textile-less freedom on Aphrodite's island
This is an old revision of the document!
The Golden Beach
Sand, Sand and Sand
The Golden Beach (Turkish: Altınkum plaj; Greek: Χρυσή Ακτή, romanized: Chrysí Actí, also known as Pashi Amos (“Fat Sand Beach”), or Nangomi) is a wide sand beach, located near Rizokarpaso in the Karpass Peninsula
It stretches about four kilometers from Galunopetra (Iyitaş) cape on the east to Jyles cape on the south-west. On the eastern part, the dunes extend up to 500m towards the inland. The beach area is separated into two sections by a small hill, Adatepe, and by a large light colored sand dune without vegetation.[3]
The Golden Beach is, along with other sand beaches in Karpaz, an important nesting area for sea turtles. Camping on the beach and the surrounding protection areas is strictly forbidden. The Golden Beach is also known as an unofficial nudist beach (areas on the west of the beach)[4]
History
In the first years after the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus in 1974 the Golden Beach and the tip of the Karpaz peninsular were under Turkish military control and access was restricted. After the unilateral independence declaration in 1983, the area became a natural park and protection was further strenghend in 1997 and 1998 TRNC Environment Law [5]
Access
The Golden Beach is located next to a coastal road that leads from the village of Rizokarpaso/Dipkarpaz to Apostolos Andreas Monastery and the tip of the peninsular. The beach is about 20 km from the village centre and 9 km from the monastery. The road is paved, however in bad condition with occasional potholes; the last hundred meters on the way to the parking space are unpaved. During the high season the Golden Beach has been one of the stops of a regular bus connection (Karpaz-Express)[7] which serves Kyrenia and several sights-seeing spots in the Karpaz area. This bus connection is currently discontinued, though. Tourist busses used to stop for one or two hours at the beach.