ancient ruins
Tombs of the Kings
Hellenistic rock-cut necropolis with peristyle courtyard tombs on the coast north of Paphos, with on-site parking.
5 km · about 10 min drive
EuropeCyprusPafos
Kissonerga
Pafos, Cyprus · Europe
About Kissonerga
Kissonerga works well as a base: 10 minutes from Tsada - Tremithousa - Tala (Borders), 12km from Avakas Gorge.
Kissonerga is in Pafos, Cyprus, with about 2,000 people. You drive on the left here. The nearest town is Tsada - Tremithousa - Tala (Borders), about 5 km away.
Kissonerga is a village in southwest Cyprus, about 8 km north of Paphos, in a region notable its banana plantations in an area known as the Ktima Lowlands. In 1980, the village had a population of 700 people.
Kissonerga is about eight kilometres down the main road from Paphos towards Coral Bay. Along the coast roadRead more
are several hotels, mini-markets, numerous bars and taverns, as well as small complexes of shops mainly catering for tourists. The village is located 112 metres above sea level.
Away from the coast road, Kissonerga village has a main street where there are restaurants, several mini-markets, two banks, two coffee shops (one of which also operates as a sub post office), a bookshop, florist, chemist and hairdressers. There is also an internet café near the playground. Kissonerga has a collection of renowned holiday homes named Julipapas Gardens offering accommodation to tourists and is signposted off the coastal road.
At the far end of the main street, opposite the school, which caters for children from nursery age to 11 years old, there is a communal area which is mainly used as a playground. Bordering this area is a monument dedicated to two young men of the village, Christos Miltiadous Kkelis (23) and Georgios Michalis (17) who were members of EOKA (National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters) and who died for their cause. The inscriptions read - ΑΓΩΝΙΣΤΗΣ ΤΗΣ ΕΟΚΑ 1955-59 ΕΠΕΣΕ ΜΑΧΟΜΕΝΟΣ ΥΠΕΡ ΠΙΣΤΕΩΣ ΚΑΙ ΠΑΤΡΙΔΟΣ (EOKA FIGHTER OF 1955-59 - FELL FIGHTING FOR FAITH AND HOMELAND). The main street that runs through Kissonerga is named after Christos Kkelis (see Google maps) and a smaller adjacent road is named after his father Miltiades Kkelis (also on Google maps) as it was the location of the Kkelis family home.
EOKA started a guerrilla campaign against British colonial rule and aimed at union with Greece (Enosis) on 1 April 1955. The campaign lasted until 1959 and caused the deaths of more Greek Cypriot civilians than British colonialists. It created civil strife and mistrust between the two Cypriot communities. The first British soldier to be killed in the conflict, Lance Corporal A. R. L. Milne, was killed in Kissonerga when a bomb was thrown into his vehicle.
Across the road from the playground is the Church of the Transfiguration (also known as Metamorphosis) and not far from this church are the ruins of a tiny chapel dedicated to Saints Zinovia and Filonilli. Although of modern architecture, the church the icons from the church of 1775 are preserved. These two saints accompanied St Paul to Paphos to help spread Christianity. They died and were buried in Kissonerga.
To the north of Kissonerga a new football stadium has recently been built in amongst the numerous plantations of bananas. Before the advent of European Union directives, Kissonerga was awash with these thriving plantations, but now many of them have fallen into decay as the bananas produced did not fit the exacting criteria that allowed them to be exported to other parts of the EU.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Kissonerga?
Within an hour or so of Kissonerga: Tombs of the Kings (5 km), Paphos Archaeological Park (8 km), Avakas Gorge (12 km), Petra tou Romiou (27 km).
Where is Kissonerga?
Kissonerga is in Pafos, Cyprus, about 5 km from Tsada - Tremithousa - Tala (Borders).
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Quick Information
- Population
- 2,004
- Continent
- Europe
- Country
- Cyprus
- Region
- Pafos
- Timezone
- Asia/Nicosia
- Coordinates
- 34.8228, 32.4013
Tags
Worth the detour from Kissonerga
8 notable places within an hour's drive.
ancient ruins
Paphos Archaeological Park
UNESCO site with extraordinarily well-preserved Roman floor mosaics, the Tombs of the Kings, and the legendary birthplace of Aphrodite.
8 km · about 15 min drive
natural wonder
Avakas Gorge
A slot canyon on the edge of the Akamas peninsula whose limestone walls narrow to a few metres wide and rise 30 m overhead, with wedged boulders hanging above the path. Dirt-road access from Toxeftra beach, then an easy streambed walk.
12 km · about 25 min drive
scenic viewpoint
Petra tou Romiou
Sea stacks on the Paphos–Limassol coast road identified in legend as Aphrodite's birthplace, with a roadside viewpoint and car park.
27 km · about 30 min drive
national park
Akamas Peninsula
Undeveloped peninsula in northwest Cyprus with rough tracks to Lara Bay turtle beaches and the Avakas Gorge; a 4x4 is advisable.
30 km · about 35 min drive
landmark
Kykkos Monastery
Wealthy 11th-century Orthodox monastery high in the Troodos mountains, richly decorated with mosaics and reached by mountain road.
36 km · about 40 min drive
landmark
Omodos
Cobbled wine village in the Troodos foothills built around Timiou Stavrou monastery, a common stop on the Commandaria wine route.
37 km · about 45 min drive
waterfall
Caledonia Falls
Twelve-metre waterfall on the Kryos river near Platres in the Troodos mountains, reached by a marked trail from a roadside car park.
43 km · about 50 min drive
Driving roads near Kissonerga
- 27 kmPetra tou RomiouSea stacks on the Paphos–Limassol coast road identified in legend as Aphrodite's birthplace, with a roadside viewpoint and car park.
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