Cyprus / United KingdomIsland
Cyprus
9,234 km² rising to 1,952 m out of the Mediterranean Sea.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
9,234km²
Area
622km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
1,952m
Highest point
Mount Olympus
1,120,489
People
28°C
Warmest sea
August
50km
To the mainland
When to go to Cyprus
Best for the beach in October.
The sea is warmest in August (28 °C) and coolest in February (17 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): from June to November.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in the Eastern Basin of the Mediterranean Sea
Cyprus is an island in Cyprus. It covers 9,234 km², with 622 km of coastline. Its highest point, Mount Olympus, rises to 1,952 m. About 1,120,489 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 50 km away.
Getting there
- Ercan International Airport (ECN)main airport (3 on the island with scheduled flights)Car hire at ECN airport (Tymbou)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesGazimağusa - Mersin, Piraeus - Limassol, Mersin - Gazimağusa
- 50 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- Octoberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Cyprus.
- 256beachesHoney Beach - Balcı Plaza, Sandouka Beach, Swimming spot and 253 more
- 452viewpointsKolliokremmos viewpoint, Amphitheater view point, Plataniskia Overlook and 449 more
- 5lighthousesAkamas LightHouse, Famagusta Lighthouse, Karpaz Gate Marina and 2 more
- 2ferry terminals
- 23marinasSt Raphael Marina, Paralimni, Karpaz Gate Marina and 20 more
- 616named peaksOlympus, Madari, Papoutsa and 613 more
- 34waterfallsBaths of Aphrodite, Kaledonian Waterfalls, Millomeri Waterfall and 31 more
- 17castles and fortsLa Cava, 1908, Castle of Kolossi and 14 more
- 435ruins and archaeological sitesAphrodite's temple, Paleá Énklistra, Siege ramp and tunnels and 432 more
- 42dive centresThe Dive Centre, I Dive Cyprus, Easy Divers Cyprus and 39 more
- 3surf spotsSandy beach surfing camp, Kahuna Surfhouse, Coast 2 Coast
- 213waymarked walking routesKyparissia Nature Trial, European Walking Route E4, Cyprus, Main Route, European Walking Route E4, Cyprus, Alternative Route and 210 more
- 51campsitesPlatania Camping Site Troodos, Kampi Tou Kalogyrou, Big Sand Beach Camping and 48 more
- 1,474hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 4,221restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Cyprus in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Cyprus, each with its own numbers.
17beaches and covesCoastya
5lakesLakeyas
3waterfallsCascadyas
Largest lake
7.4km²
Limassol Salt Lake
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
30.5°C
Germasogeia Reservoir
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
28.5°C
Barış Koyu
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
17 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Aphrodisiac Beach27.6°C
- Faros Beach27.8°C
- Nissi Beach27.5°C
- Kastela27.3°C
- Vrissiana Beach28.1°C
- Karakız Koyucove28.4°C
- Makronisos Bay Beach27.5°C
- Poseidon Beach27.5°C
9 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
5 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Limassol Salt Lake7.4km²
- Kouris Reservoir1.8km²
- Asprokremmos Reservoir0.77km²
- Evretou Reservoir0.25km²
- Germasogeia Reservoir0.18km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
3 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Adonis Baths
- Kaledonian Waterfall
- Millomeris Waterfall
Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 293 m above the sea. 50 % of it is below 200 m.
- 19 %0–50 m
- 32 %50–200 m
- 30 %200–500 m
- 17 %500–1,000 m
- 3 %1,000–2,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
100 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Nicosia200,452 people
- Limassol154,000 people
- Larnaca72,000 people
- Stróvolos67,904 people
- Famagusta42,526 people
- Káto Lakatámeia40,000 people
- Paphos35,961 people
- Kyrenia26,701 people
- Mórfou24,070 people
- Káto Polemídia23,231 people
- Aradíppou22,934 people
- Aglantziá21,543 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 14 | 15 | 18 | 22 | 27 | 33 | 36 | 36 | 32 | 27 | 20 | 16 |
| Night low (°C) | 8 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 16 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 18 | 13 | 9 |
| Sea (°C) | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 27 | 28 | 27 | 25 | 22 | 19 |
| Rain (mm) | 83 | 51 | 28 | 14 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 20 | 38 | 85 |
| Wet days | 11 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 11 |
| Sun h/day | 4.5 | 5.6 | 7.6 | 9.0 | 10.4 | 12.1 | 11.8 | 10.7 | 9.6 | 7.6 | 6.0 | 4.4 |
| Wind (km/h) | 16 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 15 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | −0.3 | −0.3 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.9 | −0.9 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +1.4 | +1.7 | +1.9 | +1.5 |
| 2021 | +1.9 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +1.4 | ±0.0 | +0.4 | +1.1 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.6 |
| 2022 | +0.6 | +0.2 | −0.2 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +1.6 |
| 2023 | +1.5 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.4 | −0.1 | −0.6 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +1.5 | +1.4 | +1.7 | +1.2 |
| 2024 | +1.7 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +1.6 | +0.7 | +2.1 | +1.6 | +1.4 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +1.1 | +1.3 |
| 2025 | +1.5 | +1.5 | +1.2 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +1.5 | +1.5 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Syria
GreeceAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q644636) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Lakeyas, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
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Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit 
mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfalls
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islands
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rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit