The ancient city of Palaipafos is located within the limits of the modern village of Kouklia, located near the mouth of the Diarizos river, 16 kilometers East of the modern city of Pafos. The Palaipafos site and its surrounding area are connected to an ancient cult associated with the "Great Goddess", the fertility goddess, who was worshiped in Cyprus since the Neolithic period. The Mycenaeans, who settled on the island in the early 12th century, adopted the local fertility goddess and erected a sanctuary in his honour. According to tradition, Kinyras, the legendary local king, was the founder and first high priest of the sanctuary. Another legend, however, mentions Agapenor, the king of Tegea in Arcadia, Greece, as the founder of the city and sanctuary. Palaipafos remained the largest rural and religious centre in West ern Cyprus, from the beginning of the geometric period until the end of the classical period. When the last king of Palaipafos, Nikokles, moved his capital at the end of the 4th century BC. at the newly founded Nea Pafos, about 16 km to the West , the city retained some of its importance thanks to the continuation of the cult in the temple of Aphrodite. During the Roman period it became the centre of the new constitution "Koinon Kyprion" (the "Confederation of Cypriots"), which dealt with religious issues and the cult of the Roman emperor and controlled the bronze coin of the island. The religious and cultural activities of the Palaipafos sanctuary ceased in the 4th century AD. with the rise and spread of Christianity across the island. During the medieval period Palaipafos, which was renamed Couvouclia, regained part of its prosperity when it became the centre of local administration and was used as the headquarters of the royal official who directed and controlled the sugar cane plantations and refineries in the area of Pafos.

The most important monuments of Palaipafos are:

The sanctuary of Aphrodite. One of the most important sanctuaries of Aphrodite in the whole ancient world. It is mentioned by Homer and other Greek and Latin authors. The surviving remains of the sanctuary form two groups of buildings: to the South is the first sanctuary of Aphrodite, Sanctuary I, built in the late Bronze Age. It consists of an open courtyard (temenos), surrounded by a monumental wall made up of huge limestone blocks. Its West ern side and part of its southern side are preserved together with a room, which housed a conical betilo in its centre which symbolized the power of the Great Goddess. The betilo also adorns the Roman sanctuary, Sanctuary II, which was erected in the North in the late 1st or early 2nd century AD. The new Roman buildings enclose a large courtyard open to the south, East and north.

Leda's house. This Roman house was discovered in Alonia, about 120 m. NorthWest of the Byzantine church of Agios Nikolaos, which dates back to the 16th century. Of the original building only the central dining room is preserved which is covered with a mosaic floor dating back to the 2nd century AD. and which depicts the mythological scene of Leda and the Swan (the panel on the spot is a modern copy, the original is exhibited in the Kouklia Museum).

The North-East gate of the defensive wall. The north-East gate of Palaipafos occupied a dominant position above the lodgings of the ancient city on the hill of Marchellos and constituted one of the strongholds of the ancient fortifications. The first buildings of walls and gates were erected in the first archaic period (second half of the 8th century BC). According to an inscription, the last king of Palaipafos, Nikokles, rebuilt the defensive walls in the middle of the 4th century BC, but shortly after 300 BC they fell into disuse.

The city walls and the Palace of Hadji Abdulla. This is another area of ​​the city's defences, located about a 10-minute walk from the North-Eastern gate. The remains present the same construction phases and construction methods as the North-Eastern gate. An imposing building with narrow corridors, small rooms and large walls was erected against the inner face of the city walls. It dates back to the 6th or early 5th century BC. This palace was probably the residence of the Persian governor of Palaipafos.

The Church of Panagia Katholiki. Panagia Katholiki is a cruciform church and dates back to the 12th or 13th century A.D. The West ern sector is a 16th century addition. The surviving wall paintings that decorate the interior of the church reflect traditional folk art from the 15th century.

The Manor House Lusignian. Built by the Lusignian kings in the 13th century as a centre of local administration and as the headquarters of the royal official who directed and controlled the sugar cane plantations and refineries in the Pafos area. After 1571 the manor was the administrative centre of the Ottoman chiflik of Kouklia. The building consists of a complex of rooms arranged in four wings around a central outdoor courtyard. Only parts of the gate tower and part of the East and South wings survive from the medieval structures and are incorporated into the buildings of the Ottoman period. The Gothic hall in the East wing is considered to be one of the best surviving monuments of free secular architecture on the island. The East wing, which dates back to the Ottoman period, now serves as a local archaeological museum.

Cemeteries. The Palaipafos area includes numerous cemeteries, which produced a rich variety of archaeological material dating back to the late Bronze Age up to the early Christian periods. The most important finds from the tombs are now on display in the local archaeological museum.

The Lusignian sugar cane refinery in the coastal plain. The royal manor of Kouklia, which was built as the centre of the Lusignian sugar cane plantations in the West ern part of Cyprus, was directly connected to the industrial plants for sugar cane processing. The best preserved of these plants are the sugar factory and the refineries erected in the coastal plain of Kouklia in Stavros. Today only a few traces of the installations that once covered the Sanctuary II next to the manor house survive. The refinery complex in the Stavros locality combines the four sectors for the transformation of sugar cane production: grinding, boiling and refining, cooking and refuelling, storage and workshops.