Karpaz
Region: TRNC (KKTC)
The island's long, empty finger to the north-east: dunes, wild donkeys, nesting turtles and a monastery at the very tip.
The Karpaz peninsula stretches some 70 kilometres towards Syria and is the least developed part of Cyprus. Small villages, wheat fields and olive trees give way to a national park at the far end, where the road simply runs out at the sea.
Golden Beach
Golden Beach is a wide crescent of sand backed by dunes, often almost empty even in summer. Loggerhead and green turtles nest here and on the nearby beaches, and a few simple bungalows and fish restaurants are the only buildings.
Apostolos Andreas and the tip
The Monastery of Apostolos Andreas, near the end of the peninsula, has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries and draws visitors of every faith. Beyond it the road ends at Cape Apostolos Andreas, the easternmost point of the island.
Donkeys and villages
Herds of wild donkeys wander the national park and will walk up to your car; please don't feed them. Around Dipkarpaz you will find the seaside ruins of the Ayios Philon basilica and village guesthouses where dinner is whatever the garden produced. Come for two days, not two hours.
