Wine Villages of Cyprus: Where to Go

Summarise this page 5 key points · 1 minute

The seven official wine routesThe Deputy Ministry of Tourism has mapped seven wine routes, each built around a region and its local grape varieties, with wineries, tavernas, churches and museums along the way.
The Limassol wine villages (krasochoria)Omodos, at 800 metres and about 42 km from Limassol, is the best-known wine village and the easiest first visit.
The Paphos wine villagesKathikas sits on the Laona plateau, about 23 km (30 minutes) north of Paphos, among vineyards of xynisteri.
The mountain wine villagesKato (Lower) Platres is a small village a few kilometres from the mountain resort of Pano Platres, on the Krasochoria route.
When to goLate August to early October is harvest season, with grape feasts, palouze making and the Limassol Wine Festival, which in 2026 ran from 26 September to 4 October in the Limassol Municipal Gardens.

Quick answer

The wine villages of Cyprus are mostly on the southern slopes of the Troodos above Limassol, the krasochoria, and on the Laona plateau and hills above Paphos. Omodos, Koilani, Arsos, Vasa, Lofou, Pachna and Agios Amvrosios are the classic Limassol wine villages; Kathikas and Ineia are their Paphos counterparts, and Kato Platres and Pelendri sit higher in the mountains. The Deputy Ministry of Tourism has mapped seven official wine routes through them. Go in late August to early October for the harvest and grape festivals, or in spring for quieter lanes.

Cyprus has seven official wine routes; the Krasochoria of Lemesos route alone links 20 villages.
Omodos has a restored medieval wine press, the Linos, in the village centre, close to the Holy Cross monastery.
Koilani is known for its large clay wine jars (pitharia) and holds its Afamia grape festival in October, at the end of the harvest.
In 2026 Kathikas held its grapes festival on 21 August, Arsos its grape feast on 27 September and Pachna its palouze festival on 1 October.
Pelendri's Holy Cross church is one of the ten Troodos painted churches on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Drive up from Limassol towards the Troodos and the landscape changes within half an hour: the motorway gives way to terraced vineyards, stone villages and church bell towers. These are the krasochoria, the wine villages, where Cypriot families have grown grapes, trodden them and stored the wine in huge clay jars for generations. The Paphos hills have their own wine country on the Laona plateau, and a few higher villages in the mountains make some of the island's freshest wines.

This guide covers eleven wine villages worth a day out, with what each one is like, what to see, a winery to visit and the local grape or palouze festival. The festival dates below are the 2026 ones where published; dates for 2027 are usually announced in summer. Checked on 4 November 2026.

The seven official wine routes

The Deputy Ministry of Tourism has mapped seven wine routes, each built around a region and its local grape varieties, with wineries, tavernas, churches and museums along the way. They are signposted and make a good framework for a day trip.

Route	Area	Wine villages on the route include
Laona–Akamas	Paphos	Mesogi, Tsada, Stroumbi, Kathikas, Pano and Kato Arodes, Ineia, Drouseia
Vouni Panagias–Ambelitis	Paphos	Polemi, Kannaviou, Pano Panagia, Statos–Agios Fotios, Amargeti, Lemona, Letymbou
Diarizos Valley	Paphos	Kouklia, Salamiou, Arminou, Praitori, Kedares, Agios Nikolaos
Krasochoria of Lemesos	Limassol	20 villages, including Omodos, Koilani, Vasa, Arsos, Lofou, Pachna, Agios Amvrosios, Kato Platres and Malia
Commandaria	Limassol	The Commandaria villages, including Koilani, Laneia, Doros, Silikou, Monagri and Kalo Chorio, reached via Kolossi and Erimi
Pitsilia	Limassol and Nicosia	Trimiklini, Pelendri, Potamitissa, Dymes, Kyperounta, Chandria, Agros, Agios Theodoros
Mountainous Larnaka–Lefkosia	Larnaca and Nicosia	Skarinou, Lefkara, Kato Drys, Fikardou and their neighbours

The Commandaria route is the one to follow if you want to taste the island's famous sweet wine at source; our Commandaria guide explains how it is made.

The Limassol wine villages (krasochoria)

Omodos

Omodos, at 800 metres and about 42 km from Limassol, is the best-known wine village and the easiest first visit. Its large stone-paved square leads to the Monastery of Timios Stavros (Holy Cross), which holds a piece of rope that tradition links to the binding of Christ, and has a folk museum and a lace centre in its grounds. The restored Linos, a medieval wine press, stands in the village centre and shows how grapes were pressed before machines.

Winery to visit: Oenou Yi – Ktima Vassiliades, opened in 2019, has a tasting room open daily with views over the village. Ktima Gerolemo is also in Omodos.
Festival: The big Holy Cross fair starts on 14 September each year. Weekends are busy, so come midweek for quiet lanes.

Koilani

Koilani is a working wine village rather than a showpiece. It is known for its many large pitharia (clay wine jars), and has a viniculture museum and a church museum holding the skull of its patron saint, Agia Mavri. Several wineries sit close together here, which makes it a good village for tasting on foot.

Winery to visit: Vlassides Winery and Ayia Mavri Winery are both in Koilani.
Festival: The Afamia grape festival in the community square marks the end of the harvest. It was listed for October in 2026 and is traditionally held on the first Sunday of the month, with wine tasting, grape sweets and folk dancing.

Arsos

Arsos, at about 850 metres towards the Paphos border, is one of the largest wine villages in Cyprus. Its traditional houses have finely carved stone doorways and windows, and a folk museum fills a restored old house. The church of the Apostle Philip stands on the square, and the short Six Fountains trail links old fountains along the river.

