Exploring the castles of Cyprus

Cyprus’s castles were rarely storybook palaces. They guarded ports, controlled roads, watched agricultural estates and were rebuilt whenever conquest or earthquake changed the strategic map. This first route stays within the southern districts and connects four very different survivals.

Kolossi Castle: sugar, wine and military power

Kolossi’s tall square keep is the strongest medieval presence on this route. The surrounding estate was tied to sugar production and to Commandaria, while the castle itself became associated with the military orders that controlled this fertile area west of Limassol.

Larnaca Castle: the fort at the end of the promenade

At the south end of Foinikoudes, Larnaca Castle marks the point where the city promenade becomes the Piale Pasha seafront. Its history runs through medieval defence, Ottoman rebuilding and British use as a prison. The roof gives the clearest sense of why the position mattered.

Paphos Castle: a harbour landmark

Paphos Castle is smaller, lower and inseparable from its waterfront setting. It has served as a defensive fort, prison and store, and today its stone roof frames one of the harbour’s best views.

Saranta Kolones: the ruins of a medieval castle

Inside Paphos Archaeological Park, Saranta Kolones is a different encounter: a Byzantine stronghold whose columns, walls, towers and moat survive as ruins. An earthquake destroyed it in 1223, leaving the ground plan to explain the scale of the fortification.