The Karpaz peninsula, the Easternmost part of the island, is where the island turns into a thin strip extending towards Turkey. Secluded beaches go on for miles and the greenery of its beautiful and unspoiled countryside blends with the turquoise of the Mediterranean.

Karpaz is almost totally devoid of a strong concentration of industries or people, making it one of the least polluted regions in Europe. In Roman times, however, it was a densely populated region.

A natural treasure with its wildlife and its golden sandy beaches where visitors can have their own beach, Karpaz is simply spectacular.

The area is famous for its wild donkeys, estimated at around 1500 (although the shyness of the animals makes them difficult to count). Most donkeys now live in a gated reserve on the Eastern side of Dipkarpaz.

Designated a protected natural and archaeological site since 1995, the area is a nature reserve, which offers an abundance of birds, wild flowers and marine life.

A few hours’ drive from Kyrenia or Nicosia, Karpaz is another world. It may lack some of the luxuries of Kyrenia hotels, but it makes up for all these absences with its abundance of fishing piers, wonderful beaches, spectacular landscapes, unique wildlife, fish restaurants on the water (which also serve all types of kebabs and Cypriot mezes, of course) and more.

Ancient cities, ruins, tombs and several Byzantine churches scatter the peninsula waiting to be explored, making large expeditions possible.

Dipkarpaz is the main settlement and is the gateway to some of the area's most interesting ruins. The city is home to the largest Greek Cypriot community in Northern Cyprus, which chose to stay with their Turkish Cypriot neighbours after 1974, and their white Orthodox church defies the mosque overlooking the main square.

Cypriots have come to regard the beauty of Karpaz as sacred, like the Apostolos Andreas monastery on the tip of the peninsula. The monastery is a key religious site, a destination for pilgrims of Greek Cypriot faithful during the important holidays of Orthodox Easter and St. Andrew's day. A fortified monastery stood on this steep coast in the 12th century, from where Isaac Commenos negotiated his surrender to Richard the Lionheart. The oldest surviving building is a 15th century chapel on the sea, now essentially a crypt under the main church decorated with icons.

North of Dipkarpaz are the spectacular ruins on the Ayios Philon promenade, part of what was once Carpasia. The stones of the ancient city were used to build a 10th century church, the ruins of which are still visible, and the mosaics are still visible from a much older basilica.

Just five kilometers away are the remains of Aphendrika, said to have been one of the most important cities on the island, where it is possible to see the oldest surviving domed church in Cyprus.