A road trip to Ineia and Laona
The Laona plateau includes Kathikas, Pano and Kato Arodes, Ineia, Drousia, Kritou Tera, Androlikou, and Fasli, all villages of unparalleled natural and cultural wealth.
The virgin forest of Akamas is in the northwest of the plateau, the coastal plain of Chrysochous is in the north, the tree-lined valley of Chrysochous is in the east, and the northern part of the coastal plain of Pafos is in the west.
A winding asphalt road follows the ridge of Kathikas, Arodes, Ineia and Drousia, as mentioned in historical texts (see Jane Ferjwer, 1995, “Ancient Akamas”, page 103, “road 12b ridge way road from Ineia to ridge of Akamas”); part of it was used by the Romans. Travelling along this road towards the villages of Laona, you can see an exceptional landscape with vineyards, legumes, almond trees, carob trees, and olive trees. Natural vegetation coexists with century-old terebinth trees, whose dense branches and foliage are home to several endemic and migratory birds.
Despite the modernization of the area with the development of autonomous facilities, contemporary buildings, agrotourism accommodations, and restaurants, the distinctive identity of Laona has not altered, when compared to other rural areas of the country. The traditional houses, remnants of the old original local houses that had two rooms, arches, wooden roofs, and stone ovens in the courtyard, coexist with today’s modernized buildings. You can still see villagers riding donkeys, the traditional vine harvest, the preparation of ‘palouze’ and “soutzoukos”, the customs of Easter, and flocks of sheep and goats grazing in the valleys of the region.
The geomorphology and geology of the settlement is rich, with a terrain dissected by many creeks, hills, steep slopes and valleys. Its rich geodiversity comprises limestone, sandstone, chalk, marl, lava, serpentinite and an array of other allochthonous rocks of the Mamonia complex.
Although the village is located on the ridge of the plateau and the view is unobstructed in many directions, you must climb to the highest peak of the beautiful conical hill to the northwest of the village, known as “Vouni of Ineia/Vouni tis Ineias”, to enjoy the uninterrupted view of the surrounding area. The elevated hill, with the chapel of Agios Georgios, offers the dominant view of the area. The mountain of Ineia, otherwise known as “Vouni of Agios Georgios/Vouni tou Ai Giorkou”, which is situated on deep-water sediments like radiolarites and clays embedded with quartz sandstones, extends to an altitude of 668m above sea level and is the highest point in the entire Akamas peninsula.
However, the most impressive elements of this area are the imposing rocks of quartz sandstone, such as “Konneftis”, “Gerakoptera” and many other landforms, which are an important habitat for birdlife. Up until the end of the last century, these peculiar geophysical features were home to flocks of vultures, which unfortunately have almost disappeared. Today they have been replaced by corvids, such as Jackdaws (Corvus monedula) as well as Rock doves (Columba livia), various birds of prey, like peregrines (Falco peregrinus), kestrels (Falco tinnunculus), and Barn owls (Tyto alba). The above landforms are also probably the most important destinations for athletes and amateur climbers in Cyprus.
Briton George Jeffery mentioned in his book “A Description of the Historic Monuments of Cyprus”, 1918, that there may have been a 16th century observatory in this location, as the place is ideal for overlooking the coast.
This is confirmed by several ancient maps, like Ortelius’s map “Cyprus Insula Nova Descript” (Antwerp, 1573), Vincenzo Maria Coronelli’s map “Acamantis Insula, hoggidi Cipro” (Venice, 1689) and others, where there is mention of the “Igna” settlement (now Ineia), along with mention of the word “Quadria”, meaning Observatory. In fact, these maps also mention a settlement named “Ara”, probably referring to today’s Lara.
