Once you know this great spot about 10kms west of Paphos, it is no problem, but there is scant detailed information for first time visitors to Anarita Park, which can be great for raptors and warblers and wheatear's, especially during spring migration.
I have 3 Cyprus reports with accompanying photos under Vacational Trip Reports that may well help, so use search facility to type in "Cyprus", and there are of course other reports apart from mine, but I always try to give specific detail.
Please note that this short brief is not intended to make interesting reading, just to be factually useful.
For specific reference points highlighted via latitude and longitude points in this report, including the entirely un-signposted Anarita Park, go to :-
www.itouchmap.com/latlong.html
Then, below the map on this page, go to the boxes just below and on the right hand side, where it says "Show point from Latitude and Longitude", input the appropriate co-ordinates, and it takes you exactly to the location you need. You may need to 'pan out' to get bearings and use in conjunction with a map, but these co-ordinates are far more accurate than the old, well-intended and still very useful Gosney maps and guides, certainly for this birding spot. Hopefully, with this information, you can plan your trip and enjoy a fantastic part of Cyprus.
Anarita Park, Anarita Mast, and Asprokremnos Dam are adjacent sites that interlink. You do not need to go back down to the parallel- running Paphos-Limassol A6 (motorway) or B6 (old main road) to enjoy them. BUT - when you are on the many driveable rougher tracks, ultimately always use commonsense, assessing condition of track and obstacles such as small rocks, and beware of ruts and rivvets, and of getting stuck after heavy rain etc. The latter is unlikely because the tracks are hard-baked stone tracks in general and all are driveable with care. But don't blame me!
Lets start with the nearest to Paphos -
Anarita Park - a superb mountainous area sandwiched between the villages of Agia Varvara westward to the village of Anarita. It is easier to find and access at the Agia Varvara end "until" you know it well.
Access off the main dual A6 carriageway is at Lat 34.746902 Long 32.504919
Access off the old main B6 road that runs parallel to the A6, is at Acheleia village Lat 34.738527 Long 32.485178. The sign here says Agia Varvara. There is a second turn also for the same village a few hundred metres further on and it is ok to take this too as the two quickly join up, and then the roads goes under the A6.
Drive north on this road past the village of Agia Varvara (which is to the left of the road), and access Anarita Park at either of two tracks (which eventually join up) to the right.
The first is where Loukaides Chicken Farm is possibly still signposted - at Lat 34.757269 Long 32.523565. The overhead wires can be good for Roller and RF Falcons especially autumn migration.
The second access track to the right further on, is photographed on my reports, and is a sharp (potentially quite dangerous due to fast oncoming traffic so be careful) right turn about 250 metres past the council refuse wagon depot (itself set just to the right of the main road). This access track starts at Lat 34.761729 Long 32.527556.
Both the above access tracks may offer slightly different birds, but the best bits are further on anyway.
Following the 'second' access track, the track bends up and then left, & after a few hundred metres past a partially completed villa on you're right, and then down and right. A small plateau area is at the basin here to the immediate left of the track, with a few shallow pools in the grass (hard to see), and surrounding bushes. This is at Lat 34.763372 Long 32.537068. A goat farm is up on the hill to your left here.
Immediately after this plateau is a 'dead-end' track that leads up hill to your left for about 200 metres, at the top is another plateau where you can turn round and drive back down to the main track again. The hills around here can be good for Finsch's Wheatear and this upper bowl (or plateau) is at Lat 34.76387 Long 32.53939. Rejoin the track by the lower small plateau.
Driving a hundred or so metres on, you reach a 3 way junction (by a prominant & distinctive rock) at Lat 34.760636 Long 32.536633. Until now, you have had no real decisions to make, but here you are faced with 3 options.
Option One - turn right back towards Loukaides Chicken Farm and the main road by Agia Varvara (not really the option you want obviously).
Option Two - Middle track - this is ok but not the best - it takes you low through Anarita Park valley through cereal fields, then joins the latter part of the 3rd track (below), and eventually to Anarita village.
