Gravel Cycling in Cyprus: A Route Guide to Trans Cyprus Gravel

Eight days crossing Cyprus from Larnaca to Paphos on the Trans Cyprus Gravel route. Troodos mountain passes, vine villages, and the particular quiet of an island that does not hurry.

Cyprus does not present itself as a gravel destination. The island is better known for its coast and its sun, for beach resorts and ruins. But in the interior, in the crease of the Troodos Mountains and the terraced hillsides of the wine region, there is a different island entirely — one that reveals itself slowly on two wheels.

The Troodos Mountains

The road climbs through pine forest to a ridge where you can see both coasts of the island at once. The ascent is gradual enough to allow the landscape to slowly unfold — at 800 metres you notice the air has changed, colder and clearer. At 1,200 metres the sparse trees give way to open moorland and views that stretch toward the horizon in every direction.

The surprise of early spring in the high Troodos is the snow markers still visible on the road itself. Winter snow is rare in Cyprus, but up here at 1,400 metres it happens. The marks left by snow ploughs fade slowly through March, ghostly reminders that this island interior is far from the beach-resort image most visitors hold of Cyprus.

“The road climbs through pine forest to a ridge where you can see both coasts of the island at once — that moment alone is worth the climb.”

Vine Villages and Descent

The wine region south of the Troodos is a different kind of climb. Here the terrain is terraced and cultivated — vines climb the slopes, and small villages perch on hillsides at 700–800 metres. The villages have names that reflect centuries of naming convention: Commandaria, Koilani, Kalo Chorio. They are not designed for tourists. They close between 1 and 4 in the afternoon.

The descents from the wine villages back toward the coast are long and sustained. Roads drop 600 metres over 20 kilometres, winding through terraced vineyards and past stone-built farmhouses with red tile roofs. The sensation of descending is of layers of landscape — first the high cool air of the villages, then the warmer air of the lower slopes, finally the smell of salt from the approaching coast.

Route details

• Distance: 300–375 km
• Days: 7 riding days
• Elevation: 5,800–7,200 m
• Surface: 55% tarmac · 45% gravel

Trans Cyprus Gravel — 8 days, fully supported

What a supported Trans Cyprus week includes

There are two ways to ride this crossing. On the guided option a guide handles navigation and the group stays together, with a maximum of ten riders per guide — so you ride with the others rather than to your own route. Self-guided gives you the full GPS route for Garmin, Wahoo and Komoot, and you set your own pace. Either way the route is the same five riding stages from Larnaca to Paphos by way of the Troodos Mountains.

The week covers seven hotel nights in shared double rooms, seven breakfasts and three dinners, a return transfer to Larnaca on the final morning, and a closing dinner together.

Every rider shares the same support. Our guides are experienced and English-speaking, and there is an evening briefing each day with maps and elevation profiles. A support vehicle carries spares, a spare bike and a clothing bag — mechanic help is included, with spare parts charged only at cost. Your luggage moves hotel to hotel in the support van, which you collect on arrival, and the van meets the group most days at lunch with a free refill of PurePower energy drink (energy bars and chews available to buy). You also receive a Gravel-Adventure jersey and access to a shared online photo album. More detail on how a week runs is on how our tours work.

We run the island crossing as a guided, hotel-to-hotel tour with support vehicle and tested routes through the Troodos. The 2026 departure is cancelled — next departure is April/May 2027. From €2,830. See the full Trans Cyprus Gravel tour for the itinerary and what’s included.