The Adonis Nature Trail is the longer sister of the Aphrodite Nature Trail, starting from the same trailhead at the Baths of Aphrodite and climbing higher into the southern Akamas before returning. Total distance is around 7.5 kilometres of marked trail plus the optional extensions; total walking time, four hours at an unhurried pace. The route shares the same Pyrgos tis Rigainas viewpoint with the Aphrodite loop but takes a different return through higher juniper.
Walkers who enjoyed the Aphrodite Trail and want a slightly more strenuous and quieter second day in the Akamas should take this one.
A Longer Loop in the Akamas
The Adonis Trail starts at the Baths of Aphrodite car park, climbs gently through juniper and maquis, and reaches the Pyrgos tis Rigainas viewpoint at around the halfway mark. From the Pyrgos, the Adonis route diverges from the Aphrodite — climbing higher into the interior of the southern Akamas before turning west and descending through pine and juniper to the lower slopes and back to the start.
The upper sections of the Adonis carry the wider, less travelled views of the southern Akamas. The trail is also quieter; the Aphrodite gets most of the walkers, the Adonis gets the slower-paced and more committed.
How the Adonis Differs from the Aphrodite
Both trails are 7.5 km and circular. Both start and end at the Baths of Aphrodite. Both reach Pyrgos tis Rigainas. The differences:
- The Adonis climbs higher — 350-metre cumulative gain vs the Aphrodite's 240-metre.
- The Adonis takes a different return — through higher juniper rather than the lower coastal slopes.
- The Adonis is quieter — most day walkers take the Aphrodite.
- The Adonis gives wider interior views — the Aphrodite gives stronger sea views.
Either is a strong day. Both together, on a long visit, make a varied two-day Akamas walking pair.
Practical Walking Notes
The same as for the Aphrodite Trail: sturdy shoes, water, sun cover. The Adonis's slightly higher climb makes an early-morning start gentler in the warmer months. The Cyprus Forest Department maintains the official trail status.
From Annabelle
55-minute drive from the hotel to the trailhead. Reception will arrange transport. Allow a full day: walk, drive, and a lunch stop in Latchi.
The myth. Adonis was Aphrodite's mortal lover, killed in a hunting accident — gored, by some accounts, by a wild boar — and mourned by the goddess. The myth links them across the Akamas: Aphrodite's trail keeping the lower coastal slopes, Adonis's the higher interior, the two of them threaded through the same landscape. The names of the Cypriot trails are modern, but the local association of these slopes with the goddess and her lover is much older.
Find your way to the Adonis Nature Trail on
Google Maps.