Cyprus Zoos and Amusement Parks

2 min read

This is the part of Cyprus that exists for the days when nobody wants another beach. Zoos, an aquarium, sculpture parks, a camel farm, adventure courses in the mountains and a medieval theme park — the island’s family attractions are more varied and considerably stranger than most visitors expect. This site documents 12 parks, zoos and attractions, listed by district further down the page.

Animals

Limassol Zoo is the largest on the island, sitting on the city’s coastal road and dating in its earliest form to 1954. Paphos Zoo grew out of one man’s private bird collection and is now the larger draw of the two, particularly for its birds. The Protaras Ocean Aquarium holds over a thousand species, from penguins and turtles to crocodiles.

Two working farms take visitors: the Mazotos Camel Park, about fifteen minutes from Larnaca airport, and the Golden Donkeys Farm at Skarinou, a family business built around the donkey’s place in Cypriot rural life.

Rides and adventure

Parko Paliatso in Ayia Napa opened in 1999 and is the largest luna park in Cyprus. Up in the Troodos, the Adventure Mountain Park at Kyperounta and the Sparti Rope Park at Platres are outdoor high-ropes courses, and a good deal cooler in summer than anything at sea level. Cyprus Land at Germasogeia is a medieval theme park.

Sculpture in the open

Ayia Napa has two sculpture parks and they could not be less alike. The Ayia Napa Sculpture Park runs along the coast, free and open at all hours, a quiet counterweight to the resort behind it. The Museum of Underwater Sculpture — MUSAN — is offshore and underwater, and has to be dived or snorkelled. The Petreon Sculpture Park at Mazotos is the third, inland in the Larnaca district.

Practical notes

Opening hours are seasonal almost everywhere here, and several of the outdoor attractions close or shorten their day over winter. The mountain adventure parks have minimum ages and heights for the higher courses. Where a park has published its hours and admission, the page for it on this site records them.