Despite dangers, no letup in Napa cliff jumpers

People love to jump off cliffs. In Cape Greco, where rocky shores and fascinating caves tower above blue waters, this temptation is great – often too great to resist.

“The excitement of the landscape captivates every visitor,” explained Christos Theodorides, photographer for the Cyprus Mail and who took the pictures for this piece.

But cliff-jumping is “strictly prohibited” at Ayia Napa’s Cape Greco, as advised by the many signs posted on top of the cliffs. These warnings appear to go largely unnoticed by the throngs of tourists who visit each year.

The temptation to hurl yourself off the cliff is compounded by the encouragement of those packed on the day cruises from Ayia Napa who cheer loudly as each jumper takes the plunge.

Concerns have long been raised regarding the lack of lifeguards at this popular site. Some argue that without lifeguards to enforce the rules against diving, the signs alone are not enough to deter risky behaviour.

“All of the beaches must have lifeguards. There should be lifeguards from the morning to evening,” said Polys Pallikaros, president of the Cyprus Life Saving Federation, adding that lifeguarding in the Cape Greco area is the responsibility of the Famagusta district administration.

Every year there are serious injuries in the sea caves of Cape Greco. Last year, two people were rescued after diving off Cape Greco, following a tragic diving incident in 2022 that cost a 21-year-old man his life.

When accidents do happen, teams of lifeguards, police, firefighters and even helicopters rush to the scene for rescues.

“Our staff recorded six or seven accidents every year from the site in Ayia Napa,” a representative from the JRCC, the organisation responsible for search and rescue missions in Cyprus, told the Cyprus Mail.

Additionally, the cliffs are unstable due to erosion. In 2019, access to the sea caves was prohibited after the Department of Geological Surveys warned that a landslide could occur in the caves any moment.

These issues forced the Ayia Napa municipality to put up signs that prohibit diving and warn of the related dangers.

One of the greatest challenges at Cape Greco is simply that visitors do not take heed of the warning signs.

Ayia Napa municipality has tried to solve this problem by placing a municipal worker at Cape Greco, who advises tourists about the risks of diving.

But this person is not a lifeguard and such determent tactics do not always work – especially since the employee only works from 9pm to 5pm.

Introducing more lifeguards into the area, the thinking goes, could help prevent diving while also keeping the cliffs open for sight-seeing tourists. Lifeguards could also react more quickly in case of emergencies.

“Every year we make sure to fill our beaches with lifeguards whose purpose and role are to intervene in the event of an emergency,” Theodorides pointed out.

“A lifeguard could be placed to prevent visitors from the risk of dangerous dives or at least a barrier to deter jumpers.”

As for now, cliff-jumping at Cape Greco is likely to continue as tourists flood the area for summer. The question remains: why aren’t there lifeguards at the popular site?