As an English tourist I sympthise with the local inhabitants in their loss of free access to this remarkable site. Unfortunately this is the reality of modern life, Stonehenge in England in the 1930s was unfenced and with free access. Choirokitia is a World Heritage site and deserves the worthy setting the entrance area has been given.

Clearly the village was established on the hillside with security in mind as the area currently under excavation has made evident. This is not easy for the visitor to make out until an improved viewpoint becomes possible, although the associated information plaque explains how it worked.

Just beyond the site entrance, the group of reconstructed dwellings with grinding stones for grain and even the example of a human burial within the hut make it easier to understand and interpret what you will see later. As a result, peeking through the windows and doorways, I felt closer to these early inhabitants of Cyprus than I have experienced at other more sanitised sites.

As you climb the hill you pass the circles of stones and the reality of life 7000 years BCE is brought to the fore. The interpretive plaques are informative and unintrusive, and the boardwalk makes access as convenient as reasonably possible.

I look forward to visiting Choirokitia again.