The Spilia village is found when travelling from Nicosia to Troodos. After the picturesque Kakopetria, you should follow the relative sign that takes you to the left, and in a distance of about 3 kilometres you will see the village in the “hug” of the mountain peaks.
It is a village that had known great bloom in the old days, when there were quarries and mines. Its history starts from the 16th century. Firstly, there was a monastery a kilometre north from the area. Many people fled there, around it, to escape from the attacks of the occupiers of the island. A big village was created with time, Kourdali.
The narrow valley that was hosted by the village was not able to satisfy all the needs of the settlers. Little by little, some of them started building different small settlements on the valleys around it. One of them was Spilia.
With the closure of the quarries, the residents started leaving the area to live in towns, resulting to Spilia having still some residents, and Kourdali only very few settlers. Spilia got its name from the Roman tombs that existed in the area that looked like caves (spilia).
Another version says that it was named like this because it is surrounded by the mountains in such a way that if you look at it from high above, it is as if you are in a cave.
The visitor that will find himself in Spilia, will have a lot to see and even more to do.
He has the remains of many settlements to see, as well as the ruins of their Churches.
He will see the action and the sacrifice of the fighters of Cyprus and of EOKA.
He will see statues and monuments dedicated to Heroes who sacrificed themselves for us to live free today.
He will see sanctuaries that still have “smoke” on them from the battles that have been made.
Eight natural paths with many kilometres of journey, passing through forests some of which are unique in Cyprus will “inform” you about the plants of the area and of Cyprus.
These paths are as follows:
Moutti tis Choras - Doksa soi o Theos, 2 kilometres
Doksa soi o Theos - Profilakio Madaris, 4 kilometres
Profilakio Madaris - Selladi tou Karamanli, 3,5 kilometres
Selladi tou Karamanli - Moutti tis Choras, 4 kilometres
Straorouthkia - Moutti tis Choras, 3 kilometres
Straorouthkia - Spilies tou Diogen, 3 kilometres
Straorouthkia - Agia Eirini, 3 kilometres
Straorouthkia - Kourdali, 2 kilometres
Finally, he shall see that a village succeeded to give so much to a country, as well as how this country let it get abandoned.
