Lara Beach Cyprus

Lara's Beach or also called Turtle Beach, we can say that it is one of the wildest and most difficult to reach beaches in the Cyprus Island.

It is located in the Akamas Peninsula to the northwest in the only mountainous National Park of Cyprus. A curiosity, the park takes its name from the son of Theseus, the famous hero of the Knossos labyrinth on the island of Crete. The whole reserve offers its visitors bizarre rock formations, lonely beaches, caves where monk seals or ghost crabs take refuge and a breathtaking landscape made of biodiversity and rare species of flora.

But let's focus on Lara's beach. Wedged in a spectacular bay, we can consider it a small paradise made of crystalline and transparent waters, a long coastline of soft sand and a sea from turquoise to bright blue all in the protective embrace of low hills dotted here and there with Mediterranean scrub. Given its position, high fast waves are often created and therefore not very safe for families with children, but just walking and relaxing on the shore already satisfies the visitor.

Lara Beach, however, is famous because for centuries it has been the breeding ground of two rare species of turtle, the caretta-caretta and the green turtle. The two cute prehistoric animals differ from each other in that the Caretta-Caretta is larger in size (there are specimens even one and a half meters long and weighing over three hundred kilos), it has a more rounded shape and the number of the shields on the cuirass are four in contrast to the green turtle which has five.

Almost the entire coast is a protected place, here it is not possible to plant umbrellas or to put beds, light fires, stay for the night or drive on the beach. It houses the Lara Bay Turtle Conservation Station which is dedicated with love and passion to the protection of reptiles and it will be a great experience especially for the little ones to see the environmentalists in this delicate work. If you want to observe the turtles the best time is between May and August when they deposit the fragile eggs which in turn are preserved with metal cages and many warning signs for where to put your feet and not to disturb the life cycle.

As you may have understood, Lara beach is not equipped, here nothing reigns in its natural state, not even a bit of shade, so if you manage to reach it in the period in which it is possible to visit it without a guided excursion, remember first to follow all the rules to be able to stay and according to bring enough water and food.

Here comes the beauty! Let's say that it is not impossible but still quite challenging. First of all you must have a 4x4 with a normal car at your own risk as the road is unpaved, full of holes and stones.

Then head southwest towards the Akamas Peninsula, take the road to Pegeia and Agios Gerorgios where the most difficult path begins and where you need to have a suitable vehicle.

A second solution can be through a guided excursion that can be either by land or by sea. The numerous tourist agencies in Cyprus will be able to offer you both alternatives.

To the delight of young and old, Lara beach deserves to be included among the things to see in Cyprus, as well as admiring a natural context of overwhelming beauty, you can also come into direct contact with nature and the friendly turtles, not an everyday experience.