Kykkos Monastery stands at about 1,318 metres in the Marathasa valley of the Troodos Mountains, in Cyprus’s Nicosia district. The official tourism directory places it about 13 kilometres from Pedoulas and describes it as one of the island’s best-known and wealthiest monasteries. The setting is part of the experience: the monastery is a mountain destination, not a stop in central Nicosia, and its elevation and winding approach make time and weather worth considering before setting out.
The monastery is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, or Panagia, and is closely associated with an icon that tradition attributes to the Apostle Luke. The icon is covered with a silver-gilt revetment and displayed in a shrine decorated with tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl, according to Visit Cyprus. The attribution is a matter of religious tradition, not a claim that can be independently dated to Luke. That distinction helps visitors understand the icon both as a sacred object within an active monastery and as part of Cyprus’s artistic heritage.