Option Three (recommended option)- Turn left and upward along a winding track. Ignore a few turn-offs for small holdings, and where the track splits at Lat 34.75934 Long 32.542142, take the track to the right NOT straight on. To be honest, although not everywhere, birds can appear at any point at Anarita Park, but for me the area between this right turn and the water tank (half a mile on?) offers as good birding as any other bit. Anyway, this section of track is then straightforward as it leads upward and then down into Anarita village, eventually passing the adjoining middle track (option 2) junction just before the village after about a mile. The best birding is either side of this section of track at the highest levels, and especially 200 metres either side of a large concrete water tank at Lat 34.755012 Long 32.538698. The view from the tank is great for scanning harriers and raptors, and the scrubby gulley (Lat 34.755616 Long 32.538693) a hundred metres back (northward) along the track overlooking an obvious small goat and chicken farm below can be excellent for warblers. Dogs unfortunately usually bark from the small-holding but there is usually no one around. As I said, I think this is the best bit of Anarita Park, certainly for passerines, but anywhere of course can be good. Cyprus, Orphean, Subalpine, Ruppells Warblers "may" all be seen here, along with buntings, Great Spotted Cuckoos, but out of migration season it may not hold much at all. The bit of scrub close to the track just south of the water tank is also good for warblers at Lat 34.754699 Long 32.538511. Don't just concentrate on these two recommended spots on the downward slope from the track, the upper slope around the water tank is also good.
The whole area is also popular with hunters sadly, not that they interfere with you, but you may hear gunshots. The tracks in general are used by the locals, but overall the traffic is quiet, and you do feel you have the area more or less to your self.
The track then winds down into Anarita village - just stick on the main track until you meet a t-junction in the heart of the village (where you may wish to get food and drink stocks at shops). Here you join the zig-zagging F622 road in the village, at Lat 34.741229 Long 32.534552. Turn left here and head northwards out of the village a short distance.
You are now moving on to
Anarita Mast. This is another un-publicised area overlooking Asprokremnos Reservoir & Dam, and it too can be great for Harriers, Larks, shrikes, pipits, chukar in migration periods. Bonelli's Eagle can be seen around here or indeed over Anarita Park, where you have just come from. That is down to luck though and it is hard to predict their sightings.
The towering mast is obvious, use it as a landmark. A number of tracks criss cross fields for a mile or so especially to the north. Access Anarita Mast by taking right turns off the F622 north of Anarita village, at either Lat 34.74126 Long 32.539272, or a short distance after at Lat 34.741542 Long 32.541525. I think the second turn is better, where a blue sign post says "Foinikas 2km", and a white sign below it says Asprokremnos Water Treatment Works" (beware the track is decidedly dodgy IF you go on through & past the water treatment works towards Finikas/Phinikas). But the fields to investigate are all before the works anyway. Check the fields by taking what tracks you like, but eventually head too and left around the fenced radar mast at Lat 34.737575 Long 32.550387. The fences and terrain all around the mast are as good as the fields.
At the t-junction by the mast fence at Lat 34.734824 Long 32.548199 turn left on the track to
Asprokremnos Dam. This track was heavily rivetted, but was better when I last visited. It meets a tarmac road by the dam at Lat 34.726095 Long 32.548379. Drive sideways on to the tarmac road to avoid undercarriage damage if you have low trajectory. Common sense!
Just before the dam bridge, turn left into the famous wooded coppice, and on, "right to the end" through an orchard, and park by a small unmanned weather radar station at Lat 34.728872 Long 32.553279. The orchard, trees and scrub edge overlooking the reservoir can be excellent for warblers, wryneck and flycatchers in migration. If you are lucky.
Aspro Pools for crakes are below the dam and easy to find as the information is better, so I ignore them here. Also if you drive over the dam to the opposite end, there is a small quarry type site immediately to the right and the scrub here can be productive.
Hopefully this will help people, I hope I have got the co-ordinates all correct.
