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Tombs of the Kings Paphos: The Complete Visitor Guide | Seafront Protaras
Paphos, Cyprus

Tombs of the Kings: What They Are, What to See and How to Visit

They were never the tombs of kings. That is the first thing worth knowing. The grandeur of these underground chambers is so extraordinary that, for centuries, nobody believed ordinary people could possibly be buried here. They were wrong in the best possible way.

Dating from
4th century BC
Hellenistic period. Used continuously through 3rd century AD.
UNESCO
World Heritage
Designated 1980. Part of the Paphos Archaeological Park.
Entrance fee
€2.50
Free for over 65s and students with ID. Children free.
From Protaras
2 hr drive
A natural full-day excursion from the east coast.
SP
Written by the Seafront Protaras team
Based in Cyprus. We have visited this site and written this guide from direct experience.
June 2026
08:00
Opens daily
19:30
Closes (summer)
€2.50
Adult ticket
1.5 hrs
Time to allow
8
Main tombs
32 ha
Site area
What are they? History What to see The name explained Practical info Combine with From Protaras Tips

What Are the Tombs of the Kings?

The Tombs of the Kings is a large underground necropolis carved directly into the limestone bedrock of the Paphos coast, approximately two kilometres north of Paphos harbour. The site covers 32 hectares and contains eight major tomb complexes, along with dozens of smaller burial chambers, all of them cut from solid rock rather than constructed above ground.

The tombs date from the 4th century BC and remained in use through to the 3rd century AD, a span of roughly seven hundred years across the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Despite the name, which has attached itself to this place for centuries, no kings were ever buried here. The people who were buried here were the Paphian aristocracy and senior officials: wealthy, powerful and evidently determined to be remembered. The name comes from the sheer magnificence of the structures, which are so architecturally impressive that earlier observers assumed only royalty could warrant such treatment in death.

The site forms part of the broader Paphos Archaeological Park, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980. It sits adjacent to some of the finest Roman floor mosaics in the world and stands on one of the most historically dense stretches of ground in the entire eastern Mediterranean.

The core experience: You descend into the earth, walk through peristyle courtyards with Doric columns still standing, enter burial chambers cut directly from rock and stand in spaces where people have been leaving the dead for two thousand years. It is one of the genuinely rare moments Cyprus offers where ancient history is not behind glass or behind a rope. You walk through it.

The History Behind the Tombs

Understanding when and why these tombs were built transforms the experience of visiting them. They are not simply old holes in the ground. They represent a specific historical moment: Paphos under Ptolemaic rule, deeply connected to Alexandria, and a local elite who expressed their status through the grandeur of how they chose to be buried.

4th century BC
Construction begins
The earliest tombs are carved during the late Classical and early Hellenistic period. Paphos has become one of the most important cities in the eastern Mediterranean, the capital of Cyprus under Ptolemaic Egyptian rule. The tomb architecture directly mirrors Alexandrian burial styles: a clear signal of the close cultural and political ties between the two cities at this moment.
3rd to 2nd century BC
The Ptolemaic necropolis
The most elaborate tombs are constructed during this period, including Tomb 8, which is now believed to be connected to the Ptolemaic dynasty itself. The tradition of including Rhodian amphorae as burial offerings begins here, a practice that would later allow archaeologists to date the tombs with unusual precision. The handles of these Rhodian wine amphorae were stamped with manufacturing marks that function as ancient date stamps.
58 BC
Roman annexation
Rome annexes Cyprus. The last king of Cyprus is believed to have committed suicide rather than surrender, and Dr. Sophocles Hadjisavvas's excavation reports connect Tomb 8 to this moment. The site continues in use under Roman rule, with the new occupiers adopting and adapting the existing burial culture rather than replacing it.
1st to 3rd century AD
Roman period and decline
The tombs continue to receive burials through the Roman period. Grave robbers are believed to have stripped many of the chambers of their contents during this era and afterwards. The proximity of the site to the sea, and the porous nature of the limestone, means that many burial remains did not survive in recoverable condition.
1783
First modern written account
Richard Pococke publishes the first modern written description of the site. For centuries before this, the tombs were known to local people and informally explored, but without any systematic documentation or archaeological oversight.
1870
First excavations
Luigi Palma di Cesnola, the American consul to Cyprus, conducts the first formal excavations. Cesnola's methods were not by modern standards rigorous, and much of what he removed from Cypriot sites ended up in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, a source of ongoing cultural debate.
Late 1970s to 1980s
Systematic excavation
Dr. Sophocles Hadjisavvas, former director of the Cyprus Department of Antiquities, leads the first systematic scientific excavation of the site. His work transforms understanding of the tombs and their relationship to the Ptolemaic dynasty. The first volume of his final publication report, focusing on Tomb 8 and its connection to the last king of Cyprus, represents the definitive scholarly account of the site.
1980
UNESCO World Heritage designation
The Tombs of the Kings, along with the Paphos Archaeological Park and the village of Kouklia, is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site at the 4th Session. The designation recognises the site as meeting cultural criteria (iii) and (vi): bearing unique testimony to a civilisation and being directly associated with events of outstanding universal significance.

