Travel review: North Cyprus

Tandem paragliding instructor Ozgur scanned the mountain, watching the ribbons dotted around nearby to see which way the winds were blowing. For what felt like an age, the ribbons hardly rippled. And then, they moved.

"When I give the word, you start running and you don't stop until I say," Ozgur told me. I nodded my understanding. "Ready? Go!"

I started to move my legs but was immediately pulled back by the force of our canopy. "Keep going!" said Ozgur, and I ran as fast as I could towards the edge of the cliff. After just two big steps, my feet lost contact with the ground, and I was flying.

It wasn't until then that the magnitude of what I was doing hit me. I was paragliding with eagles high above North Cyprus.

The swimming pools of the houses and hotels began to shrink as the wind took us higher, and Ozgur moved us to and fro in the bright blue sky.

A bit of turbulence set my heart racing and the altitude meter attached to my host began beeping wildly as we crept ever higher into nothingness.

Ozgur soared even closer to the mountain to see if we could spot the eagle's nest before turning towards the bright blue Mediterranean Ocean. It was an eye-popping sight. Ozgur, a keen fisherman, pointed out a big darker blue blob in the sea – a shoal of tuna – and we soared down towards the sea in peaceful silence, drinking in the sights and relaxing. Ozgur got his selfie stick to take snaps of us in the sky, proof that I'd been bonkers enough to jump off a mountain.

After 20 minutes of flying, we touched down on solid ground where my fiancé Andrew greeted me excitedly, having flown earlier that morning himself. Our week in North Cyprus had hit another high, one of many on the beautiful island.

We'd arrived at the four star Pia Bella hotel after a long trip that took us from Birmingham International to Ercan airport via Istanbul. Because of North Cyprus' political isolation, you can't fly there directly from the UK, so we went via Turkey although you can fly to the south of the island and travel north. Though it was a tiring trip, it was worth it to see the rather unsung beauty of the north. On the first day, we hired a car and headed to Famagusta. The former holiday home of stars like Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Brigitte Bardot and Paul Newman, Famagusta was once one of the most sophisticated locations in the Med.

The sand is pale, the sea is a beautiful bright turquoise and it has the deepest harbour in Cyprus. But when Turkish forces moved in more than 40 years ago, 40,000 Greek Cypriots fled to the south, leaving everything behind.

It's now a ghost town, and as we walked through the streets, discovering the ruins of churches built hundreds of years ago, we didn't see a soul save for the occasional scurry of a lizard up a hot wall.

Like everywhere in North Cyprus, the quiet is broken by the call to prayer five times a day, and the sound emanating from the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque, formerly the gothic Saint Nicholas's Cathedral, sounded rather haunting in the otherwise silent city. It was like being in a video game – there was an indescribable element of magic about the place.

When we did finally find a gift shop that was occupied, the very welcoming owner greeted me with delight, pinning a blue evil eye to my top and wishing me good luck.

And the good luck seemed to come in. The following day we headed to St Hilarion Castle with a tour arranged from the hotel reception. The castle is up in the Kyrenia mountain range near where we'd taken a running jump on our paraglide.

As it came into view, our jaws hit the floor. It's an awe-inspiring construction, placed perfectly in the rocks like Snow White's castle, or an Elven town the likes of which even Tolkien couldn't fail to be amazed by.

Happily for us, there were few tourists around to spoil our picture perfect views as we explored the 10th century former monastery.

There are loads of rocks and unkempt paths to clamber over to get the best views, so we laced up our shoes to head off on an adventure of Lara Croft-style proportions through the crusader castle. Barely anything is off limits – every nook and cranny can be explored. It was particularly thrilling to look down from the Prince John tower where, legend has it, two Bulgarians were thrown to their deaths by the Prince. Rough!

To chill, we headed to the small village of Bellapais, where a glass sculptor showcased his stunning, glittering wares in the street.

We were welcomed at the Aged House restaurant and taken to the roof garden for a 'snack'. Alone atop the building – which the quiet, kindly proprietor said dated back to 1827 – we drank in the stunning views (and more homemade lemonade) while our host milled around tending to flowers and plants that cover every inch of the surrounding area.

Presenting me with a beautiful pink bloom, he took our order (stuffed vine leaves for Andrew, halloumi patties for me) and went away to prepare it. We felt like welcomed guests in someone's home when the gentleman came back with fresh meze – salads containing bright red tomatoes, dewy melon and more – ahead of our snacks.

We ate heartily, and our snack fast became our main meal of the day as the plates kept coming. As we settled the bill, the man brought me another gift from his garden – a huge grapefruit freshly picked from his tree – to say goodbye. We didn't want to leave, but more adventures beckoned.

In Kyrenia, Andrew went for a beginners scuba diving session with the impeccably hospitable team from Amphora Dive Centre. From the highest highs of the mountain castles to the deep blue Mediterranean, it was another incredible adventure on the island.

After some in-depth (no pun intended) training, he took to the waters like a duck to, well, water. Instructors Asim and Ismail made sure that it was more than just an interesting, safe experience. It was fun, filled with laughter and great chats (and a couple of cold cans of Efes afterwards) – a firm holiday highlight.

Before we came home, we headed up to the 'panhandle' of the island – the Karpaz Peninsula. It took a couple of hours to drive up there, but it was worth it to see the deserted beaches, where turtles come ashore to lay their eggs.

A walk to the end of the island marked a perfect end to a wonderful trip, even if the wild donkeys of Karpaz did wander into every photograph on the hunt for apples.

For holiday information, flights, transfers and more, visit www.GoNorthCyprus.com. Seven night stay at the four star Pia Bella hotel, with flights, private transfers and breakfast, costs from just £269 per person.

By Kirsty Bosley