An Akamas tour crosses the north-west tip of Cyprus. It visits a gorge, a turtle beach, the grotto of Aphrodite and forest trails, by jeep, minibus, quad or boat. Find more trip ideas on Greece Tours.
Below we compare the gorge, the beach rules, the two baths, the trails, the wildlife and the villages. We end with planning details.
What is an Akamas tour?
An Akamas tour is a guided trip to the Akamas Peninsula, the cape that ends the island in the north-west. Wikipedia gives the peninsula an area of 230 square kilometres. Jeep, minibus, quad and boat operators run these trips from Paphos, Polis, Latchi and Limassol.
Ptolemy described the headland as thickly wooded. The name comes from Akamas, the son of Theseus who founded the city-kingdom of Soli.
Until the end of the twentieth century the British forces used the headland as a firing range. Part of the land now sits in the EU Natura network, and guided trips take visitors through it.
TUI Musement lists six Akamas experiences, from 2 to 4 hours up to more than 8 hours. The short one is a half-day 4×4 summer tour. The longest combines a boat, a 4×4, a gorge and a beach with lunch.
This page follows an Akamas tour stop by stop. The stops are the gorge, the turtle beach, two bathing spots, the trails, the wildlife and the villages. Our Cyprus tours page compares the other regions of the island.
Which Akamas tour can you book from Paphos?
Five GetYourGuide products cover the peninsula from Paphos. They are three jeep days, a minibus walk and a short Adonis Baths transfer.
The 8.5-hour Akamas National Park and Avakas Gorge jeep tour runs in a small group with pickup. The 7-hour Avakas Gorge and Turtle Bay jeep tour adds a turtle conservation area and a donkey farm. It also visits the Baths of Aphrodite.
The 7-hour minibus adventure walks the gorge, swims at Lara Beach and relaxes at Agios Georgios. The route also includes the Edro III shipwreck and the Sea Caves.
A fourth Akamas tour product is a 3-hour morning transfer to the Adonis Baths waterfall from Paphos or Coral Bay. The fifth, an 8.5-hour jeep day, links Akamas, the Adonis waterfalls and the Blue Lagoon of Aphrodite.
Boat-led days belong to our Paphos Blue Lagoon tour guide. Each Akamas tour below is described by its stops, not its boat.
What does an Akamas tour show at Avakas Gorge?
An Akamas tour to Avakas Gorge shows a limestone canyon in the south-west corner of the headland. Wikipedia says its sheer cliffs close in until they meet, leaving a tunnel through which a stream runs. A travel operator gives the walls a height of up to 30 metres.
Visit Cyprus places the gorge inside the Pegeia state forest. The canyon follows the course of the Avgas River, which gave it its name. Constant erosion of limestone, chalk and clay carved it.
The gorge sits inside the EU Natura network, so an Akamas tour here crosses protected ground. Visit Cyprus describes the interior as thickly vegetated, shady and moist. The last section of the trail runs in the stream itself.
The trail begins on a dirt road through an open valley. That road is closed to private vehicles, so the gorge is reached on foot or with an operator.
How long is the Avakas Gorge walk on an Akamas tour?
The official Avakas Gorge trail is 1.2 km long. Guide to Paphos puts the walk at 45 minutes to one hour. It rates the walk easy to average, difficulty 1 to 2.
Visit Cyprus lists the route as a linear trail inside Pegeia forest. The trail page also carries the note “Temporarily closed” in its title.
Ask the operator about the gorge before booking an Akamas tour built around the walk. A written itinerary shows whether the walk is part of the day.
An eco-tour operator advises comfortable shoes for the gorge walk, light clothing, a hat and sunscreen.
Why does an Akamas tour stop at Lara Bay?
An Akamas tour stops at Lara Bay because the beach holds a turtle hatchery. Wikipedia says the eggs are protected there. Cyprus Mail describes Lara and Toxeftra as one of the island’s leading breeding sites for sea turtles.
Guide to Paphos names the site the Lara Bay Turtle Conservation Station and says it protects green and loggerhead turtles. Metal baskets sit on top of the nests. The guide advises a visit between late spring and August to see nesting.
The Fisheries Department says only one to two in a thousand hatchlings survive to return and breed. That figure explains the strict protection.
Lara Beach has no shops, no sunbeds and no shade. The guide adds that wild goats share the beach with the turtles.
Guide to Paphos allows swimming at Lara except in the central area, which stays clear for the turtles. The Lara Beach minibus walk stops here, as does a Coral Bay quad route from our Paphos quad safari guide.
Which beach rules apply at Lara on an Akamas tour?
The Lara-Toxeftra protected area bans umbrellas, beach beds, tents, caravans and huts from 1 June until 30 September. Staying on the beach overnight is also banned, starting one hour before sunset, and fishing is restricted.
The Fisheries Department sets the rules. Cyprus Mail reported them again in August after bathers pitched umbrellas and tents on the beach. Signs across the area warn that the measures are in force.