Winery to visit: Omodos and its wineries are close by.
Festival: The grape feast, with palouzes and soutzoukos made in front of you, was held on 27 September 2026.

Vasa (Koilaniou)

Vasa sits among vineyards at 750 metres, next to Omodos. It is a limestone village of old wine presses and zivania stills, with a Zivania Museum, a folklore museum, a small museum of primary education and the old chapel of Agios Georgios at the village entrance. If zivania interests you, read our zivania guide first.

Winery to visit: Neighbouring Omodos is the easiest place to taste.
Festival: Vasa is one of the villages that holds a grape feast, usually in September.

Lofou

Lofou sits on a hilltop at 780 metres, about 26 km from Limassol, among vines and almond trees. It is compact and very pretty, with cobbled lanes, old pitharia outside the houses, the 19th-century church of Panagia Chrysolofitissa, an olive mill museum and the Elitzi fountain at the end of a short nature trail. It has some well-loved tavernas, which makes it a natural lunch stop on a wine day.

Winery to visit: There is no winery in the village itself; Zambartas Winery in Agios Amvrosios is the closest well-known one.
Festival: Lofou's long-running palouze festival, held at the primary school, is usually in late September.

Pachna

Pachna is a large, lively village and a local centre for the western krasochoria, surrounded by some of the densest vineyards on the route. It is very much a working wine-growing village, and a good place to see the krasochoria away from the busier tourist stops.

Winery to visit: combine Pachna with Omodos or Koilani.
Festival: Pachna's palouze festival, with demonstrations, tastings and cultural events, was held on 1 October 2026.

Agios Amvrosios

Agios Amvrosios is a small, quiet village on the Krasochoria route. It has a traditional coffee shop, and about three kilometres south is the 16th-century chapel of Agia Elisavet, a single-aisle basilica with a steep tiled roof.

Winery to visit: Zambartas Winery, one of the island's best-known family wineries.
Festival: The village is on the list of autumn grape feasts, usually in September or early October.

The Paphos wine villages

Kathikas

Kathikas sits on the Laona plateau, about 23 km (30 minutes) north of Paphos, among vineyards of xynisteri. It has old stone houses, the church of Panagia Evangelistria and good village tavernas. Our Kathikas area guide has the full picture.

Winery to visit: Sterna Winery, founded in 1995, stores its wine in old caves around the site and has a small wine museum. Vasilikon Winery is also in Kathikas.
Festival: The Kathikas Grapes Festival, with free grapes, food and Greek music, was held on 21 August 2026 in the community car park.

Ineia (Inia)

Ineia, about 30 km north of Paphos and just beyond Kathikas, looks out over the Akamas Peninsula and the sea. Its name comes from the ancient Greek word for wine, and local signs often spell it Oineia. It has a basket weaving museum, and traditional basket weaving is still practised here.

Winery to visit: Sterna and Vasilikon in neighbouring Kathikas.
Festival: the Kathikas festival is the one to aim for.

The mountain wine villages

Kato Platres

Kato (Lower) Platres is a small village a few kilometres from the mountain resort of Pano Platres, on the Krasochoria route. It combines nicely with the Caledonia and Millomeris waterfall walks above it; see our Platres area guide.

Winery to visit: LionSpirit Winery & Distillery, formerly Lambouri Winery, near the church of Agios Dimitrios. It is known for its Commandaria and also makes gin, zivania and brandy.

Pelendri

Pelendri is on the Pitsilia wine route, high in the Troodos, where grapes from some of the highest vineyards go to local winemakers. Its church of the Holy Cross (Timios Stavros) is one of the ten painted churches on the UNESCO World Heritage list; see our Troodos painted churches guide.

Winery to visit: Pelendri has two well-known wineries, including Tsiakkas Winery.
Festival: Pelendri is one of the villages that holds a zivania festival in autumn, usually in late October or November.

When to go

Late August to early October is harvest season, with grape feasts, palouze making and the Limassol Wine Festival, which in 2026 ran from 26 September to 4 October in the Limassol Municipal Gardens.
Late October and November bring autumn colour to the vineyards above Platres and Omodos; our Troodos in autumn guide has walks.
Spring is green and quiet, and good for walking between villages.

For the full year of village fairs, see Cyprus festivals month by month, and for more villages beyond the wine country, our guide to traditional villages in Cyprus.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the krasochoria?

Krasochoria means wine villages. In Cyprus it usually refers to the vine-growing villages on the southern slopes of the Troodos in Limassol district, such as Omodos, Koilani, Vasa, Arsos, Lofou, Pachna and Agios Amvrosios.

Which is the best wine village to visit in Cyprus?

Omodos is the easiest first visit, with a monastery, an old wine press, tavernas and wineries within walking distance. Koilani is quieter and has several wineries close together, and Kathikas is the best base in the Paphos wine country.

How many wine routes are there in Cyprus?

Seven: Laona–Akamas, Vouni Panagias–Ambelitis, Diarizos Valley, Krasochoria of Lemesos, Commandaria, Pitsilia, and Mountainous Larnaka–Lefkosia.

When are the grape festivals in Cyprus?

Usually from late August to early October, during the harvest. Dates change every year and are announced by the villages and the Deputy Ministry of Tourism over the summer.

Can I visit the wine villages without a car?

It is hard. Bus services to the hill villages are limited, and the villages are spread out, so most people drive, join a tour or hire a driver. Choose a designated driver if you plan to taste.

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