What to See Inside the Site

The site is large, roughly 32 hectares of exposed limestone terrain, and requires at least ninety minutes to visit properly. A free map is available at the entrance and is genuinely useful for orientation. The eight major tombs are numbered and signposted. Here is what distinguishes each one and what to look for.

3
Tomb 3
One of the most impressive at the site, Tomb 3 features a large atrium descended by a staircase cut into the rock, with Doric columns still standing around a central courtyard. The burial chambers open off this central space, mirroring the layout of a Hellenistic house. This is the structure that most clearly illustrates the Paphian belief that the dead should inhabit a version of the home they had in life.
Best preserved
4
Tomb 4
Tomb 4 is notable for its scale and for the remains of painted plaster that can still be seen on some of the interior walls. The frescoed decoration is fragmentary but enough survives to indicate that these were not austere spaces. The people buried here wanted colour and visual richness to accompany them, consistent with Hellenistic ideas about the afterlife as a continuation of earthly existence.
Painted walls
7
Tomb 7
One of the larger complexes, Tomb 7 has multiple burial levels and an unusually deep descent from the surface. It gives the clearest sense of the scale of the operation required to carve these spaces out of bedrock with nothing more than iron tools. The workmanship involved in cutting clean right angles and smooth surfaces into solid limestone without power tools is the detail that tends to stop people in their tracks.
Largest descent
8
Tomb 8
The most historically significant tomb on the site, according to the excavation reports of Dr. Hadjisavvas. Tomb 8 is believed to be connected to the Ptolemaic dynasty and possibly to the burial of the last king of Cyprus, who is said to have chosen death over surrender to Rome in 58 BC. The scholarly publication focused specifically on this tomb is the most detailed academic work on any individual element of the site.
Ptolemaic connection
1 + 2
Tombs 1 and 2
The earliest tombs on the site, dating to the transition from the Classical to the Hellenistic period. Simpler in architectural form than the later tombs, but significant for their age and for what they reveal about how burial practices developed over the Hellenistic period. Comparing Tombs 1 and 2 with Tomb 3 is an education in how Alexandrian influence transformed local burial culture over less than a century.
Earliest chambers
5 + 6
Tombs 5 and 6
These mid-period tombs bridge the Hellenistic and Roman phases of the site. Tomb 5 in particular is where many of the site's most significant Rhodian amphorae were found: the stamped handles that have allowed archaeologists to develop a chronological framework not just for this site but for Hellenistic and early Roman material across the whole eastern Mediterranean.
Rhodian amphora finds
What separates this from other ancient sites in Cyprus: At Kourion, you look at ruins. At the Paphos Roman Mosaics, you look down through glass at protected floors. At the Tombs of the Kings, you go inside. You descend staircases. You walk through doorways that were cut two thousand years ago. You stand in chambers where the ceiling above you is solid rock and the walls around you still show the marks of the tools that shaped them. This is a physically immersive experience, not a viewing experience.
No kings were buried here. The name comes from the magnificence of the tombs, which are so extraordinary that for centuries nobody believed ordinary people could possibly be laid to rest in such splendour.
The archaeologists' explanation, still surprising visitors today

Why Are They Called the Tombs of the Kings?

This is the question that stops almost every visitor when they first learn the answer. The site is called the Tombs of the Kings because nobody who first encountered it could believe that anyone other than royalty would be buried in such elaborate underground palaces. The name is a testament to the ambition of the Paphian aristocracy, not to the historical record.