A second ban covers the water. Vessels cannot sail or anchor in the protected area from late spring until 31 October. The ban reaches a depth of 20 metres.
Other rules apply to every Akamas tour all year. Driving onto the beach, lighting fires, causing pollution and gathering the protected tufted ghost crabs are all prohibited.
Read these rules before booking an Akamas tour with a beach stop. They bind every visitor.
What do the Baths of Aphrodite add to an Akamas tour?
The Baths of Aphrodite add a mythical grotto and a botanical garden. Visit Cyprus places the site past the fishing harbour of Latsi, towards the tip of the Akamas Peninsula. An old fig tree shades the grotto, and legend says the goddess bathed there.
The same Visit Cyprus page tells a second story. Aphrodite met her lover Adonis here when he stopped for a drink while hunting. He fell in love with her the moment he drank the water.
Atlas Obscura adds that the water comes from a natural spring flowing down the rock. It also says swimming in the grotto is prohibited.
The site belongs to the Aphrodite Cultural Route, and an Akamas tour that stops here joins it. Wikipedia places it near Polis and lists nature trails and walks that start at the baths.
Does an Akamas tour include the Adonis Baths?
Yes, the jeep and quad days to the waterfalls do. Guide to Paphos places the Adonis Baths near Kili village in Paphos district. It says Adonis died in Aphrodite’s arms there. The site has two pools, a small museum and a tree with ropes.
The road to the waterfalls is long and unsealed, which is why guests book an Akamas tour. Guide to Paphos calls it a dirt road unsuitable for a regular car and advises booking a tour.
The GetYourGuide Adonis Baths product is a 3-hour entry ticket with a morning transfer from Paphos or Coral Bay. It lists emerald pools, ancient statues and a museum.
Do not mix the two Adonis names. The Adonis Baths sit near Kili. The Adonis nature trail is a forest walk that starts 400 metres before the Baths of Aphrodite.
Guide to Paphos lists summer hours of 9:00 to 20:00 and winter hours of 9:00 to 17:00. Pack a swimsuit and a towel for the pools.
What wildlife and flowers does an Akamas tour pass?
An Akamas tour passes endemic plants, foxes, hares, hedgehogs, snakes and birds. Wikipedia counts 39 of the 128 endemic plants of Cyprus on the peninsula. The European Environment Agency lists Akamas among 22 areas of endemism in Europe.
Wikipedia names wild flowers such as cyclamen, turban buttercups, the Cyprus tulip, orchids, yellow gorse and white rock rose. Alyssum akamasicum grows nowhere else.
The animal list on Wikipedia for the area an Akamas tour covers includes fruit bats, shrews, hedgehogs and foxes. It adds griffon vultures, Cyprus warblers and Cyprus scops owls. The vulnerable species include bats, monk seals and sea turtles.
Visit Cyprus adds the Cyprus wheatear, the Cyprus viper and the black whip snake to its forest trail pages. The forest also serves as a resting point for migratory birds.
Inside Avakas Gorge, Visit Cyprus lists lentisk, Phoenician juniper, oleander and the endangered Akamas centaury. Marsh frogs, iridescent frogs and tree frogs live along the stream.
Which trails can you walk beyond an Akamas tour?
Three forest trails start near the Baths of Aphrodite and Neo Chorio. The Adonis trail is 7.5 km. The Smigies trail is 2.5 km or 6 km. The Aphrodite trail joins the Adonis route. Visit Cyprus rates the Adonis walk at 3 to 4 hours, difficulty 3.
The Adonis trail is circular. It starts 400 metres before the Baths of Aphrodite and passes Pyrgos tis Rigainas, the Queen’s Tower. A 500-year-old oak stands near the tower ruins.
The trail returns along the road from the baths to Polis for about 400 metres. At the start of the trail you can visit the Botanical Gardens of Akamas.
Unlike an Akamas tour, the Smigies trail starts at the Smigies picnic site, 2.5 km from Neo Chorio. The short route takes 1 hour and the long route takes 2 hours.
The long route runs past old mines, magnesium facilities and abandoned kilns. Views reach Lara Bay to the west and Chrysochous Bay to the east.
The Smigies and Adonis trails meet at Kefalovrysia, where a fountain gives non-potable water. The Aphrodite trail meets the Adonis route at Pyrgos tis Rigainas.
Where do Polis and Latchi fit on an Akamas tour?
Polis and Latchi are the north-eastern gateway to an Akamas tour. Polis stands in the middle of Chrysochous Bay, beside the peninsula. Wikipedia says the fishing port of Latchi serves the town. Latchi is the starting point for Akamas boat trips.
Latchi, the harbour for an Akamas tour by boat, was once a small port exporting carobs. Its old stone carob warehouses are now restaurants and fish tavernas, and the marina holds 220 pleasure boats.
Polis is the seat of the local area, which holds 23 communities. Wikipedia lists restaurants around the town square, a beach campsite and a near hourly bus, the 645, to Paphos.
