Mandria (or Mandala or Mandalo if you happen to be looking at a few ancient maps) has long been considered the Garden of Paphos. The local history says that Mandria was originally a shepherd post many centuries ago as its name suggests: initially only a few small folds (mandres) existed there; consequently Mandria meant “a venue with folds”.
It’s inception as a village is believed to come about from the following story. An unknown number of years (decades or centuries) ago there was a large settlement nearby called Milavri which was cited as Milari in De Masse Latri, a census in the Venetian Era. Milavri was abandoned what is speculated to be from an epidemic that broke and to save themselves from ruin they settled on land which is now known as Mandria, possibly land that belonged to the Milavri inhabitants.
The Church of the village is dedicated to St. George. Gunnis (1935) makes a specific reference to the upper place – set apart for women – of this church, painted with vivid scenes from the Old Testament.
Imagine rolling hills, plateaus, fertile soil, and the gentle sea breeze bringing fresh waves of cool moist air, where you can ‘see’ everything grow! The many tributaries of the river Cha-Potami break up this fantastic scenery. Mandria receives a very high average annual rainfall, reaching up to 800 millimeters, making it fertile ground for a variety of winemaking vines, and various fruit trees (apple, pear, cherry and plum), as well as walnut olive and almond trees.
This is the village where nature, not commerce, is the order of the day and the natural rhythm of the changing seasons. So much so that permanent residents total 150 yet in the summer months the population peaks 10 fold, particularly in August.
A growing number of professionals wanting to get away from it all, yuppies interested in the serenity of the place, naturalists, as well as the mature person, are slowly discovering that Mandria meets their needs.
For many, this is their holiday retreat where they can amble along the country lanes with a picnic basket in hand and head for the virtually deserted beach for the day!