I loved Lagoudera. I loved the village, the houses, the surrounding mountainous forest, the flowing rivers and the beautiful village residents. Once again, as much as I loved this Village, it has been very sad, listening to the people of Lagoudera mentioning that the number of the village residents and visitors keep decreasing.
Modern Cypriot urbanization culture may have some benefits, unfortunately it completely destroys most of the rural villages of Cyprus. It drives the rural life to extinction and slowly ends a part of the history and culture of Cyprus. Sadly that is the truth and if the state does not deal with it effectively, the last generation living in these villages will no longer be.
Anyway, back to the exploration of the village. The above needed to be said and get out of my chest. So, me and my friends Nikolas, Andreas, Souzana, Dena and Katerina were discussing a while back where we should go for the weekend.
We decided to visit and explore Lagoudera because we wanted a village experience with high altitude, within Nicosia district boundaries due to Covid-19 restrictions :( and a non popular destination.
The only place to stay in Lagoudera this moment is unfortunately ‘’The Mountain House’’. I say unfortunately not because the mountain house was not good (it was cozy and very satisfying) but because in my opinion Lagoudera and the villages nearby need more lodges.
Short History Lesson ( from the community website 🌐)
On the foothills of Madari, on a mean altitude of 1000 m emerges the beautiful village of Lagoudera. It is a village of the Nicosia District which falls within the geographical region of the Pitsilia villages. It is built in a mountainous area and it is ranked among the top 20 villages of Cyprus as far as their altitude is concerned
The village, or at least a small settlement, has possibly existed since the Byzantine period, meaning prior to the Frankish occupation. In particular, the Great Cyprus Encyclopedia remarks that the establishment of the village “must be dated back to approximately the end of the Byzantine period, when the housing of Lagoudera must have begun to develop due to the existence of a Monastery in the area which was dedicated to “Panagia tou Araka”
What we've experienced during our two days and two nights stay in Lagoudera. It might be a small, secluded and underpopulated village, however you can certainly do a lot of things up there.
First of all chill and enjoy the fireplace
In the Mountain House there is a beautiful fireplace and the owner provided us fire wood to keep us warm for both days and nights. Start the fire, sit back and let the colors and sounds of the burning fire relax you. Have in mind that many lodges on Troodos mountain range come with a fireplace or a wood stove.
Wander around the village
Like many villages within Troodos mountain range, houses in Lagoudera are built with dark color stones from the mountains and wooden beams and traditional roof tiles, even though some houses are restored with modern but efficient methods.
Either way, the village looks like from another age. The smoky smell from the fireplaces is distinct. Give it a shot.
Meet the People of Lagoudera
Guys, let me tell you this. GET FAMILIAR WITH THE LOCALS. There is a small number of residents up there, unfortunately none of them young, because most of them moved to the cities. We met some beautiful people while wandering around the village. I had one of my greatest experience ever, when we stomped into some locals in the middle of the production of Zivania. Oh boy that's an experience!
Hiking
Madari Peak - Teisia tis Madari 📍 - One of the most beautiful and popular hiking trails in Cyprus. Our day was foggy and misty, not allowing us to enjoy the great views that this hiking trail offers, but the mood was super and the images of the mountain peaks within the dense mist were breathtaking. It is an easy 3km circular walk. Click here for more info.
Panagia tou Araka - Stavros tou Agiasmati (Linear) - It is 7km long and offers some extremely beautiful views. We walked a couple of km of this trail because we didn't have enough time to hike both trails and enjoy the rest of this village. I can tell you this though, we will be definitely coming back for this trail. Click here for more info about this trail.
Note that if you don't feel like walking, you can just drive to Madari Fire Lookout Station📍 and enjoy the amazing view from the altitude of 1582m.
Visit the Churches
There are two churches in Lagoudera and whilst walking around the village, you can visit both of them.
Agios Georgios (photo on the left) which is the main church of the village and it was constructed in 1522 A.D.
It’s interior contains a wooden iconostasis dated back to the 17th century.
Panagia tou Araka church, is located in the northern edge of the community and it was built in the 12th century. In 1985, the church was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage Monument list. It is a very popular church and hundreds of Cypriots and foreigners visit it each year.
Check the community website for more info here..
Have a coffee at the communal Coffee shop
Now, hear this. Because there is no coffee shop in Lagoudera, the community council opens its doors every day around 18:00 - 21:00 and locals come to relax and chit chat. You want a Cypriot coffee? You can make your own. You want a beer, pick one from the fridge and leave 2 euros. How cool is that !!!!
That's it guys. That's how we spend our time enjoyed our stay in Lagoudera. I wish we had one more day to hike a bit more and visit the communal coffee shop. I don't know when, because there is so much more to discover in Cyprus, but we are going back some day. I hope you enjoyed this post. Make sure to subscribe, if you haven’t. Until the next time, cheers!!
