Kakomalis sunset over the Cypriot hills the day before New Year's Eve

Cyprus · December 2022

Custom long-distance route

Kakomalis Geocache Hike

Chasing a hidden geocache up an unfinished mountain road, ending with a sunset the day before New Year's Eve.

Car-free access to the start

The walk after the bus

Bus stop0.08 km · ~1 min walkTrailhead

From 2nd Fasoula to the first step of the hike.

Nearby bus stop in the snapshot: 2nd Fasoula
Estimated access walk: 0.08 km · ~1 min
Walking-distance indicator: Easy

This is the connection to the hike's start, not the full hike. A nearby stop does not guarantee a bus at your chosen time.

Sources and missing information

Access source: Stored walking-route estimate and official bus-stop snapshot
Hike recorded: December 2022
Transport story checked: Not documented
Access snapshot verification date: Not documented
Access-walk ascent: Not documented
Access terrain and road safety: Not documented
Access water availability: Not documented
Bus service frequency: Not documented

Distance is not a safety rating. Check current buses, access, weather, daylight and water; remote or hazardous terrain may require turning back.

Check a destination How I measure

28.9 km
Distance
1,350 m
Elevation gain
Kakomalis
Peak
One day
Duration
Forest
Terrain
December 2022
Date
Hard
Difficulty
Usually strong · almost none on the off-road section from Panagia Amirou Monastery to the fire road towards the Kakomalis fire lookout
Mobile signal

Overview

A quiet ridge, a hidden cache, and 28.9 kilometres of forest

Kakomalis is one of those Cypriot peaks that sits just out of sight of the coastal roads — surrounded by pine forest, cut by logging tracks, and quiet enough that you can walk for hours without hearing anything but your own boots. The excuse for going, on this particular winter day, was a geocache tucked somewhere near the summit.

The route doesn't follow the F128 — it only crosses it. The F128 is a rural asphalt road connecting the villages of Akrounta and Dierona; when I hiked it, the road was still under renovation, and it is finished now. What the walk follows instead are the forest tracks and older paths that climb from Fasoula towards the ridge: wide, empty and open to the whole southern skyline.

The unfinished F128 road winding through the hills towards Dierona — The unfinished F128 road to Dierona — a paved ambition swallowed by pine forest.

The route

From village asphalt to summit silence

Start · Fasoula village
Fasoula was still half-asleep, shutters closed and roosters deciding whether to care. I tightened the laces one more time, not because they were loose, but because starting always deserves a small ritual.
Kilometre 7.1 · View of Panagia Amirous Monastery
The monastery appeared like something the hills had kept back on purpose — stone and silence where the village noise finally gave up. I stood there longer than I needed to, suddenly aware that the real walking had begun.
Kilometre 16 · The cache
My hands were colder than my judgment as I followed the coordinates off the road. Then — there it was, hidden exactly where a stranger once trusted the mountain to keep a secret. I signed the log and smiled at people I would never meet.
Kilometre 20.6 · View of F128 road
The pines stepped aside and the ridge handed me the bill: every metre of climbing, repaid in one sweeping glance from the Troodos foothills all the way to the sea. I forgot to be tired.
Kilometre 28.9 · Sunset ascent to Kakomalis picnic site
The last climb burned, but the ridge was already on fire with the last sunset of the year. I reached the picnic site just as the light turned gold, and for a moment the whole walk felt like a conversation I had won.

Trees left after the 2023 fire · Sentinel-2, Sept 2024

Burned August 2023

Dashed red outline · Sentinel-2 before/after the fire

Kakomalis route

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Elevation & steepness

Elevation in metres and gradient in percent, together by distance. Move across the profile to locate yourself on the map.

366–972 m

Distance

28.5 km

Elevation gain

1,340 m

Elevation loss

840 m

Highest point

972 m

Lowest point

366 m

Steepness by distance

Ascent over 15%2.0 km

Ascent 10–15%2.5 km

Ascent 5–10%4.6 km

Ascent under 5%6.9 km

Flat 0%0.8 km

Descent under 5%5.7 km

Descent 5–10%3.0 km

Descent 10–15%1.9 km

Descent over 15%0.9 km

Major climbs & descents

The most significant sustained climbs and descents along the route.

Sort segments

Major climbs

0.0–3.5 km+198 m3.5 km long5.7% average

5.3–12.3 km+515 m7.0 km long7.4% average

21.2–26.0 km+311 m4.8 km long6.5% average

Major descents

3.5–5.3 km−123 m1.8 km long6.9% average

12.3–13.4 km−89 m1.2 km long7.5% average

15.7–21.2 km−360 m5.5 km long6.5% average

Road type

How the route is classified across its full distance.

Path19.3 km 68%

Street6.2 km 22%

Alpine path1.3 km 5%

Hiking path1.1 km 4%

Minor road0.5 km 2%

View original route on Komoot

Explore the complete Kakomalis route on the interactive map.Open full route on Komoot

Weather at the trailhead

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Sun & shade through the day

Mostly shadyShade category · from mapped tree cover along the routeCurrent date and time: …

Working out the sun along the route…

Sunset from the Kakomalis ridge the day before New Year's Eve — Kakomalis sunset — the day before New Year's Eve.

From the trail

Ten moments from the walk to Kakomalis

The signs, the detours, the small doubts and the quiet wins — in the order I met them along the F128.

Trail sign pointing toward the old copper mine workers' houses and mine galleries — The first sign that pulled me off-route — I couldn't walk past 'Copper Mine Workers Houses' without going to see what was left of them.

