Kykkos Monastery: The First President of Cyprus Was a Monk Here at 13

In 1926, a 13-year-old boy from the village of Pano Panayia became a novice monk at Kykkos Monastery. He was ordained a deacon at 18, eventually became Archbishop of Cyprus, and in 1960 became the first president of the independent republic. Archbishop Makarios III ran the country from 1960 until his death in 1977, and is buried 3 kilometres west of the monastery on Throni Hill, where the Cypriot flag and Greek flag are flown permanently above his tomb. The monastery that shaped him is still an active Orthodox monastic community, still the wealthiest and most influential in Cyprus, and still holds one of the three icons attributed to Saint Luke.

The Monastery

Kykkos sits at 1,318 metres in the Troodos Mountains, in the Marathasa Valley. The original foundation dates to the late 11th century, built with funding from the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos after a monk named Esaias is said to have cured the emperor’s daughter. The icon Esaias brought from Constantinople, depicting the Virgin Mary and said to have been painted by the Apostle Luke himself, remains at Kykkos. It has not been publicly viewed in over three centuries. It is kept covered in silver gilt and housed in a shrine of tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl, and most pilgrims visit specifically to stand before it without ever seeing the painted surface beneath.

The monastery has burned down and been rebuilt multiple times over its 900-year history. The current buildings are largely from the 19th and 20th centuries. The mosaics on the exterior walls and covered walkways are the work of Cypriot artist Philippos Kepolas, and are more recent than they appear; the visual unity they create is deceptive given the monastery’s layered rebuilding history.

Visiting

Entry to the monastery is free. The museum, which holds a collection of religious manuscripts, reliquaries, embroidery, icons, and secular gifts to the monastery over the centuries (including items given by Byzantine emperors and Russian tsars), charges 5 euros. The library holds some 15,000 printed books and around 100 manuscripts.

Visiting hours are 10am to 4pm from November through May, and 10am to 6pm from June through October. The monastery may close on major religious holidays; checking ahead is worthwhile if your timing is inflexible.

Dress modestly: covered shoulders and knees are required. Photography is not permitted inside the main church. The exterior courtyards and the mosaics can be photographed freely.

Plan around 2 to 3 hours for a visit that includes the church, the exterior walkways, and the museum.

The Drive Up

Kykkos is most commonly approached from Nicosia (about 90 kilometres, 1.5 hours) or Limassol (about 100 kilometres, 1.5-2 hours). The final approach from Pedoulas via the B9 road is the most scenic, passing through cherry orchards and pine forest before the monastery appears above the treeline.

From Kykkos, a short drive (around 15 minutes on a dirt track, signposted from the main road) reaches Cedar Valley, a protected forest in the Paphos Forest where the native Cyprus cedar (Cedrus brevifolia) grows. The cedar is a distinct species found almost nowhere else. A 5-kilometre round-trip trail runs through the valley floor. On weekdays outside the summer peak, the valley receives almost no visitors and the silence is significant.

Pedoulas and the Surrounding Villages

The village of Pedoulas, 13 kilometres from Kykkos at 1,200 metres altitude, is the practical base for a visit to the monastery. It has several small hotels, a handful of tavernas, and the Church of the Archangel Michael, built in 1474 and on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The interior frescoes are among the better-preserved examples of 15th-century Cypriot Byzantine painting and rarely crowded.

Christys Palace Hotel in Pedoulas is a family-run property with mountain and village views at around 60-90 euros per night. The Central Hotel nearby is a similar price bracket and similarly reliable. Neither is particularly distinguished, but both are clean and the location makes an early morning monastery visit possible before the day-trip coaches arrive, which is the main advantage of staying.

Pedoulas hosts a cherry festival each June with cooking demonstrations and walks through the orchards. The valley is one of Cyprus’s main cherry-growing regions and the festival is genuinely local rather than primarily tourist-oriented.

For eating, the village tavernas in Pedoulas and in the nearby Marathasa villages serve traditional Cypriot meze: halloumi, grilled meats, kleftiko (slow-roasted lamb), loukaniko sausages, and local wines. A full meze for two runs 30-50 euros. The quality does not vary dramatically between establishments; what varies is the view.

Wine and the Commandaria Region

The Troodos foothills around Limassol, about an hour south of Kykkos, produce Commandaria, a sweet dessert wine made from sun-dried Xynisteri and Mavro grapes. The wine has been produced in Cyprus since at least the 12th century and is documented as the world’s oldest named wine still in production. Several village wineries in the Commandaria appellation villages (Kalo Chorio, Zoopigi, Lania) accept visitors for tasting. Combining a Kykkos visit with an afternoon at one of these wineries makes a full day circuit from either Nicosia or Limassol.

Practical Notes

The road to Kykkos from the Nicosia direction passes through Kakopetria, which has better restaurant options than Pedoulas if you are travelling the northern approach. Several tavernas around Kakopetria’s old village centre serve traditional food with the reliability that comes from a consistent local clientele.

The Troodos summit road (Mount Olympos, 1,952 metres) is about 25 kilometres from Kykkos and is accessible in summer. In winter, the summit sometimes has snow and ski facilities, which is surreal given that the coast is 50 kilometres away and rarely drops below 10 degrees Celsius. The ski centre operates from roughly January to early March depending on snow conditions.

One underrated reason to visit Kykkos on a Monday or Tuesday is that tour buses from Nicosia and Limassol tend to arrive mid-week through the weekend. The monastery is architecturally more readable and the tomb of Makarios more contemplative without 200 visitors in the courtyard simultaneously.