Alevkayasi Trig Point-North Cyprus
A very enjoyable forest walk, which wanders off the beaten track onto alpine meadows for the odd kilometre before returning back Alevkayasi.
As previously promised, this week sees us return to the sleepy, forested hamlet of Alevkayasi to the east for another walk in the pine forest but this with a few soft climbs added. The easiest way to get there is to drive eastwards from Girne(Kyrenia) towards Catalkoy, turning right at the Acapulco junction and heading uphill to the crest of the Besparmak Mountains where you turn left at the log cabin restaurant and follow the single tracked metalled road eastward for 8,3km to a large Y junction with a big white board in the centre proclaiming `Ermeni Manastiri` or Armenian Monastery. Turn right here and follow the road south-eastward downhill for 150m or so into the centre of Alevkayasi and park anywhere off the road.
You will find a convenient Nature Trail notice board on the left of the road just before the cafe ahead which will help you to orientate yourself.
With your back to the notice board follow the small tarmac road southwards towards Nicosia for 10m, with the village cafe on your left until you see a huge white sing on your right proclaiming ` Alevkayasi Aile Restaurant & Creditwest` Turn right/west here onto flat , open ground in the pine forest which houses two decrepit concrete basketball hoops and you will see a wide , rocky track rising very slightly uphill in from of you which you should follow. After 100m another track shoots off to the right but you continue ahead for another 50m until you hit the main road and your track curves hard left/south again, becoming rocky as it rises gently away from the road for 100m or so before it then curves right/west then levels out with high ground and rocks on your right and low ground down to your left and is very easy underfoot. After 600m you arrive at a large clearing with another track heading off right/north marked by a prominent yellow the junction (Point A). Go straight on here and you now have a high feature on your right and the ground sloping away to your left and after 300m the track suddenly seems to run out in the sparse forest. However, if you look left you can make out a small track in the fallen dead pine twigs which rises steeply uphill for about 30m before opening out onto a grassy, rock strewn feature running westward which although it is a steady incline it is remarkably easy underfoot due to the springy layer of grass. It is very easy to pick out a route but great care should be taken to keep a safe distance from the horrendous 100m drop on the rock face to your left/south. The incline is reasonably steep for the first 100m then for the next 700m you could be forgiven for thinking that you are on an Alpine meadow with the springy tufts of grass and orchids(not eidelwiess) in abundance and very pleasant it is too, with great views opening up to the south. Suddenly a large trig point appears at the edge of the cliff on your left and a look at the watch tells me that we have been walking for 55 minutes covering about 2km.A further 100m and you will observe a second trig point at the edge of the cliff to your left and you should stay on the same bearing for 100m as the feature now levels out becomes more rockier with wind swept pine trees closing in. You should now swing to your right/north westwards and head towards the left hand side of the white rocky feature in front of you which is now strewn with thistles rather than grass. Keep going in this direction for 600m over the crest of this feature until on the northern side a windswept pine forest closes in on you with a lot of moss on the leeward side, although it is not too difficult underfoot and if you head slightly more right or due north then after 100m you will stumble onto a large fire break where you should turn right/east. You should then encounter a third trig point(but don’t worry if you miss it) on this flat, grassy track where another glance at the watch shows 1 hour 20 minutes has gone by and about 3km. Follow this track eastwards and within 200m a huge white rocky feature appears on your left which the track contours as it steadily descends downhill hugging the south face as the path gets rockier and muddy until, after 600m, it kicks hard right and a 100m further spits you out at point A. From here you simply retrace your footsteps back
to Alevkayasi approximately 1km away. The walk covers about 5km which took 1 hour 50 minutes of steady walking. A most enjoyable walk to be recommended. The cafe in Alevkayasi is now open for drinks and meals, run by Engin of “The Hillside” fame
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Tags: Alevkayasi, Alevkayasi Trig Point-North Cyprus, Armenian Monastery, enjoyable walk, Ermeni Manastiri, footstep, north cyprus, north cyprus alevkayasi, north cyprus fauna, north cyprus flora, north cyprus kyrenia, north cyprus nature, north cyprus walking, Point, The Hillside, Trig, walkin, walking