You will only see two of them on this walk, but in the area around Pakhna, Anoyira and Plantaniskia there are a number of Tripmenes Petres (pierced Monoliths). These great standing stones have oblong holes through them, large enough for a person to pass through.
They have been erected in out of the way places on a plateau cut by deep gorges, where the rock disintegrates into huge blocks, chocking the stream beds. One is part of the structure of the ancient church of Ayia Irini near Evdimou; another straddles a fence between the lands of two stubborn landowners.
Magical properties have been attributed to them. Any person, no matter how, well…. Shall we say plump? Can pass through them. This requires an act of faith beyond the writer’s capacity though. Yes, he was foolish enough to try, but those extra Christmas pounds proved stubborn and an undignified extraction became necessary.
Do they have healing qualities? Are they symbols of fertility, lucky charms or propitiatory gestures to pagan gods? No one really knows, though recent research seems to point to the more mundane conclusion that they are part of an ancient olive pressing technique.
Whatever the case, they are silently enigmatic and magnificently photogenic, whether lit by slanting rays of the evening sun or wetted by the long overdue rain. Even without the monoliths however this region is beautiful, and the leisurely three-hour stroll here described is well worth the effort, especially now that the rains are brining out the anemones the daisies and the asphodel.
Take the Evdimou turn-off from the Paphos road and drive up to Anoyira. The latter stages of this climb is be a series of stupendous hairpins from which the views back to the coast are worth stopping for, On reaching the plateau you will find and old Byzantine church built among the ruins of and earlier edifice on the right hand side of the road. Soon after this you enter the village and will find facing you a large green shuttered and gabled building with a parking area to the right.
Stop here and take the road to Ayios Thomas to the left of it. This has a few meters of concrete before becoming a good dirt road passing a number of venerable olive trees.
The road is a gentle downhill track through a variety of farmland and rough terrain as indicated on the map. The gorge, a little way before reaching Ayios Thomas, makes a fine viewpoint, though recent fires have given the landscape a stark quality. The village is reached after descending an area of limestone pavement with carob trees.
Turn right at the tar-sealed road, which soon curves round so that you can look back at the ‘gingerbread’ village of Ayios Thomas, with its red tiled roofs and its dovecots. Continue gently climbing to the semi-deserted village of Plantanikia. Here ruins,’ ripe for conversion’ alternate with occupied houses and weekend cottages, and it is by no means unlikely that a gnarled countryman will invite you to drink coffee.
He will probably recommend the tar-sealed road back (the one you have just ascended). Accept the coffee but not the advice. Instead just walk through Plantaniskia and take the right turn just before the end of the tar-sealed road. This soon leads to a fork where either branch can be followed.
The right track however has the better views out to the Akrotiri Peninsula over a small gorge, near which there is a monolith and some recessed stones, the purpose for which is lost in antiquity. These are to the left of the road, soon after a telephone wire crosses it and before the start of the gorge. The area is covered in spiney burnet and prickly broom, better known to some people as Crown of Thorns and J.C.
From here the route passes through a varied landscape of scrublands and fields with carob trees, to a crossroads from which Anoyira can be seen in the distance. Go right there to pass an area of vineyards with an open parkland of carobs on the hill ahead.
There is a T-junction. If you go left for about a kilometer you will find a large monolith lying on its side forming part of the retaining wall of a terrace. Right at the junction leads to Anoryira and a gentle climb of about two kilometers will see you back at your car.
If you still want to see stones with holes in them, there are two excellent examples on the road from Anoyira to Pakhna. Drive up through the village veering right at the Anoryira Taverna. The tar-sealed road soon runs out onto a good dirt road. Follow this down two or three tight turns and then out for about two kilometers where a fine monolith can be seen on the fenceline to the right.
Perhaps the best of them though is another two kilometers walk along the road. You will come to a wooden bridge with metal sides that rattles horrifyingly when you cross. At the top of the hill on the other side of the valley is a large monolith and an excavated pit, with a variety of grooved stones and columns. This is your best bet is you MUST try the hole – but remember, you have to have faith!
From here the tar-sealed road to Pakhna is quite near, from where you can either make your way back down to Evdimou, or go off in search of yet more monoliths and a semi-subterranean church, (Theologos) about a kilometer down a right turn just before the village of Pakhna.