The people actually buried here were the wealthy elite of Ptolemaic and Roman Paphos: senior officials, high-ranking civil servants, prominent merchants and members of the families connected to the Ptolemaic administration. Some were undoubtedly enormously powerful and influential. But they were not kings.

The architectural parallel that explains the grandeur is the connection to Alexandria. During the Ptolemaic period, Paphos maintained close ties to the Egyptian capital, and the tomb builders here were directly inspired by burial architecture they had seen or heard described in Alexandria. The peristyle courtyard surrounded by Doric columns, the multiple burial chambers opening off a central atrium, the frescoed walls: all of these features reflect Alexandrian funerary fashion translated into the local Cypriot limestone. Similar tombs exist in Egypt and across the Hellenistic world, but the Paphos examples are among the finest and best-preserved outside of Egypt itself.

The Alexandria connection: This is the detail that changes how the site feels. You are not just looking at Cypriot tombs. You are looking at a provincial expression of one of the great funerary traditions of the ancient world, the same tradition that was building monuments in Alexandria at the same time, during the most culturally productive period of the Hellenistic era. The island's connections to Egypt at this moment were real, regular and deeply influential.

The Rhodian Amphora Dating System

One of the most technically fascinating aspects of the Tombs of the Kings is the role they have played in helping archaeologists establish a chronological framework for Hellenistic and early Roman material across the entire eastern Mediterranean. The Paphian custom of including Rhodian amphorae as burial offerings turns out to be archaeologically invaluable.

Rhodian amphorae, the distinctive two-handled storage vessels used across the ancient world for transporting wine and other commodities from the island of Rhodes, were stamped on their handles with manufacturing marks including the name of the magistrate in office at the time of production. This means each amphora carries its own date. When these dated amphorae are found alongside other objects in a sealed burial context, those other objects can be dated with considerable confidence. The Tombs of the Kings have generated data that helps archaeologists date similar materials found as far away as Egypt, the Levant and mainland Greece.

Practical Visitor Information

Detail Information
Address Tombs of the Kings Avenue 63, Chlorakas 8015, near Kato Paphos. On the road connecting Kato Paphos with Coral Bay. The site is on your left heading toward Coral Bay.
Summer hours 16 April to 15 September: 08:00 to 19:30 daily
Winter hours 16 September to 15 April: 08:00 to 17:00 daily
Closed Christmas Day, New Year's Day and Orthodox Easter Sunday
Adult ticket €2.50 per person
Concessions Free for over 65s (official ID required) and students (student card required). Children free.
Combination pass 1-day, 3-day and 7-day passes available covering multiple Paphos archaeological sites. Good value if combining with the Roman Mosaics and other Paphos monuments.
Audio guide Available at the entrance for approximately €4. Worth considering for context, though the free site map is adequate for self-guided visits.
Time needed 90 minutes minimum to see all eight major tombs properly. Two hours is comfortable and unhurried.
Accessibility The site involves descending uneven rock-cut staircases and walking on rough terrain. Not suitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs. Sturdy footwear is essential.
On site Toilets near the entrance. Small kiosk for drinks and snacks. Free site map provided at the ticket desk.
Getting there By car: follow the Tombs of the Kings Avenue north from Kato Paphos. By bus: local bus services run from Paphos town centre. On foot from Kato Paphos: approximately 30 to 40 minutes walk.
The entrance fee in context: At €2.50, the Tombs of the Kings is one of the cheapest archaeological sites in the Mediterranean relative to what it actually contains. The Paphos Roman Mosaics, directly adjacent, are comparably priced. Combining both in a single morning trip is one of the genuinely exceptional cultural experiences available anywhere in Cyprus, and the total cost is less than a coffee at a seafront restaurant.

Staying in Protaras? This is Your Day Trip.

The Tombs of the Kings and Paphos Archaeological Park are almost 2 hours from Protaras by car. A full day trip from the east coast and one of the finest cultural days available on the island.

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What to Combine It With

The Tombs of the Kings works best as part of a full Paphos day. The site itself takes 90 minutes to two hours. The following destinations pair naturally with it, either immediately adjacent or within a short drive.