Wikipedia puts the ruins of the medieval Georgian Orthodox monastery of Gialia near Polis. It also describes the Fontana Amorosa as a freshwater pool 48 kilometres north of Paphos.
Wikipedia records the belief about Fontana Amorosa. Anyone who drinks from the spring is said to become overcome with youthful desire.
The GetYourGuide Latchi buggy tour drives Akamas, swims at Turtle Bay and stops at the Smigies and Pittokopos viewpoints. Our Paphos snorkeling guide covers the swim stops along this coast.
How do you reach the Akamas Peninsula without an Akamas tour?
Pegeia is the town to the south of the peninsula, and Polis is the town to its north-east. Wikipedia says no roads run through the heartland, and not every road marked on Cyprus road maps is sealed. Lara Beach needs a 4×4 on a dirt road.
Guide to Paphos tells drivers to take the Pegeia road towards Agios Georgios. A dirt road then leads to Lara, and the guide calls a 4×4 the only vehicle for that route.
Visit Cyprus closes the dirt road into Avakas Gorge to private vehicles. A near hourly bus, the 645, links Polis with Paphos. Wikipedia calls the buses to the outer villages infrequent.
Visit Pafos lists a Saturday full-day exploration of Polis Chrysochous and the Akamas Peninsula. It leaves Paphos at 09:15 and returns at 16:15.
Our Paphos jeep safari page compares the guided routes over that unsealed ground. A guided Akamas tour of that kind leaves the driving to the operator.
Which Akamas tour starts from Limassol or Coral Bay?
Viator lists three Akamas days from Limassol, and Adventure Tours Direct collects guests from Limassol hotels. GetYourGuide lists Coral Bay quad and buggy tours that reach the Adonis Baths or Lara Bay.
Adventure Tours Direct picks Limassol guests up between 07:15 and 07:30 and drives them to Paphos. The tour begins there. Paphos guests leave between 08:30 and 08:45.
The Limassol group returns in the afternoon. An optional photo stop at Petra tou Romiou, the birthplace of Aphrodite, comes just before sunset.
The Viator titles are an Akamas jeep tour, a cruise and 4×4 safari and a private full-day Akamas expedition. A fourth Viator title starts from Aphrodite Hills.
The GetYourGuide Coral Bay and Lara Bay Akamas tour takes 3 hours. It visits the shipwreck, the sea caves and the Akamas reserve, then swims at the Lara Turtle Conservation Station.
What do you bring on an Akamas tour?
Bring comfortable shoes for the gorge, light clothing, a hat, sunscreen and swimwear with a towel. An eco-tour operator lists these items for its Akamas Peninsula tour. Guide to Paphos adds food and water for Lara Beach, which has no shops.
The operator’s Akamas tour listing includes transport from and to your accommodation, morning refreshments and an English-speaking driver. Meals, extra drinks and gratuities are not included.
A travel operator that runs a Land Rover day advises walking shoes. It lists lunch at a Cypriot family restaurant with a sea view as optional and not included.
The guide to Lara Beach warns that the beach has no shade, so keep a hat and sunscreen close.
Bring a swimsuit and a towel for the Adonis Baths pools. Do not plan a swim at the Baths of Aphrodite, because swimming in the grotto is prohibited.
When is the right season for an Akamas tour?
The season for an Akamas tour runs from late spring to the end of October. Adventure Tours Direct lists 1 April to 31 October as the tour period of its boat days. The eco-tour operator lists swimming from late spring until the end of October.
Turtles set the beach calendar for every Akamas tour. The Fisheries Department announced the first nests at Lara in late spring. Guide to Paphos advises a visit between late spring and August.
Guide to Paphos recommends spring for Avakas Gorge, because abundant blooms set the scene for the walk.
Visit Pafos schedules its Akamas exploration on Saturdays in autumn, so a walking day also fits outside the bathing months.
What do travellers ask about an Akamas tour?
Is the whole Akamas a national park?
Protection is partial. Wikipedia says two turtle-nesting beaches became Sites of Community Importance. The Polis-Gialia area became a Special Area of Conservation. Only half of the proposed land received Natura status.
Which Akamas tour suits young children and older travellers?
Adventure Tours Direct sells a comfort tour in an air-conditioned minibus that avoids bumpy, dusty dirt tracks. It names families with young children and the elderly as the target group.
Does every Akamas tour visit both Lara Bay and the Adonis Baths?
No. Adventure Tours Direct says its jeep day goes to the Baths and Waterfalls of Adonis on one date. On another date it goes to the Lara Bay turtle hatchery. Ask which stop your date includes.
Is there an Akamas museum?
Visit Cyprus lists the Akamas Geology and Paleontology Information Center. It explains rocks, fossils, local herbs and the geomorphology of Akamas. It opens Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 16:00 and Saturday from 10:00 to 15:00.
Who has filmed on the Akamas Peninsula?
Sir David Attenborough has filmed at Akamas. Wikipedia adds that the film Akamas, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, was largely filmed there.