All activities / Skiing & Snowsports / Troodos
Skiing & Snowsports in Troodos
The forested mountain massif at the heart of Cyprus, crowned by Mount Olympus at 1,952 metres. Its slopes hold marked nature trails through pine and juniper, painted Byzantine churches, hill wine villages and, in the short winter, the island's only ski runs, all within an hour or two of the southern coast.
Why here
Cyprus has the one thing almost no one associates with the island: a working ski centre, on the summit of Mount Olympus in the Troodos mountains at 1,952 metres. It is small and it is a novelty, but it is real. The Cyprus Ski Club runs four lifts here, a chairlift on the FIS-homologated Zeus slope on the exposed north face and three T-bars serving the gentler Sun Valley runs of Aphrodite, Hermes and Hera, and the season usually holds from January into late March when Mediterranean storms drop snow on the peak. The draw is not the terrain, which is modest, but the setting and the contrast: on a good winter day you can ski a few morning runs in the pines and be swimming or walking a coastal path by the afternoon, an hour or so downhill. The club stages an annual FIS race on the Zeus piste and runs the island's only ski school and rental shop, making this the place beginners on Cyprus learn to turn.
Best months
The season is short and weather-dependent, usually running from the start of January to the end of March, with the best cover in February. Snow depends on winter storms rather than snowmaking, so conditions vary from week to week and the runs can close in a thaw or open only on the shaded north face. The Sun Valley slopes are gentle and suit beginners and families, while the Zeus slope on the north face is steeper. Check the club before travelling up, as lifts run only when there is enough snow.
Getting there & around
The ski centre sits about two kilometres from Troodos square, roughly an hour by car up from Limassol and around ninety minutes from Nicosia or Paphos, with no ski-resort town attached, so most people day-trip from the coast or stay in the mountain village of Platres. A car and, in snow, winter tyres or chains are needed for the mountain road. The Cyprus Ski Club shop rents alpine, snowboard and cross-country gear, so you need not bring your own. There are no long lift queues, but a thaw can shut the whole operation.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate
Schools & guides (1)
Cyprus Ski Federation and Club
ClubThe Cyprus Ski Federation and Club runs the small ski centre on Mount Olympus in the Troodos mountains, at 1,952 metres the highest point on the island. It operates four lifts, a chairlift on the FIS-homologated Zeus slope and three T-bars serving the gentler Sun Valley runs of Aphrodite, Hermes and Hera, with skiing usually from January to late March. The club stages an annual FIS race on the Zeus piste and runs the island's only ski school and rental shop.