The coast of Agia Napa is considered as the finest regarding beaches in Cyprus. Extensive silvery, sandy beaches cover the area which attracts the majority of tourists.
All along the beaches of Agia Napa facilities for all sea sports are provided including water-skiing, wind-surfing, sailing canoes, pedals, motor boats, scooters, speed-boats, parachutes, scuba-diving and more.
Agia Napa is the perfect place both for summer holidays and winter tourism.
Its mild climate, attractive natural setting and individual character make Ayia Napa a unique destination during the winter months. Catering to the needs of the contemporary winter visitor and in order to upgrade its tourist facilities during the summer months, the creation of an Athletic Centre is currently underway. Particular attention is being taken to retain the inherent features of the area, ensuring that the Centre harmonises with its surroundings, at the same time bringing to the fore all those aspects which combine to create Ayia Napa's unique physical and natural environment. The Athletic Centre will be amphitheatrical in design, with the village and sea of Ayia Napa forming the backdrop. The Athletic Centre features a multi-activity hall "Palais de Sport", an outdoor amphitheatre, shooting-range, tennis courts, football pitch, ancillary football pitches, basketball courts, volleyball courts, mini-golf, park, moufflon park, children's playground, indoor handball, riding centre, swimming pools, etc.
Sixteen football grounds are operating, fully equipped with the most advanced facilities. Various football tournaments are organised during late January and early April. Already a number of football teams from various European countries come to train in Ayia Napa during the winter months.
With the inclusion of an Athletic Centre, Agia Napa takes on an international dimension ready to deal with every requirement of the tourist industry.
When the sun goes down in Agia Napa there is a special ambience that attracts people of all ages and persuasions. On every narrow street of Agia Napa the visitors discovers scores of interesting restaurants, pubs, tavernas cafes and discos. If variety is the spice of life, than Agia Napa has something to satisfy everyone's taste. The Cypriot's appreciation for the good life and his innate love of fine simple foods is reflected at his table and in his leisurely style of entertainment.
Dining out in a very popular and pleasant pastime in Agia Napa. Apart from the typical Cypriot meze which is comprised of about 15-30 traditional island dishes served in colourful charming tavernas, there are also countless restaurants that specialise in French, Italian and Chinese food. For a quick snack there are always Cafes and Pubs that will welcome you.
Bars, Discos, NightClubs and Bouzouki Clubs are open till the early hours of the morning. Most hotels have nightly entertainment with a resident band where there are Greek nights and Greek Folk dancing for your enjoyment.
This bright, cosmopolitan town has it all. A vibrant, lively and in many ways, extraordinary place with a magnetism all its own, Agia Napa enthusiastically invites locals and tourists alike to merge as one and to participate in the excitement of her surroundings.
Fine casual atmosphere, atmosphere, live music, good food and warm hospitality make anywhere you choose to spend and evening a memorable occasion. Agia Napa by night is sensational. Enjoy!
Agia Thekla is a chapel a few miles west of Agia Napa and lies on the boundary between Agia Napa and Sotira Village. There is a probability that in this area there was an ancient settlement or graveyard. To the west of the church there are clear traces of quarrying. At that spot there is a cave called "The Catacomb of Agia Thekli" which is not a catacomb, but a cave or tomb carved in rock. It is believed that in 1571 the Turkish General Piele Pasha landed here with his troops and marched to Famagusta where they assisted General Moustafa in the siege of the town.
Agia Napa Monastery is the medieval archaeological landmark of Agia Napa. The Monastery was built around 1500 A.D. but inside the church lies a cave which suggests it may have been used as place of worship during a much earlier period.
The Monastery is dedicated to Virgin Mary because according to a local legend, an original icon of Virgin Mary was discovered by a hunter in the cave. The Monastery originated as a women's convent, converted to a monastery and then, in 1978, became an Ecumenical Conference Centre to serve the work of Churches in Cyprus as well as the Middle East.
The Department of Antiquities has completed excavations at the locality of "Macronissos" west of Agia Napa village. The excavations were sponsored by the Agia Napa Improvement Board and were undertaken between the end of November 1989 and early January 1990.
The purpose of this campaign was the excavation of the rock-cut tombs, which have been the target of illegal digging since 1872. Nineteen tombs have been excavated so far and a small sanctuary was investigated to the east of the burial grounds while part of the ancient quarry adjacent to the cemetery had also been revealed. Some of the tombs suffered from the continuing use of the quarry.