Paphos Roman Mosaics
5 min walk
The Kato Paphos Archaeological Park contains some of the finest Roman floor mosaics in the world, preserved in situ under purpose-built protective roofing. The Houses of Dionysus, Theseus and Aion contain mythological scenes of extraordinary quality. Combining the Mosaics with the Tombs gives you a complete picture of Paphos across the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The combination pass is worth buying for both.
Paphos Harbour and Castle
10 min drive
The medieval fort at Paphos harbour is compact and takes thirty minutes to visit. The harbour itself is the best lunch location after a morning at the archaeological sites: a long string of fish restaurants on the waterfront with views across the bay and the small castle. The contrast between the ancient tombs and the medieval harbour makes for an unexpectedly satisfying day of layered history.
Coral Bay Beach
10 min drive
If combining culture and beach in a single day, Coral Bay is the obvious afternoon destination after a morning at the Tombs. A large, sandy, Blue Flag beach with good facilities and calm water. The drive from the Tombs of the Kings takes ten minutes along the same road the site is located on.
Akamas Peninsula
25 min drive
For a longer day, the Akamas Peninsula to the north offers dramatic coastal scenery, Lara Beach (a sea turtle nesting site) and the Baths of Aphrodite. Best combined with the Tombs on a two-day Paphos trip rather than a single day from Protaras. See our exploring Cyprus guide for a full itinerary.
Lefkara Village
45 min drive
If routing back to Protaras via the inland route rather than the motorway, Lefkara village is a natural stopping point. The UNESCO-recognised lace and silverwork tradition, cobbled streets and village tavernas make it an excellent end to a day that started underground in Paphos. Our Lefkara guide covers the village fully.
Troodos Wine Villages
45 min drive
For visitors who want to extend the day beyond the coast, the Troodos wine villages of Omodos, Lofou and the Commandaria wine region are reachable from Paphos in under an hour. Morning at the Tombs, lunch in the harbour, afternoon in the wine villages, then the scenic road back to Protaras. Our wineries guide covers the best routes.

Visiting from Protaras: The Full Day Plan

Protaras is almost 2 hours from Paphos by car via the A3 motorway. The Tombs of the Kings opens at 8am. Leaving Protaras at 7:00am gets you to the site by 9am, ahead of the main visitor influx, and in the cooler part of the day for an outdoor site with significant exposed walking.

Suggested Itinerary

09:00 Arrive at the Tombs of the Kings. Collect the free site map at the entrance. Allow 90 minutes to two hours and begin at Tombs 3 and 4, then work through to Tomb 8. The site is large: wear comfortable shoes and bring water and sun protection.

11:00 Walk five minutes to the Paphos Roman Mosaics at the adjacent Kato Paphos Archaeological Park. Allow 60 to 90 minutes for the House of Dionysus, which contains the most spectacular mosaic floors, and the House of Theseus. The combination day pass covers both sites.

13:00 Drive ten minutes to Paphos harbour for lunch. The fish restaurants along the waterfront are well-priced and genuinely good. The grilled sea bream and grilled octopus at the harbour tavernas are the right order after a morning underground.

14:30 Afternoon options. Coral Bay for swimming (10 minutes north). Paphos old town for the castle and the market quarter (5 minutes south). Or begin the drive back via Limassol, stopping at Kourion if you have energy for a third archaeological site before returning to Protaras by early evening.

Why this is one of the finest day trips from Protaras: The east coast is excellent for beaches and water. But Cyprus is also one of the most historically layered islands in the Mediterranean, and the Paphos area contains more UNESCO World Heritage material per square kilometre than almost anywhere else in Europe. The Tombs of the Kings and the Roman Mosaics together represent a morning that very few destinations anywhere in the world could replicate for the price of a €2.50 ticket and a morning's drive.

