Is Vasa just another Cypriot village then? Out there on the chalk terraces, far enough away from Limassol to have started on the slippery slope to dereliction, its future hangs in the balance. Certainly some conversion and restoration is going on, but slowly, slowly, as they say. An old zivania manufacturer, complete with its ancient clay urns, has for ten years been undergoing a process of renovation that has just kept ahead of the ravages of time.
There are undoubtedly many buildings in the village that are, shall we say, ‘ripe for conversion’ yet overall there is an atmosphere of vitality. There is a large church and shops, and part of what used to be the school has been converted into a fine tavern with viewpoint. There is even industry in the form of a small bottling works that taps the famous Vasa mineral water from its source deep underground. Nearby is the tiny painted church of Ayios Georgios and an old slaughterhouse.
All round are steep terraced chalk lands, which carry vines, where cultivated, to their very summits, along with areas of abandoned vineyards, scrublands and scattered trees.
The area is crisscrossed by farm tracks, and walks to Arsos, home of Laona wine and Omodhos could easily be devised. This route however, takes you to Vasa’s amazing cliff top viewpoint. Take the motorway out of |Limassol, heading west and turn right immediately after Erimi Bridge to drive through sparse woodland past Souni, Kividhes and Ayios Amvrosios.
Soon after Kissousa the road forks take the right branch signposted ‘Troodos’ and drive down to Vasa. At the first left after this you will find the bottling plant at a sharp corner in the valley bottom, and the tiny church of St George soon after. There is room to park there.
Walk up to the village past the slaughterhouse on the left. Giant fennel abounds here in April and its dried skeletons adorn the slopes in the following months. Go into the village and walk through it past the Eklisia Evankelismos. Continue straight on to a water trough dated 1964. Go right here, then left and right to find yourself on a rough road with a concrete church under construction on the site of a much older edifice.
At this point the road forks three ways. The middle route soon becomes a track but is an easy short cut to the summit road. A more interesting route lies to the left. This too, soon peters out onto some terraces cut by a deep gully, but it is easy to pick your way round some scrubby vines to the road that you can see climbing the hill ahead. A few very beautiful velvety orchids can be seen here in the right season. On gaining the road take the right turn, uphill.
Follow the road up and take the second right, but not before enjoying some of the fine views down the Khapotami to the sea. Continue climbing, taking the right turn at a T-junction that will soon lead you to another T-junction, from which you can see the Troodos whaleback ahead. At this point the road right leads back to the village and you can see the top end of the footpath mentioned earlier from the concrete church.
The summit route climbs gently to the left past some corrugated iron sheds. Various farm roads lead off to either side, but continue uphill. There are fine views all along the way and from time to time you might startle the occasional partridge as you go.
Keep right at the first main junction, soon after a small oak tree by the roadside, and left at the second, and eventually a level summit will be reached. A line of thorn bushes, hawthorn of meddler, marks the edge of the shattered chalk cliff and from the various breaks in this you can take in Vasa’s cliff top view of the whole Troodos range.
Not far beyond the cliffs the bare white chalks give way to the dull red Troodos rocks and the vineyards to pine forest. Far across the valley is Platres, and below you can see the Church of Apostolos Philippos. Looking south on the dip slope the panorama includes Akrotiri and the Salt Lake.
The way down is not really complicated, but beware of the temptation to try an early descent into the deep valleys on your left. Most such routes are dead ends, leading only onto outlying vineyards. If in doubt just retrace your steps up to the point where you first saw the Troodos and then follow either the dirt track to the concrete church of the main dirt road down.
You make more of a round trip, follow the edge of the cliff eastwards. The road soon peters out, but it is easy to follow the edge of the cultivated land. Soon a track down is reached, leading to a T-junction from which you can see Vasa peeking coyly round the edge of a spur. Go right here to rejoin the road you followed to the summit, or left for further explorations.
Two roads lead left towards Apostolos Phillipos and the next right is your last chance to make the main route down without hassle. It is however possible to follow a deteriorating track still further down. This leads to a point where an uncomfortable scramble through prickly burnett becomes necessary before climbing to the right to regain the road near the oak tree mentioned earlier.
From here the descent to Vasa is a simple matter of following the road down coming out just above the point at which you left your car.