Pano Platres

Platres sits at about eleven hundred metres on the southern flank of the Troodos and was built up under British administration as a place to escape the coastal summer, which is still its function: the temperature is reliably ten degrees below Limassol and the air smells of pine. What remains is a strip of old hotels, a stream running through, tavernas and trails leading off in several directions. Seferis wrote a line about the nightingales here that Cypriots still quote.

What you actually see

• The hill-station hotels - colonial-era buildings along the main street.
• The stream - water running through the village under plane trees.
• The trailheads - Caledonia and other Troodos walks starting from the village.
• The pine forest - Troodos woodland surrounding the whole village.

When to go

May to October is the season, and July and August are when the altitude matters most. Autumn is quiet and pleasant. Winter brings snow and the village becomes a stop for skiers.

Honest expectations

Several of the old hotels are closed or run down and the village has a faded feel. There is little to do in the village itself beyond walk and eat. It is busy at summer weekends with day trippers from the coast.

Nearby

Caledonia waterfall is above the village, and Troodos square is further up the mountain.