The tombs in general consist of a stepped road, which leads down to a rectangular entrance. The entrances were originally closed with one large or two smaller calcarenite slabs. Most of the chambers are almost identical. They are all provided with a rectangular trench in the middle slightly lower than the floor of the road and three benches at the sides of the chamber. Some of the tombs have additionally one loculus carved on the longitudinal axis of the tomb opposite the entrance, while another is provided with four beaches at the sides and one opposite the entrance, thus providing room for five interments.
Although all tombs were looted and disturbed some preliminary conclusions may be drawn. The dead were placed in clay sarcophagi which were originally covered with three flat tiles. The tombs were used during the Hellenistic and Roman period. The pyres found on the surface by the roads give evidence of practising Greek burial customs.
The sanctuary is a simple rectangular enclosure constructed with large irregular blocks. The few offerings found during the 1974 archaeological survey as well as those found during the latest excavations date the sanctuary to the Cypriot-Classical and Hellenistic period.
Marine Life Museum is located in Ayia Napa's Town Hall. It is the first natural museum of its kind in Cyprus and it exhibits past and present marine life and promotes the study and research of marine life while also emphasising the importance of preserving the marine environment.
Most of its nutrients come from the surface layers of the Central Atlantic. On it's travels through the Gibraltar Straits following the north coast of Africa, the sea water becomes warmer, saltier and denser. The temperature of the sea ranges from about 16C° in the winter to about 28C° in Summer. In the Cape Greco area in Ayia Napa, as in most areas around Cyprus, a strong thermocline is formed in the summer at a depth of 20-30 meters. The temperature just below the thermocline is about 18C°. The presence of this thermocline has significant effects on the vertical distribution of marine life.
The richest areas in terms of quality and variety of life are below the depth of the thermocline during the summer. To the underwater visitor the bottom fauna in the shallow waters of Cape Greco may initially seem somewhat disappointing but one quickly discovers the many hidden sea creatures which are indigenous to the area. Many bury themselves in the sand like several species of sand-urchin and starfish, the Sauries and the occasional spectacular Flying Gurnard. In the shallow rocky areas the common fish are Peacock and Rainbow Wrasses. Two-banded Bream (Haradjida), blennies, gobbies and small parrot fish. Near rocks small groups of bearded Red Mullets (barpouni) stir up the sand for tiny shrimp. Ten or so meters deeper the Posidonia meadows provide a characteristic Mediterranean seascape. In these sometimes-extensive meadows, fish life is rich and varied including small Wrasses, Breams, sea perches, groupers and the odd Bullnose Ray.
Without a doubt the most interesting terrain is that of the deep-water outcrops starting at Cape Pyla and ending north of Cape Greco. The delicate lilac incrustations of Lithothamnia contrast sharply with huge dark sponges. Sponges are everywhere, bright and almost luminous, Axinellas (finger sponges) in all shapes and sizes defy gravity. Feathery, pink Aeolid sea slugs are delicately balanced against the current. From crevices and caves, even in shallow waters, Red Soldier fish and the black-eyed, red bodied Anthias peep at you, almost too shy to come out and be photographed.
Equally interesting are the natural surroundings of the Ayia Napa area and especially its flora. The flora of this area is of great interest not only for the amateur observer but for the scientist as well. Unique is the undisturbed and natural Cape Greco habitat, extremely interesting both for its structure and its diversity. Many of the 36 different orchid species growing on the island find this area a safe land, while Crocuses, Colchicuns and Irises and unique colour and a magic fragrance.
In addition to its surprisingly wide variety of species the Ayia Napa landscape is also the area where the botanical elements of the neighbouring, Asian, European and African continents meet together to create the unique flora of Cyprus.
Also unique are the seashore plant communities of the Ayia Napa area, with a few special features
The flowering spikes of Urginea maritime, or Sea Squill as it is commonly known, emerge from the sun-baked sandy soil in mid-August before the appearance of any leaves, while Medicago marina covers the sand with a golden-yellow carpet. Crethmum maritime sands.
Among the many wild flowers of the Ayia Napa area, none has greater appeal than the famous Pancratium maritimum, or Sand Lily. Known once as the Famagusta Lily, with its large bulbs-up to 25cm in diameter, deeply buried in the coastal sands of the area on which the plant grows the lovely Sand Lily flowers during August and September. Its attractive funnel-shaped snow-white flower is noticed even in the evening by its unmistakable sweet smell. Respected and well protected, the Sand Lily has established itself in the area as an integral feature of the Ayia Napa landscape.
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