Platres travel guide

Plátres (Greek: Πλάτρες) is a small town in Cyprus. It is located on the southern slopes of the Troodos Mountains (Krasochoria region) and is approximately north-west of Limassol and south-west of the capital Nicosia. The name of Platres derives from the Greek word platía, which means plain area, due to the town's many flat fields inbetween steep, mountainous terrain. The town is divided into two parts: Pano Plátres (Upper Plátres), the principal hill resort of Cyprus; and Kato Plátres (Lower Plátres also known as Tornárides), a smaller, residential settlement, some 3 km to the south-west, downhill from the main town centre. The town has a resident population of fewer than 300, but this can swell to more than four times this number during tourist seasons.
In the past the villagers were mainly shepherds and vine growers. Later most vine fields were converted to orchards, producing cherries, apples, pears, peaches and more. However, since the early 20th Century many people have dedicated themselves to the booming tourism sector. Plátres has been a popular hill resort since the British took control of the island of Cyprus in 1878. In the arid hills of the Troodos range, Plátres is relatively unusual in straddling a perennial stream, providing a reliable source of drinking water and allowing a profusion of foliage not commonly seen on the island. Importing their taste for cool retreats, away from the heat of the coast, the colonial settlers rapidly established a network of hotels, bars and shady walks around the small village that previously existed on the site. Over the years, Plátres gained a reputation as the destination of choice for many notable people, including King Farouk of Egypt and the Nobel Prize-winning poet Giorgos Seferis. The Brandy Sour cocktail, a drink intimately associated with Cypriot cuisine, was developed for King Farouk during the late 1930s, at the Forest Park Hotel in the town. The same hotel is also known as the location at which British writer Daphne du Maurier composed the majority of her acclaimed novel Rebecca. The resort retains many hotels and bars today, and operates as both a cooler alternative to the major coastal resorts during the summer, and as a skiing base during winter months. (...)...read more more....