North Cyprus Castles

The picturesque Kyrenia range of mountains hides three of the islands most spectacular castles. All of North Cyprus castles are regarded as Crusader castles but they were all built originally as Byzantine fortresses and later heavily fortified in the time of the Crusades.

St Hilarion Castle, spectacularly located on a mountain peak at 732m, is the most impressive of the trio. A paved road from the Girne to Lefkosa highway climbs all the way to the castle entrance and car park. The best view of the castle is at the bottom of the hill on the final approach to the castle. From here the thick, castellate walls punctuated with solid square towers appear to cling to and wind the steep hillside right to the very peak. It is often likened to Walk Disney's fairy tale castle in Snow White and believed it might even be the inspiration.

A small entrance fee allows admission through the thick walls of the gate house and, once inside, prepare for some climbing. The accommodation within the castle is built on three distinct and self-contained levels. The lower level housed the horses, the soldiers and the weapons. A path leads upwards to the middle level where the knights were located and the Great Hall. The hall was badly damaged by fire in 1995 but restored and reopened in 2004. On this level too is a small Byzantine chapel.

Steps lead more steeply upwards to the third and final level for the Royal apartments and St John's tower.

Occupying an even more impregnable position is Buffavento castle. Located east of St Hilarion, it is accessed from the top of the Buffavento Pass. A narrow paved road leads to the entrance. From here it is a 30 -40 minute climb up steps to the peak of the mountain. Only a few rooms remain scattered between peaks but the view from this altitude, 945m, is truly worth the climb.

Kantara castle, further east still, is easily the most accessible. Again a paved road leads to the entrance from Kantara village. This heavily walled castle stands at around 600m. Here the buildings, including a large barracks, store rooms and water cisterns, are more complete and can be explored with barely any climbing.