The Karpas has been called the nature reserve of Cyprus, with abundant wildlife and flowers, as yet still relatively untouched by encroaching development. Remote and isolated by virtue of its geographical position, it holds itself aloof from the rest of the island, and almost feels like a different country. The peninsula was predominantly Greek pre-1974, and boasts some exquisite early churches which should not be missed. A few are still in use, as the Karpas retains a small community of Greeks, some 600 strong, who chose to stay behind after 1974, and they continue to live in and around Dipkarpaz (Greek Rizokarpaso). Driving across the sparsely populated rural landscapes, it's possible to imagine that you are heading out to the end of the earth. But the Karpas is opening itself up to tourism, and the days of the blissfully empty roads are gone. Indeed, you're just as likely to be sharing the tarmac with a tour bus or one of the ubiquitous sports cars as you are the island's indigenous population of donkeys, who lollop across the tarmac in their own oblivious style.