Panagia Amirous Monastery perched on a green hillside above the valley — Rounding the bend and finding Panagia Amirous alone on the ridge — the kind of view that makes you stop mid-step and forget you were tired.

Kakomalis peak with a distant antenna seen from below — First proper look at the summit antenna. Still hours away, and somehow that made the legs happier, not heavier.

Wide valley view with a single cloud floating above the Troodos foothills — One cloud, the whole valley, and no one else on the trail. Moments like this are why I keep walking farther than I planned.

Bare hills leading up to the Kakomalis ridge in strong afternoon light — The last stretch before the ridge — dry, exposed, and quietly stubborn. You just put your head down and count switchbacks.

Narrow dirt road with a hand-built stone retaining wall carved into the mountainside — A hand-laid stone wall holding up the road in the middle of nowhere. Someone cared enough to build this — and I felt lucky walking on it.

Steep pine-filled ravine dropping away from the trail — Peering into the ravine below the road. That small twist in the stomach when you realise how much air is under your boots.

Close-up of the red-and-white antenna on the Kakomalis summit — Zoomed in on the antenna — the finish line finally had a face. From here on, every step felt like it counted twice.

Collapsed entrance to an abandoned mine gallery with old timber supports inside — The mouth of an abandoned gallery. Cold air pouring out, and the strange thrill of standing in front of something the mountain is slowly reclaiming.

Inside the abandoned mine tunnel, wooden beams framing the darkness — One step inside the tunnel — wooden beams still holding after all these decades. Equal parts wonder and 'okay, that's far enough.'

Distant sliver of the Mediterranean sea seen between forested ridges — The sea, catching me off guard between two ridges. I'd walked all morning uphill and forgotten the coast was even down there.

The Kakomalis summit antenna framed by pine trees under a deep blue sky — Rounding a bend and — there it is again, closer this time. That quiet 'almost' feeling that keeps your feet moving.

Steep loose gravel track climbing toward the antenna on the ridgeline — The last brutal push. Every step slid back half a step, and I bargained with the mountain the whole way up.

Panoramic view from the Kakomalis ridge over the Troodos foothills to the sea — The top. No words, just standing there breathing — the kind of view you feel more than see.

Small stone hut and old power pole at the Kakomalis picnic site — The little stone hut at the picnic site — an unglamorous, deeply welcome sight. I dropped my pack and just sat.

Cyprus strawberry tree (Arbutus andrachne) with a small identification sign on the trail — A strawberry tree, patiently labelled by someone who cared. Small kindnesses from strangers you'll never meet — the trail is full of them.

Wide panoramic view of green valleys and distant Troodos mountains from the descent — Turning back one last time on the way down. Half gratitude, half disbelief that the legs actually carried me all the way up there.

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Transport story

How do you get to Fasoula without a car?

If you're coming from Limassol, there are two ways in.

Option one: Bus 50 from Limassol Central Station, then change to the 50P from Paramytha to Fasoula
Option two: Bus 9 to Palodeia Community Board, then walk the dirt road to Fasoula — about 3.8 km, roughly an hour

Trail notes

If you're planning to walk it

Access

Bus 50 from Limassol brings you to Fasoula with one change, arriving at 08:19. The bus stop is right where the walk starts, so there is no walk in. Getting back is the tricky part: on weekdays the last bus out leaves at 16:31, on Saturday no bus runs at all, and on Sunday you only arrive at 11:57. If those times do not suit you, take Bus 9 to Palodeia Community Board and walk 3.8 km of dirt road to the village — about an hour.

Start from the 2nd Fasoula stop — trail and bus share a corner, which is still the kindest thing a Cypriot trailhead can do. From Limassol, take Bus 50 toward Agros, get off at the 5th Paramytha stop (07:44 off the 07:30 from EMEL station on weekdays) and change to the 50P, which reaches the 2nd Fasoula stop at 08:19. Going home, the 50P leaves the 2nd Fasoula stop at 06:22, 07:11, 09:22, 14:52 and 16:31 on weekdays — the 16:31 is the day's deadline: Paramytha at 16:50, the 50 back to Limassol at 17:13. There is no 50P at all on Saturday. On Sunday the only workable chain puts you in Fasoula at 11:57, with the last return at 16:20. The alternative is Bus 9 to Palodeia Community Board, then a 3.8 km dirt-road walk to the village — about an hour, and the way I usually arrive.

Best season

Hike here from late autumn to early spring — that is when the walking is pleasant. Summer is hot: the first bus arrives at 08:19 and the ridge above the forest has no shade, so carry extra water and decide early when to turn back. Winter is cold and quiet, with frost in the shady corners.

Shade comes in patches: twenty-four of the fifty tree-cover samples along the route fall inside mapped woodland, and the ridge above the forest line has none of it. The climb is real — from 366 to 972 metres, with 36 of 214 profile samples at ten per cent or steeper. Late autumn to early spring is the honest window; my December walk ended with the last sunset of the year at the picnic site. In summer, the first bus puts you in Fasoula at 08:19, already warm — carry extra water and be honest about your turnaround. Winter is quiet and cold, with frost in the shaded corners — I have stood on this ridge in winter, and it is beautiful.

Navigation

This is a custom long-distance route; it only crosses the F128 and otherwise follows forest tracks and older paths. A downloaded offline map is enough — phone signal is spotty past kilometre 8. Some stretches may share designated or waymarked paths, but the route as a whole is my own line, so don't expect continuous signs — follow a downloaded GPS track.

Water & food

There is reliable water at the Kakomalis picnic site. Carry at least 2 L between stops in winter, more in shoulder season, plus enough food for a full day out.

A good place to refill, rest in the shade, and eat before the final push to the ridge or the descent back to the village.

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