St. Hilarion castle – one of the fortresses located in the mountains not far from Kyrenia. As often happened, originally the castle was a monastery which was named after its founder, an Egyptian monk Hilarion the Great, who had organized at this place in the year 370 his Hermitage. Later there was built a Church and monastery, but soon, in about the eleventh century, the monastery was rebuilt by the Byzantines and was converted into a fortress, which, together with the castles of Kantara and Buffavento formed a line of defense against Arab raids from the coast. Later, in the XII century, this territory was captured by the Lusignan dynasty, which is also engaged in the restructuring and strengthening of the castle. After that, the castle was virtually impregnable. According to historical sources, the enemy managed to capture her only a few times and then only when garrison ended edibles, and he voluntarily laid down their arms. But in the XV century when St. Hilarion castle passed into the hands of the Venetians, they, for the sake of reducing the cost of its maintenance, dismantled part of the fortress. In addition, the building was severely damaged during the Turkish-Greek confrontation on the island in the 1960-ies.

St. Hilarion castle was divided into three sectors: in the lower part there were barracks for the guards, stables and outbuildings, secondary premises occupied by the Church of St. Christopher, built in the X century, and at the top was the residence of the royals.

Fortunately, the castle is quite well preserved and today is one of the best examples of the fortifications of Cyprus from the middle Ages. To reach it, you need to overcome a steep climb, but climbing to the top, you can enjoy the wonderful views of Kyrenia and the Mediterranean sea.