Theletra General View.
Theletra Church.

Theletra

There are two stories as to why Theletra was abandoned. One is that the village was threatened by landslip from the hill above it. The other is that the villagers ran out of dowery land then conned the government into giving them a new village at the top of the hill. Whatever the real reason it is worth a visit.

Getting there

Take the road to Polis from Paphos. Between Stroumbi and Yiolou is a left turn to Theletra which you can clearly see from the main road. A mostly concrete road heads down into the gorge then up into the old village.

Theletra House.
Theletra House Interior.

Looking around

It is easy to park beside a water trough and the village vrisi on which there is preserved a plaque dated 1915. In wet weather a waterfall flows down the hillside towards the vrisi. From here you can walk back up a slight rise until a right turn takes you up to the church. On the way to the church there used to be the abandoned coffee shops and other shops but these are now being redeveloped (so much for the landslip story?). The church, the dominant feature of the village, is in good condition and is well maintained and evidence of what was presumably the Papa's house still remains. If you scramble through the overgrown bushes at the top of the village you may conclude that landslip really was a problem because some the ruins are being engulfed in fallen rock. On the main street below the church are many houses in states of ruination or repair while the tracks that lead down from the main street to the fields and orchards yield many undisturbed wild flowers. It is not advisable to drive these tracks in wet weather because parts of them can become a sea of deep slippery mud. About halfway up the hill towards the new village of Theletra is an obscure brown sign on the left. About 50 metres down the track is an EOKA cave hewn out of the rocks and announced by two steel flagpoles and faded marble plaques commemorating those who fought in the struggle.

You can leave Theletra by returning the way you came. Alternatively you can drive up the concrete road to the new village and thence to Kathikas or Paphos.

Theletra Church.
Theletra Church. Theletra Papa's house (probably) .