Just a short journey from Famagusta you’ll find some golden sandy North Cyprus beaches and the Karpaz Peninsula and its famous wild donkeys are hot far away, further north.

The Northern Cyprus Karpaz beaches are fairly remote and, because of these, are often free from people.

The clean sandy beach at Kaplica on the north coast is at the start of the Peninsula.

The public beach at Yeni Erenkoy has showers and a restaurant, and the Karpaz beach just three kilometres away suits strong swimmers who like picturesque rocky bays.

The southern coastline of the Karpaz Peninsula has plenty of North Cyprus beaches, but few are easily accessible and offer no amenities. The star of the south is Golden Sands, a beach fringed with magnificent sand dunes and populated by North Cyprus breeding sea turtles. It’s a wonderful place to visit but you cannot disturb the turtles in any way as they are a protected species.

During the 1974 intervention, many donkeys were abandoned by their owners, and left to fend for themselves. The stray donkeys were rounded up and taken to the Northern Cyprus Karpaz Peninsula, seemingly an ideal location for them to thrive and survive.

The government of the time suggested selling off the Cypriot donkeys to Turkish farmers on the mainland, but no less than twelve environmental groups objected.

Now, the donkeys retain the right to roam the Peninsula, and are a great tourist attraction despite their tetchy tempers. The donkeys share the North Cyprus Peninsula with herds of sheep and goats.