As with many Mediterranean islands, Cyprus is a popular holiday hotspot for thousands of tourists all keen to lie under the sun by day and live it up in clubland by night. But it's also an island packed full of natural beauty, as well as being steeped in thousands of years of history, with many ancient footprints having been left behind by its varying inhabitants. In fact visitors to Cyprus miss so much if they choose to spend their precious holiday time sunbathing and boozing.



On the one hand

Ayia Napa is a hedonist's dream resort, with hot sunny weather averaging over 30 degrees Celsius each summer, an amazing long stretch of golden sands lapped by clear n clean blue waters, and enough superclubs to satisfy even the most hardcore clubbers. Even though these days there are increasing numbers of people coming here on family holidays, there's no mistaking the fact that Ayia Napa's reputation as a 24-hour party place is still well deserved. It's a stunning resort with a seafront full of fast food restaurants, cafes and sports bars, so it's hard to imagine that even in the early 1980s Ayia Napa was little more than a fishing village. In fact there's nothing nowadays that belies its humble origins, you could say that Ayia Napa's fishing heritage is now...

...Ancient history!

If Greek mythology is your thing then Cyprus ranks highly as the birthplace of the goddess Aphrodite. Said to have been born in the surf by a rocky island near Limassol, the exact spot is well signposted, and it's where wonderful things are meant to befall romantic couples who take the time for a leisurely swim around the island that lies just a few dozen metres off the shore. More impressive, frankly, are the Roman Mosaics at Paphos, and the Tomb Of The Kings just a little further up the coast near Coral Bay. The mosaics are still being excavated and date back to the 3rd century AD on a site that was once covered with the villas of high-ranking Romans. They're constructed from tiny pieces of marble and stone to create a quite breathtaking effect. The Tombs Of The Kings is a slightly misleading name - although there are 2,000 year old tombs here, this was a cemetery for Cypriot aristocrats of the time rather than kings, but these are impressive catacombs that have been carved out of solid rock and decorated with classic Doric columns and painted fresco walls. A fine resting place indeed.

Natural history

Would you believe that you can ski in Cyprus? The window of opportunity is small, but the Troodos mountains do indeed have some runs that collect enough snow in deep midwinter for skiing holidays in Cyprus! For the rest of the year Troodos is a lush green mountain range that is home to large numbers of beautiful walks - hire a car and drive up as far as you the roads allow you to, then get out and enjoy some amazing peaceful walks among the pine forests. Look out for waterfalls, monasteries and some stunning mountain views.