BBC:
The BBC said "Lania is a Mediterranean village in the Troodos foothills
of southern Cyprus. For over 1000 years, from times before the Crusaders,
it enjoyed a reputation for Commandaria, a rich, red dessert wine. Today,
although old winepress buildings still remain and villagers still harvest
surrounding vineyards and olive groves, there is a new buzz of activity
...Tourism. Each year, thousands of holiday-makers take a break from sea
& sand to enjoy a day in the mountain heartland of this Island which
abounds with old monasteries, churches and villages. Already well known
as being perhaps the prettiest of such villages, Lania, like Taos in New
Mexico or St Ives in Cornwall, is now regarded as a Village of Artists.
Attracted by the climate, Mediterranean light and the picturesque rural
setting, several foreign painters have come to settle and work.”
LIMASSOL WINE FESTIVAL
The Limassol Wine Festival was organized for the first time in 1961 to
offer to the Cypriot and other visitors the possibility to taste the Cypriot
wine and enjoy themselves. Since then, it has been established as an annual
festive event, attracting not only the inhabitants of Limassol but also
other people coming from every part of Cyprus. Every year thousands of
visitors both Cypriot and foreign tourists go to the Limassol Municipal
Garden to play a main role in a feast of human euphoria. They get rid
of every anxious feeling, stress and tension that they experience in their
every day life; they need to feel free and comfortable in a relaxed atmosphere.
The Cypriot wine makes you open your eyes in another world, feel your
body penetrated by the sun rays, feel the breeze on your skin, be fascinated
by the beauty of island of Venus.
The Limassol Wine Festival reminds everybody somehow the festivities organized
in the ancient times for worship purposes to honour Dionysus, the God
of wine. Thousands of people visit the Limassol Municipal Garden every
evening, during the duration of the Wine Festival, to share the atmosphere
of happiness and joy. According to the poet, the Cyprus wine "is
as soft as Muses' string".
Food:
In the mountain villages such as Kalo Chorio, Louveras and Lania there
are homely tavernas serving good wine and delicious meze: a selection
of over 20 appetising starters which illustrate the variety of the Cypriot
cuisine. Cypriots, and especially villagers, are extremely friendly, provide
enormous hospitality, and are very comfortable with visitors. Tourists
are welcomed into these villages with open arms, giving them the opportunity
to connect with both the villagers and their culture.
Activities:
Living the village life offers a unique opportunity to see the real Cyprus.
With its clear skies, superb weather and stunning scenery the island is
ideal for walking, cycling, photography, painting and bird watching. Cyprus
is dominated by two mountain ranges; the Troodos and the Kyrenia, the
former being the highest with Mount Olympus rising to over 2000 metres.
This enables many visitors to take advantage, not only of skiing in January,
February and March, but also the enjoyment of swimming in the warm Mediterranean.
Walking:
Ramblers revel in the nature trails that surround Mount Olympus where
once impassable mountainsides offered hermits the seclusion they sought.
In these areas can be found ancient monasteries and Byzantine barn-roofed
Churches. Every one of these churches, with their murals well preserved,
appear on Unesco list of world heritage sites.
Flora: The hilly and mountainous
areas of the countryside of Limassol region are rich in vegetation. The
main kinds are the Pinus Brutia, the Pinus Nigra and a kind of cypress
tree known as Juniperus Oxycedrus which grows at an altitude of about
1200 - 1500 metres. The plane trees and the alder grow in the valleys
of Troodos while a kind of oak tree named latzia and the trimithia grow
on the slopes of the hills. Wild rose, thyme and lentisk are abundant.
Troodos National Forest Park is at the centre of the island and covers
an area of 9337 hectares. The area is magical and ideal for a variety
of activities such as hiking, skiing, mountain cycling, nature study and
picnics.
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