutes to travel from one city to another while the longest distance might be around one and a half hours by car.

Evropi Navrozidou &  Drakos Team

Check out our latest package on Ireland 

The Guest Who Walks in Zambia

By Srinivas Krishnan

There is an old jungle saying: “The tourist who walks deep into the bush understands the heart of Africa best.”
Apologies to Lee Falk and his famous comic creation, the Phantom, but we guess you understand the sentiment behind that ‘old jungle saying’. Because if you want to absorb the real wild Africa, you have to immerse yourself and be a part of the jungle, like our ancestors did for thousands of years. The only difference is that you can do it in great comfort and safety, with a dash of luxury.

It’s a different experience altogether compared to watching the bush unfold from the back of a vehicle. In a mobile walking safari, you are one with the vast sky, the distant horizons, the teeming wildlife, the lush flora, the untamed waters, the unpolluted air and the breath-taking sunsets. All your five senses are on a refined state of alertness, allowing you to take in the bush in its real state, where even seemingly insignificant sounds, smells and sights get highlighted. The flutter of a bird’s wing, the cry of an animal, the rustle in the grass, the distant sounds of water gushing, the smell of the earth… It’s like being inside a David Attenborough documentary! Sounds like an adventure, right?

The mobile walking safari in the unspoiled South Luangwa National Park in the beautiful, blessed and peaceful country of Zambia is a unique African adventure. The Park is unsullied and offers you Africa in its primal, natural form. The magic is because of the seasonal flooding that, with its ebbs and flows, makes it inaccessible by road. Consequently, there is a terrific concentration of game in this Park and it hosts some of the most varied collections of wildlife on this planet.

Centred in and around the Luangwa River, there are over 400 species of bird, large pods of hippos, as well as lion, leopard, elephant, unique zebra and giraffe species as well as the extremely endangered African wild dog. Now imagine walking through it, accompanied by a campsite that moves along with you. Of course, you will be accompanied by an experienced naturalist who will ensure you know and understand more than what you’d get by watching a documentary on the telly. You will be taught how to spot clues, hone your skills as well as use your senses to the fullest to truly discover the African bush. From tiny ants to humongous elephants, from understanding the intricacies of a bird’s nest to tracking a lion, you will experience the rawness of wild Africa the way it’s meant to be.

You must be thinking that’s fine during the day, but many of these animals are nocturnal. True. Which is why you can go on a drive in a specially customized vehicle which is equipped with a powerful spotlight – so you can witness the mighty cats and other animals in the darkness too.


Starting your trip at the ideally situated Nkwali Camp which has an excellent view of the Luangwa River, you begin your orientation of the African jungle. Your walking experience starts soon after, along the Mupamadzi river (which is a major tributary of the Luangwa), through remote parts of the park. The camps will be set and ready to welcome you from your walks through the bush. They are well-equipped with walk-in tents, with a shower under a tree while the toilet is a wooden throne with a long drop. Camping out in the open in the true African wilderness is an unmissable experience, especially at night with the vast sky and the countless stars to look up to… with the inimitable noises of the jungle providing the scene with a soundtrack!


Will the walks through the bush be strenuous? Well, if you are moderately fit, you should be able to accomplish the adventure with not much effort. Want to test it out rather easily? Try running for about 50 metres; if you can do it, then you are on! The walking safari, on the varied ground, averages about 10 km daily, but you have a staggering four hours to accomplish it. So it’s a decent pace, which allows you more time to observe and watch the real African bush.

But the walking safari is not only about giving your shoes a good work out. You get to relax and rest your weary legs at some very good spots. For instance, the Tena Tena camp, which is located in a remote section of the National Park, sits atop a sweeping bend of the Luangwa River. From the comfort of the camp, you can watch elephants, hippos and antelopes pretend as if you are not there. You will also get to spend some time at the Nsefu game camp, which was the first one to be set up in Zambia way back in the early 1950s. This one overlooks a waterhole, where you can observe game during the day and leopards in the night.


Sounds good? Come with us for the Walking Safari in Zambia – you can be our Guest Who Walks, who makes old jungle sayings come true!

Email: askus@thewanderers.co.in

Check out our package on Zambia : Zambia Package