St. Hilarion Castle - one of the fortresses located in the mountains not far from the town of Kyrenia .  As often happens, the castle was originally a monastery, which was named after its founder - the Egyptian monk Hilarion the Great, to arrange for this point in the year 370 a hermitage .  Later there was built a church and monastery, but soon, around the XI century, the monastery was rebuilt by the Byzantines and turned 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, the area was invaded by the Lusignan dynasty, which also took up the restructuring and strengthening of the castle .  After this became practically impregnable fortress .  According to historical sources, the enemy managed to capture her only a few times, and only then, when the garrison ended edibles, and he voluntarily lay down their arms .  But when in the XV century 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 seriously damaged during the Turkish-Greek conflict on the island in 1960 .

St. Hilarion Castle was divided into three sectors: in the lower part were barracks for the guards, stables and barns, the average space occupied by the Church of St. Christopher, built in the X century and located on the top apartment of the royal family.

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