Choirokoitia (Khirokitia)

Choirokoitia, also spelled Khirokitia, is one of the most important prehistoric sites in the eastern Mediterranean, set on a hillside in the Larnaca district a few kilometres inland from the south coast. It was occupied from the 7th to the 4th millennium BC and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998.

The settlement was a tightly organised community of round stone-and-mud dwellings, enclosed by a defensive wall, on a slope above a loop of the Maroni river. Walking the site, you climb past the foundations of these circular houses laid out along a stone street. Near the entrance, several full-size dwellings have been reconstructed using the original methods and materials, fitted with replica household objects to show how the homes once looked.

Making sense of the site

Interpretive signs explain the daily life of the inhabitants, who farmed grain, herded animals and hunted deer. The reconstructed huts make the ruins much easier to picture. The site lies close to the main highway between Larnaca and Limassol, an easy stop on a drive that could also take in the Larnaca Salt Lake.

• The reconstructed round houses sit near the entrance.
• The path climbs the hillside and is uneven in places.
• It is an easy detour off the Larnaca-Limassol highway.

Wear sturdy shoes for the hillside path, bring water and sun cover as the slope is exposed, and start at the reconstructed dwellings to understand the ruins above.