Five Finger Mountains Drive: Viewpoints & the Ridge Route

The Five Finger Mountains — Beşparmak in Turkish, for the five-peaked silhouette that names them — are what turn the Famagusta-to-Kyrenia drive into a viewpoint route rather than a transfer. This is not a separate trip: the main road from Famagusta to Kyrenia climbs over this ridge, so you are on it whenever you head to the coast, to St Hilarion or to Bellapais. There is no fee — it is a driving and viewpoint guide. This page covers where to stop, what you see from the ridge, and how the road strings the mountain sights together on a day trip from the east coast.

Where does the Five Finger ridge sit, and how high is it?

The Beşparmak range runs 170+ km roughly parallel to the northern coast, a long limestone wall between the central plain and the Kyrenia shoreline (Visit North Cyprus). Its high point is Selvili Tepe at 1,024 metres; St Hilarion Castle sits at 732 metres on a separate crag further west. The “five finger” name comes from a distinctive cluster of peaks visible across the plain, and the practical point for a driver is that the range is narrow but steep — you climb it quickly and the views open just as fast.

Feature	Detail
Range length	170+ km, parallel to the coast
Highest point	Selvili Tepe — 1,024 m
St Hilarion peak	732 m
Main crossing	The Famagusta-Kyrenia road climbs the ridge
Fee	None — open road

Three passes cut through the ridge; the Famagusta-Kyrenia route takes one of them, which is why the scenic drive and the practical drive are the same drive.

Where do you stop for the best views?

The headline panorama is at the Beşparmak Lookout area along the ridge, where the view opens over Nicosia on the plain, Kyrenia on the coast and away toward the Karpaz peninsula on a clear day. There is no single named, signed layby — treat it as a stretch of ridge rather than one car park — so use the pull-ins and laybys along the road and never stop on a bend. The other reliable viewpoint is the St Hilarion car park at 732 metres, the highest accessible point on this side of the range, reached by the side climb above Kyrenia.

A note for visitors who will see it and wonder: a large flag is painted on the mountainside near Taşkent, visible across the plain and lit at night — roughly 425 × 250 metres. It is a fixed feature of the landscape on the southern face of the ridge; this guide notes it as a landmark and offers no commentary beyond that.

How does the ridge road link St Hilarion and Bellapais?

The ridge road is the thread that connects the two hill sights — you take the Kyrenia road over the range, then branch to one or the other on signed mountain turns. St Hilarion is the steep climb high above Kyrenia, and Bellapais is the gentler climb into the village just east of the town; both hang off the same main route, which is why the scenic drive doubles as the access road for a Kyrenia-hills day. The realistic chaining is one hill sight per day alongside the coast:

• The St Hilarion line — Kyrenia harbour and castle in the morning, then the climb to St Hilarion Castle before its 16:30 last entry.
• The Bellapais line — the same Kyrenia core, finishing with Bellapais Abbey for the late afternoon light above the coast.

Doing both hill sights plus the harbour in one day does not work; the ridge road makes either pairing easy but neither rushed. The Kyrenia day trip from Famagusta sets out the harbour-and-castle core that anchors both versions.

Can you walk in the Five Finger Mountains?

Yes — the range carries North Cyprus’s official long-distance footpath, the Beşparmak Mountain Trail (the Kyrenia Mountain Trail), which runs the length of the ridge past crusader castles, chapels and hill villages. Sections of it start near the ridge sights, so the scenic drive and the trailheads overlap. Difficulty, season — summer heat is a real factor on the exposed ridge — and the honest truth about inconsistent waymarking all live in the North Cyprus hiking trails guide, which is the page to read before lacing up. The car-as-trailhead pattern is the natural fit here: you drive the ridge, park at a pull-in, and walk a section rather than the whole 18-stage route.

How do you plan the ridge drive from the east coast?

Plan it as the scenic spine of a Kyrenia-area day from your Famagusta or Long Beach base, not as a destination in itself. Kyrenia is 80.6 km / 75-90 minutes away on 2026 routing data, with the ridge crossing in the middle of that run; St Hilarion is 92 km / 105-125 minutes because its access road climbs higher still, and Bellapais is 71 km / 80-95 minutes into the village. The North Cyprus driving distances table lays the figures out side by side. The main road over the range is paved divided carriageway, and the side climbs are ordinary mountain roads — winding but fine for any economy car, with the whole Kipra fleet automatic to make the switchbacks easier. If left-hand driving is new to you, the North Cyprus driving rules cover it.

In a longer stay the ridge is the connective tissue of the Kyrenia-hills day in the one-week North Cyprus itinerary from a single east-coast base, which keeps your hotel on the coast and treats the mountains as a day out and back.

Is the scenic route worth taking over the plain road?

There is no faster plain alternative to weigh — the ridge crossing is the Famagusta-Kyrenia road, so the scenic drive costs you nothing extra in time or money. That is the quiet argument for the whole area: the views come free with a trip you were making anyway. North Cyprus drew 2,589,729 visitors in 2025, up 17.2% year on year, according to the TRNC Tourism Planning Department, and the mountain road funnels a large share of them between the east coast and Kyrenia. The takeaway is simple — leave time for the pull-ins, because the drive is part of the day, not just the way to it.

Kipra Rent A Car is a Famagusta-based local rental company with VAT and third-party insurance included in every displayed price and no mileage limit — the ridge run and the side climbs cost nothing beyond the fuel. If you are arriving by air, the Ercan Airport car rental handover puts you in the car at the terminal.

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Drive the ridge to Kyrenia — pick your dates and the live price: book a car · WhatsApp +90 546 996 1004 — English spoken.