Photos of Limassol District - to the Troodos Mountains, Cyprus

From the city of Limassol, roads lead north to the Troodos Mountains, past many picturesque villages in the southwestern-central part of Cyprus. Many of these villages are very old; some date back to Byzantine times.

There are attractive villages like Vouni, Koilani, Lofou and Doros. Lanaia, named after Lana, daughter of the Greek god of wine and pleasure, Dionysos, is the centre of a wine-making region. Higher up, east of Troodos, is the old Amiantos asbestos mine, which operated between 1904 and 1988. Mining has been carried out since ancient times, and during the 1930s, more than 10,000 people worked here.

The village of Kyperounta, at an altitude of 1130-1300 metres, is west of Troodos. It is the third-highest village in Cyprus and is considered the head-village of the Pitsilia region. Six kilometres from there is the small picturesque village of Agridia, at an altitude of 1100 metres above sea level. And three kilometres further on is Agros, named after the Monastery of Megalos Agros, the place where its Church of Panagia Eleousa stands today. Agros seems to sit in an amphitheatre, surrounded by high mountains.