It doesn’t happen very often that I get one place recommended by two friends, so when it did, I knew I had to see Oleastro Park as soon as possible.
Conveniently located between Limassol and Paphos, just off from Pissouri, Oleastro is hidden away just after Anogyra village (which is a beautiful sight in itself). My navigation failed so we just followed signs throughout the village and find it without trouble.
Oleastro Park has a few areas of interest for anyone, most importantly you can see the original ecological olive oil mill (we were lucky to see in action when we arrived), which is producing organic olive oil grown in Cyprus. Standing by the mill and seeing the olives getting crushed, and golden oil coming out on the other side was pretty cool! But that’s not all there is to see.
There is also a small museum, souvenir shop, restaurant, farm and a small playground for kids.
At the entrance, you pay a one-off entry fee of 3 eur, and you can keep coming back with that same ticket free of charge.
We also bought a bag of carobs to feed the animals for one eur and headed first inside the building to see the mill while it’s operational. After a look around, there was the second order of the business – feeding the animals.
The sheep were super friendly and calm, which is something we couldn’t say about those two goats that followed. The Alpha male of the pack got frustrated when we were not handing the snacks out quickly enought, and there was a short fight between the two of them, locking horns and bumping heads, and all that. I would not want to be with that guy alone in a park.
We moved to the donkey and the horse, called Olive – can’t remember the donkey’s name. They were so friendly, super soft to touch and so eager to get their food too.
The donkey made all sorts of noises to get our attention while we were tending the horse. After the farm, we checked the old mill – you push the button and the mill starts spinning and lady in the radio tells you a bit about the history of the mill.
The whole park is lined with olive trees, naturally, and trees in the most beautiful shades of autumn.
The highlight for all of us was the food – freshly grown, seasoned with the local olive oil. I’ve never been so excited about a piece of bread with oil and feta in my life. It was so delicious I was greedy enough that I nearly ordered a second round.
I think it’s worth going there just to taste the bread (forgot the local name of the snack) as it’s soooo yummy!!! You can taste the freshness of all the ingredients and even though its so simple, it’s mouth-wateringly good. Before I turn this into a novel, I will share their contact info and highly recommend you pay them a visit.
It’s a wonderful afternoon for the whole family. Just a bit of a warning – it’s about 30-40 minutes drive both from Paphos and Limassol, so best if you do something else in the area not just drive the distance to see one place.
Oleastro Olive Oil Park & Museum
Telephone: 00357-99565768
Email: [email protected]
Location: check the map at the bottom of their website. Essential, head to Anogyra village and follow signs from there
Opening hours: did not find them online, but we were there on Saturday and according to their Facebook page, they are closed on Sundays.
Entry fee: 3 eur adults, 2 eur kids. Keep your tickets if you want to come back, free entry if you already have a ticket.
Restaurant: very reasonably priced snacks (pieces of bread with toppings) or meaty traditional Cypriot dishes. Selection of drinks like coffee, tea or wine.
Limassol: Recommended Day Trips & Experiences
- From Limassol: Akamas Highlights and Blue Lagoon Day Trip
- Welcome to Limassol: Private Tour with a Local
- Cyprus: Troodos Mountain Food & Wine Tasting Tour with Lunch
- Limassol: Luxury Private Half-Day Catamaran Cruise
- From Limassol: Kourion & Paphos Tour
- From Limassol: Private Full-Day Famagusta & Ghost Town Tour
