The Aphrodite Nature Trail is a 7.5-kilometre circular walk through the southern Akamas Peninsula, starting and ending at the Baths of Aphrodite. The trail climbs gently through juniper forest, runs along the coastal cliffs with views back toward Polis Chrysochous, passes the medieval ruin known as Pyrgos tis Rigainas — the Queen's Tower — and returns along the lower slopes. Mythology is the spine: the goddess Aphrodite, by tradition, walked these slopes, and the trail carries her name through the landscape.
Total walking time is around three hours at an unhurried pace, including stops. The trail is moderate in difficulty — climbs are gentle, the path is well-signed, and the route is circular so you don't retrace your steps.
A Loop Through the Akamas
The Aphrodite Trail starts at the small car park at the Baths of Aphrodite. The first hour climbs gently inland through juniper and lentisk maquis, with the sea visible to the east. The middle section runs along the upper slopes of the southern Akamas, with the medieval ruin of Pyrgos tis Rigainas appearing in a clearing — a thirteenth-century watchtower associated, in folk tradition, with a local queen.
From the Pyrgos, the path turns south-west and begins the descent. The lower hour runs along the coastal slopes, with steady sea views across the bay to Polis Chrysochous and the eastern Akamas. The final stretch returns to the Baths of Aphrodite car park, completing the loop.
What You'll See on the Trail
- *Juniper and maquis* vegetation** — phoenician juniper, wild olive, lentisk, kermes oak. The smell on a warm afternoon is the signature of the Cypriot coast.
- Sea views — the trail's middle and lower sections look across the Polis Bay toward Latchi and the eastern Akamas.
- Pyrgos tis Rigainas — the thirteenth-century Frankish watchtower, ruined but evocative.
- Spring wildflowers — anemones, cyclamen, the wild orchids of the southern Akamas, March through April.
- Birds — raptors overhead, swifts and swallows in summer, occasional eagle owl at dusk.
Practical Walking Notes
Sturdy shoes essential. Bring water — at least 1.5 litres per person in summer, more in the hot months — and sun cover. The trail is partly shaded in the juniper sections but open to the sun for much of the middle and lower stretches. Mobile reception is intermittent in the inner Akamas.
The trail is open year-round. Spring and autumn are particularly comfortable for walkers; summer rewards an early-morning start; winter walks are fine in dry weather.
The Cyprus Forest Department maintains the official trail map and current status.
From Annabelle
The drive from Annabelle to the Baths of Aphrodite trailhead is around 55 minutes via Polis Chrysochous. Reception will arrange a private car or transfer. Allow a full day for the visit: trail (3 hours), plus drive, plus a lunch stop in Latchi on the way back.
Pair the walk with the Adonis Nature Trail — sister trail from the same trailhead, slightly longer — on a return visit, or take both on a long single day.
The myth. In Hesiod's account, Aphrodite came ashore at Petra tou Romiou and was worshipped first at Old Paphos. The Akamas, by old Cypriot tradition, was the wider landscape she moved through — a goddess whose presence inhabited the cliffs and the springs as much as the sanctuaries. The trail named for her runs through that landscape: not the place of any single myth, but the country she is said to have walked.
Find your way to the Aphrodite Nature Trail on
Google Maps.