# Getting married in the Troodos Mountains > Pine forest, cool air and stone villages at the heart of the island — with painted Byzantine churches, waterfalls, and snow on Mount Olympus in winter. - URL: https://lensandvows.com/cyprus/troodos - Cyprus: https://lensandvows.com/cyprus (Markdown: https://lensandvows.com/cyprus.md) - Português: https://lensandvows.com/pt/cyprus/troodos.md - Español: https://lensandvows.com/es/cyprus/troodos.md - Italiano: https://lensandvows.com/it/cyprus/troodos.md - Deutsch: https://lensandvows.com/de/cyprus/troodos.md - Français: https://lensandvows.com/fr/cyprus/troodos.md - Lens & Vows: https://lensandvows.com/ The Troodos rise in the middle of Cyprus to Chionistra, the summit of Mount Olympus, at 1,952 metres. Much of the high ground is a national forest park of black pine, with trails along streams such as the one down to the Caledonia waterfall, below Troodos square. On the slopes lie the mountain villages — Platres at 1,100 metres; Kakopetria, whose old quarter of stone houses with wooden balconies is protected; Pedoulas and Kalopanagiotis — and a group of small churches covered inside with Byzantine wall paintings, listed together by UNESCO. None of the mountain villages has a marriage office of its own: couples marry at a town hall below — Limassol is the nearest city — or ask a municipality’s marriage officer to approve a place in the mountains, which the law allows. Others bring their vows up as a symbolic ceremony: under the pines, by a waterfall or in a village square, followed by a long lunch at a taverna. In summer they come for air several degrees cooler than the coast; in winter, for snow. ## When to marry in the Troodos Mountains - **Best:** May, June, September, October - **Good with planning:** January, February, April, July, August, November The mountains are the island’s cool escape. At Prodromos, at 1,380 metres, the Department of Meteorology’s records for 2016–2025 give average highs of about 23 °C in May, 27 °C in June, 26 °C in September and 21 °C in October, with nights of 11–16 °C; July and August reach about 30 °C, a few degrees below the coast, with cooler nights. Rain and snow fall on 12 to 14 days a month in December and January, and the ski runs on Chionistra usually open from early January to the end of March. - **Spring:** In April and May the streams still run full from the winter, the orchards in the valleys blossom and the trails open up; the days are mild, the nights still cool. - **Summer:** Warm days, cool evenings and the scent of pine — a refuge from the heat below. The forest is at its driest: no flames of any kind outdoors, and keep the celebration to places with water and shade. - **Autumn and winter:** In October and November the plane trees along the streams and the vines turn gold and the first rains come; from January snow lies on the summit and among the pines — dress warmly, allow time on the mountain roads, and remember that the light goes at about twenty to five. ## In numbers - **Hottest month, average high:** July and August · 30.2°C — Cyprus Department of Meteorology: https://www.dom.org.cy/CLIMATOLOGY/English/Daily%20Temperature%20and%20Precipitation%20Data/ - **Average high in the best months:** May 22.7°C · Jun 27.0°C · Sep 26.5°C · Oct 20.9°C — Cyprus Department of Meteorology: https://www.dom.org.cy/CLIMATOLOGY/English/Daily%20Temperature%20and%20Precipitation%20Data/ - **Days with 1 mm of rain or more, best months:** May 2.9 · Jun 1.4 · Sep 2 · Oct 4.8 — Cyprus Department of Meteorology: https://www.dom.org.cy/CLIMATOLOGY/English/Daily%20Temperature%20and%20Precipitation%20Data/ - **Sunset on 21 June:** 20:05 (Troodos) — NOAA: https://gml.noaa.gov/grad/solcalc/ - **UNESCO World Heritage:** [Painted Churches in the Troodos Region](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/351) (1985) Weather station: Prodromos, normals 2016–2025 · Checked 24 October 2026 ## Where couples marry here The kinds of places — ask your photographer which ones they know well. - **The pine forest and Chionistra:** Paths among old black pines around Troodos square and up towards the summit, wide views down to the coast on clear days, and snow from January in most winters — up to two metres of it in a heavy year. - **Waterfalls:** The Caledonia waterfall drops 13 metres in a ravine of planes and alders, on a trail of an hour and a half to two hours from near Troodos square or from Psilo Dentro above Platres, with slippery stream crossings; Myllomeris, at 20 metres the tallest in the Troodos, is a 45-minute walk from Platres. Both trails are best from March to November. - **Mountain villages:** Kakopetria’s old quarter by its river, Platres among the pines, and Pedoulas and Kalopanagiotis in the Marathasa valley: stone houses with wooden balconies, a square with a taverna, and cool air under the plane trees. - **The painted churches:** Agios Nikolaos tis Stegis at Kakopetria, Panagia Forviotissa at Asinou, the monastery of Agios Ioannis Lampadistis at Kalopanagiotis and their sister churches: plain and rustic outside, walls covered with Byzantine paintings inside, and free to visit — a quiet, timeless setting for portraits in their churchyards. ## How the light falls Under the pines the light is filtered and soft even at midday; on the summit and the open ridges the air is clear, and on fine evenings the haze over the coast turns gold. At midsummer the sun sets at about five past eight — earlier in the deep valleys, behind the ridges — and at midwinter at about twenty to five. Once it has gone the air cools fast, even in summer: bring a wrap and a jacket for the evening. ## Getting there Troodos is about 45 km from Limassol and 71 km from Nicosia; from the airports, about 100 km from Paphos and 111 km from Larnaca. The mountain roads wind, so allow time. From April to November the forest is at high risk of fire: lighting a fire within 2 km of the state forests is forbidden except at the designated barbecue sites — leave out candles, sparklers and sky lanterns — and fires are reported on 1407. Drones follow the EU rules (drones.gov.cy) and the Department of Civil Aviation’s zone map; never fly near a fire while aircraft are fighting it. ## Photographers in the Troodos Mountains The first photographers in the Troodos Mountains are joining now. Tell our concierge your date and your plans — it checks who is free and fits. https://lensandvows.com/photographers?region=troodos https://lensandvows.com/photographers?region=troodos&sort=rating (Highest rated) ## Read before you plan - [Getting married in Cyprus as foreigners: civil, religious or symbolic](https://lensandvows.com/journal/getting-married-in-cyprus): How couples who don’t live in Cyprus marry there legally: ordinary notice or the special procedure, documents by nationality, Paphos, Limassol, Larnaca, Ayia Napa and Nicosia, beaches and castles, church weddings, civil unions and the photographer. (Markdown: https://lensandvows.com/journal/getting-married-in-cyprus.md) - [How to choose a wedding photographer: the steps, and the questions to ask](https://lensandvows.com/journal/how-to-choose-a-wedding-photographer): The decision in order — whole weddings, style, availability, the package, the contract and deposit, cancellation, delivery and a conversation — then a checklist of questions, with why each one matters. (Markdown: https://lensandvows.com/journal/how-to-choose-a-wedding-photographer.md) - [A wedding-day timeline built around the light](https://lensandvows.com/journal/wedding-day-timeline): Sunset decides more of your photos than you might think. Approximate sunset times by month, where golden hour fits, and two example timelines — one for June, one for October. (Markdown: https://lensandvows.com/journal/wedding-day-timeline.md) - [How deposits and payment protection work on Lens & Vows](https://lensandvows.com/journal/deposits-and-payment-protection): A 30% deposit holds your date; the balance goes straight to the photographer, or through us with payment protection. Every step, what each choice costs, and what happens if plans change. (Markdown: https://lensandvows.com/journal/deposits-and-payment-protection.md)