The 10 painted churches located up on the mountains in the Troödos Region of Cyprus are an interesting collection of richly decorated Byzantine churches, some of which date back to the 11th century, still in use (somehow) today.

Something that I realized after visiting a few of the churches in August 2021 is that, by visiting only one or two of them, one would not really grasp the full meaning of this inscription. In fact, some of the churches are isolated, small and, honestly, quite unimpressive on their own. However, as we visited more and more, the prospective drastically changed for me and I started to appreciate the uniqueness of this serial site and the thread that connects all these monuments.

A particular, although at times frustrating, features of some of the churches is that they are normally closed and you have to find the keykeeper in order to get the church open for you to visit. And this proved to be not always an easy task. The website of the Department of Antiquities (Link to the website) provides some information on the opening times and how to reach the keykeeper, but unfortunately it is not always accurate and the task can turn out to be slightly harder than imagined.

Following is our itinerary with some tips:

Driving from the Sanctuary of Aphrodite at Palaepafos (also part of the Paphos WHS) and being based in Kakopetria, the easiest itinerary for us was to split the Troodos region in 2 parts: first the churches on the east side (further away from Kakopetria) and then those on the west side.

(1) The first church visited was Timios Stavros at Pelentri. The church was closed, although we arrived during visiting time but there was a sign with a phone number to call. I tried calling twice but nobody answered. However, a few minutes later, while I was trying to figure out what to do next, a lady arrived and she opened the church for us. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pics inside. However, this church is not really outstanding compared to the others.

(2) After a lunch break, next destination was the church of Stavros Ayiasmati. Approaching the church, a sign informed to collect the key at the café at Platanistasa (some 8km away!) and gave a phone number. Of course, the church was closed but I called and someone answered. Unfortunately, his English was not easy to understand and it took me almost 5 minutes to understand that the key was hidden under a flowerpot next to the door. Bingo! We opened the door and were free to take photos and roam around the really small church as we pleased. This church has some remarkable paintings. I was surprised that a World Heritage site is left completely unattended and anyone could come in and damage the paintings. I wonder if UNESCO knows about this situation.

(3) Next stop was Panayia tou Araka. This was easy as a monk selling local produce such as wild honey let us take pictures of the open church. He even made a comment on the lens of my camera with a perfect Australian accent! I liked this church a lot.

On the way to Kakopetria we briefly stopped at Panayia Chrysokourdaliotissa (tentative extension to this serial site, I might write a separate short review for that one) and we arrived with enough time to enjoy a stroll around the picturesque town of Kakopetria before dinner.

(4) The next morning, we went first to Panayia Podithou. The church was closed and there was a phone number to call but as I was about to get my phone out a car arrived and the driver opened the church for us. No photos allowed inside. If you are short in time, this one can be missed.

(5) Not far is Ayios Nikolaos tis Steyis which is well worth a visit. It even has a nice yard and a souvenir shop. Pictures inside are prohibited but I managed to sneak a couple of shots as the shop lady was on the phone. This church should be included in any list of the painted churches to visit.

We then visited the Troodos Geopark Visitor Centre and the Asbestos mine, the summit of Mount Olympus, found a 500-year-old black pine tree, and a few locations of the Troodos UNESCO Global Geopark that are scattered around the Troodos Mountains (and parts of it are on the tentative WHS list), before heading on with our church quest.

(6) Next stop was the church of Archangelos Michael at Pedoulas. Small church, easy to find, open and pictures allowed. However, the state of the painting seemed not as good as others. If really short in time, give it a miss, although it’s relatively close to the next two churches and therefore easy to visit.

After a lunch break, we moved on to Panayia tou Moutoulla. The website gives no information on opening times and when we arrived at the church at 3:07PM, we found out that the church was open until 3PM. Sadly, nothing to do here, keep going.

(7) We then moved on to Ayios Ionannis (St. John) Lambadhistis Monastery, just a few km away. The beautiful monastery was open and this was the only place where there were other tourists. The church is the largest among the 10 and it’s one of the best preserved. It’s a must visit when in the Troodos region. Unfortunately, photos are not allowed inside. I even begged the guardian monk but he was inflexible and told me that I can find plenty of pictures online!

We still had enough time to get to Kykkos monastery before its closing time. This is a modern monastery about 30 minutes west of St. John Monastery and it was a good way to spend a couple of hours before dinner time.

(8) The next morning, we left Kakopetria for Nicosia (with also a brief stop to the church of Saints Varnavas and Ilarionas, another tentative site) and on the way, at 10AM, we stopped at the last of the painted churches in the Troodos region, Panayia Asinou. The church was closed, despite the opening times are posted online. We called the number found on the website and after ten minutes an old man showed up and opened the church for us. Of course, no photos allowed inside. The paintings in this small church are remarkable, probably the best among all the churches visited.

It took about 2 days with a rented compact car and some extra sites on the side. Visiting only the churches might require a shorter time, if you find the churches open, but my advice is to not rush and enjoy the slow-paced life in the Troodos mountains.

Compared to Clyde’s review written in 2016, now it seems to be easier to visit the churches as the roads are all really well paved and there is no need for a 4X4 vehicle. The churches are well signaled on the roads and can also be found easily on google maps and their positions are all accurate.