Practical Tips for Your Visit

1
Go early. The site opens at 8am and the first two hours are by far the most comfortable in summer. By 10:30am the exposed limestone terrain becomes genuinely hot and the visitor numbers increase significantly. Arriving at opening and leaving by 10:30am is the optimal approach from June through to September.
2
Wear sturdy shoes. The ground at the Tombs of the Kings is uneven rock, the staircases into the tombs are cut stone and the descents vary in steepness. Sandals and flip-flops are genuinely uncomfortable and occasionally hazardous. Trainers or walking shoes are the right footwear.
3
Bring water. The kiosk at the entrance sells drinks but there is nothing inside the site. In summer, a litre of water per person for a 90-minute visit is a reasonable minimum. The limestone reflects heat and the open terrain offers limited shade between tombs.
4
Collect the free map. The site is large enough that without a map you will miss tombs or double back unnecessarily. The free site map available at the ticket desk is a genuine navigational tool, not a tourist pamphlet. Ask for it if it is not immediately offered.
5
Buy the combination pass. If you are visiting the Paphos Roman Mosaics on the same day, which you should, the combination day pass saves money and is accepted at both sites. Multi-day passes are also available if you plan to visit additional Paphos archaeological sites across your trip.
6
The site is actively being excavated. Parts of the site may be closed or have active excavation work in progress. This is not a disappointment: it is a reminder that this is a live archaeological site with ongoing research, not a finished museum exhibit. The excavations are generally visible from the permitted pathways.
7
Children find this genuinely engaging. The physical nature of the visit, descending into tombs, walking through underground chambers, seeing intact columns in a real archaeological context, makes this more viscerally interesting for children than many heritage sites. Supervision is important near open tomb entrances and uneven edges, but the site is family-friendly in experience if not in every physical feature.
8
Look for the lizards. The limestone terrain of the Tombs of the Kings is home to large numbers of Cyprus wall lizards, which sun themselves on the warm rock and dart across the pathways. Children notice them before adults do. They are harmless and endemic, and part of the authentic atmosphere of a site where the wildlife has been living alongside the archaeology for as long as the archaeology has existed.

Make Protaras Your Base for Exploring Cyprus

The Tombs of the Kings, Lefkara, the Troodos Mountains, Famagusta and the full breadth of the island are all accessible as day trips from the east coast. Our villas and apartments put you at the centre of everything.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Tombs of the Kings

The Tombs of the Kings is a large ancient necropolis located approximately two kilometres north of Paphos harbour in Cyprus. The site contains eight major underground tomb complexes carved directly from solid limestone bedrock, along with dozens of smaller burial chambers. The tombs date from the 4th century BC and were used continuously through to the 3rd century AD, spanning the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Despite the name, no kings were ever buried here.

The tombs were the burial places of the Paphian aristocracy and senior officials during the Hellenistic and Roman periods: wealthy families, high-ranking civil servants and members of the administrative elite connected to the Ptolemaic rulers of Cyprus. The name comes from the magnificence of the structures, not from the status of those interred. The architecture was directly inspired by Alexandrian burial traditions, reflecting the close political and cultural ties between Paphos and Egypt during the Ptolemaic period.

The entrance fee is €2.50 per adult. Entry is free for visitors over 65 years of age with official identification confirming their age, and for students with a valid student card. Children enter free. A combination pass is also available covering the Tombs of the Kings and other Paphos archaeological sites including the Roman Mosaics, available as a 1-day, 3-day or 7-day pass.

Summer hours from 16 April to 15 September are 08:00 to 19:30 daily. Winter hours from 16 September to 15 April are 08:00 to 17:00 daily. The site is closed on Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and Orthodox Easter Sunday. Opening and closing times are subject to change without notice, so it is worth checking before you visit.

Allow a minimum of 90 minutes to see all eight major tombs properly. Two hours is comfortable and unhurried, giving you time to explore the burial chambers, read the site information panels and appreciate the scale of the complex. The site covers 32 hectares and involves a significant amount of walking on uneven terrain, so allow more time in peak summer heat.

The drive from Protaras to the Tombs of the Kings takes almost two hours via the A3 motorway. It is a natural full-day excursion from the east coast, best combined with the Paphos Roman Mosaics in the morning and lunch at Paphos harbour, with an optional afternoon visit to Coral Bay or a scenic return route via Lefkara village.

Sturdy shoes or trainers are essential. The site involves descending uneven rock-cut staircases and walking on rough limestone terrain. Sandals and flip-flops are uncomfortable and can be hazardous on the uneven surfaces. Bring water, particularly in summer, as there is no shade inside the site and the exposed limestone reflects heat significantly. Sun protection including a hat and sunscreen is important from spring through autumn. Collect the free site map at the ticket desk as it is genuinely useful for navigating the 32-hectare complex.

Yes, with supervision. Children typically find the physical experience of descending into underground chambers and walking through ancient spaces genuinely engaging, more so than many heritage sites where the experience is primarily visual and behind barriers. Parents should supervise carefully near open tomb entrances and uneven edges. The site is not suitable for pushchairs or wheelchairs due to the uneven terrain and rock-cut staircases.