Lapta, or Lapithos, is located about 10 kilometres west of Kyrenia and the town actually begins just before you hit the main ‘Lapta strip’ on the coastal road. It rises up into the mountains and is a local tourist hotspot with some excellent hotels and general accommodation options for visitors to North Cyprus.
Located around 3 miles East of Kyrenia, Ozanköy, (previously known as Kazpahani), is one of the prettiest villages in Northern Cyprus and is home to a small but truly multi national population – it has a real community feel to it. It is easy to find, being signposted from both the west and east coast roads, as well as from the centre of Kyrenia town from where it is about a 15 minute drive.
Zeytinlik, (zeytin meaning olive), is located on the western low-lying outskirts of Kyrenia. As you may guess by its name, Zeytinlik was the centre of olive oil production in the past, and it still retains some of its original character with people having kept the trees in their gardens and some of the old olive groves still remaining too.
The Karpaz peninsula is located on the far eastern stretch of North Cyprus, and it stretches right up to the tip of the peninsula, it’s often referred to as the ‘panhandle.’ You may even hear or see the peninsula being called Karpasia, Karpas, Kirpasha, Carpasia or Dipkarpaz – in fact Dipkarpaz is a present day town, and Carpasia was the ancient city where the ruin of Ayios Philon stands. It was once a very densely populated area during both the Roman and Luisignan times, but now it is far less so.
The village of Büyükkonuk, (formerly Komi Kebir), in North Cyprus is located in the lowland foothills of the Beşparmak mountain range on the far east of the island. It’s situated about 6km north-east of Boğaz, just before the start of the Karpaz Peninsula region. It is also a village of some note due to it recently being designated as an area for eco-tourism, and has subsequently even been filmed by foreign film crews for international culture programmes.
If you are on your travels around the Karpaz region of North Cyprus, then why not take the time to visit the village of Dipkarpaz (called Rizokarpaso by Greek Cypriots). The village is located right in the middle of the entrance to the ‘panhandle’ area and is the last large village before you hit the road that leads to the tip of the peninsula and the Apostolos Andreas monastery.
Güzelyurt is almost the last major town on North Cyprus’s north west coast – although Lefke sits slightly further west and inland. You will also find Güzelyurt referred to as Morphou, which is the Greek name for the town. The translation of Güzelyurt depends on the sources you read and the people you speak to, but it basically means ‘beautiful native country’ or ‘fatherland’ – while neither is a perfect literal translation, both meanings get right to heart of the matter and that is that Güzelyurt and the surrounding villages in North West Cyprus are stunningly beautiful, rich and fertile.
The town of Lefke, located inland just to the south of Güzelyurt, has a bright past and was one of the few towns to have seemingly been valued enough during Ottoman times to have warranted investment and infrastructure development.
