Today the village is known as Platres, without the word "Pano" (Upper) preceding it, in contrast to the neighbouring village Tornaritis that is referred to as "Kato Platres" (Lower Platres). It is a misperception that Platres is a new village founded during the recent years. Platres is a very old village. It is mentioned among the 119 villages of the Limassol district that existed during the Lusignan (Frank Rule, 1192-1489 AD) and the Venetian Era (1489-1571 AD).

Name of the village
There are three suggestions about the etymology of the name Platres:

1. That Platra -in plural Platres -took its name from the word "platra" (pratria) which means the one that weaves and sells sheets used by the farmers
2. There are written reports of Platres being a feud during the Frank Rule and has had that name ever since. In the French language there is the word "platre-s", which in Greek translates to "white", "plaster', and other words. There's information that during the Frank Rule, on the South side of Troodos and above modern-day Platres, there was a Frank Monastery, its monks dressed in white and called by the name of "Platrai". 
3. The village took its name from the word "platsa", which then became "Platra" and then "Platres" (in plural).

Location of the village

Platres is found in the district of Limassol at a distance of 39 kilometres from the city of Limassol and 9 kilometres from Troodos.

Altitude
The design of the village resembles that of an amphitheatre, the lower part of the village having one altitude and the upper part having a different one. The average altitude of Platres is 1200 meters.

Climate
The altitude as well as the position of the village are considered ideal, and because of that the climate is also perfect. Dry during the months of summer, with little or no humidity and with temperatures noticeably lower than other towns.

Rainfall
The rainfall in Platres is one of the highest in Cyprus and the proof for that are the thick forest and the rich vegetation that surround the village.

Temperature
The temperature during all the months of the year is ideal and -during the summer months -lower than that of the cities. (June 24 C, July 26, and August 28)

Population
The village has had great fluctuations of population. In 1881 the village had 100 inhabitants, in 1901 the population increased to 154, in 1931 to 396, in 1946 to 502, in 1960 it decreased to 413, and in 1982 it increased to 442. Today Platres has 250 permanent inhabitants but during the months of summer, especially during August, that number rises up to 10,000.

Most of the inhabitants of the village are occupied in the tourism industry (hotels, restaurants, and nightclubs); a few are occupied with fruit cultivation and some others in services that have their headquarters in the village.

Attractions
The waterfall of Caledonia ("tis Kalidonias") or of the Caledonias (plural, "ton Kalidonion").
The waterfall of Caledonia is a little bit outside Platres, inside an all green area. The name must have come from the English and Scottish who, when they visited the area around 1878, were reminded of their homeland and named it waterfall of Caledonia (Caledonia was the name of Scotland in ancient times). The inhabitants of Platres called it -and still call it - the waterfall of the Caledonias. The waterfall is one of the highest that exist in Cyprus. The water falls vertically from a height of 12 meters. There is a road for automobiles that leads to the waterfall, as well as a "nature path" that leads to it.

The waterfall of Millomeri.
It is found in the Southeast of the village and must have taken its name from the words "millos", which in the Cypriot dialect means moist/wet, and "meros" which means place/area. The flow of the water from the Cold River has made the place moist and cool and so the waterfall was named Millomeri. The water of the fall drops from a height of 15 meters. The waterfall has become known only during recent years because the venue it stands on is inaccessible. However, the projects that have been done, the road and the path that have been opened and lead to it, have made it known. The Millomeri waterfall is one of the sights of Platres and its natural beauty attracts many visitors.

The Tall Tree region.
Is one of the most known and most beautiful areas of Platres. It is found in the Northeast part of the village next to the Cold River (Krios Potamos), in a high altitude, and is famous for its freshness. There is a trout farm in the area that is a point of attraction for the visitors of Platres.

Nature Paths.
There are 3 nature paths in the vicinity of Platres.

1. The path of the Caledonias.
With a length of two kilometres, it begins north of the Tall Tree and leads to the waterfall of the Caledonias through a most beautiful, thick forest and next to the Cold River, which is one of the few rivers of Cyprus that flows continuously during winter and summer.

2. The path of Pougiari.
It has a length of three kilometres and is also found in the area north of the Tall Tree. It leads to either the north slope of Troodos or the top of the waterfall of the Caledonias.

3. The path of Millomeri.
It has a length of one kilometre and leads to the waterfall of the same name and can be found on the south-east of the village.

The region of the Valley.
"Drowned" in the thick vegetation of the towering plane trees and oriental alders. A little bit further down the water of a stream falls from above, giving a magical beauty to the landscape, the wind humming between the branches of the towering trees; all these can be found in the region of the valley and are expecting the visitors so that they can admire them.

The region of St. Irene.
It is placed on the north-east of the village, on the road that leads from the Tall Tree to the Inner River (Mesa Potamos). From the rock of St. Irene, placed on a hillock, you can look at the village from up above and enjoy its exquisite beauty. Beneath St. Irene, in the gully of the Cold River and during the spring, the nightingales sing.

The fountain of Roxanne Koudounari.
Built in 1936 and placed on Caledonia street, opposite of the "treis Charites" Valley. It is a lovely monument, with very beautiful architecture, made out of marble and with the local mountain rocks in the background. The name of Roxanne P. Koudounari, who was the donor of this project, is recorded on the architrave. The water from this fountain quenches the thirst of thousands of locals and foreign visitors.

The development of tourism in Platres.
When the British, who then governed Cyprus, "discovered" the natural beauty and the amazing climate of Platres in 1878, the development of tourism in the community began.

Hotels and holiday residences began being built in 1890, when Cypriot emigrants that lived in Egypt came to find this "heaven on earth" and started building luxurious villas with all the comforts, something unknown in Cyprus then. Some Egyptians took building plots from the villagers, with the agreement that they would build houses on them which they would occupy for 20 years and then would deliver to the owners of the land.

Building the first tourist hotels in Platres opened the gates of the island so that tourism would -for the first time -enter into Cyprus.

The first hotel built in Platres was "The Cool Waters" ("Ta Kria Nera") and started operating in 1900. Then followed the "Grand Hotel" in 1905, the "Pauselipon" in 1912, "Elvetia" (=Switzerland) in 1915, the "Monte Carlo" in 1920, and the "Forest Park" in 1936. The hotels "Pendeli", "Kallithea", "Splendid", "Petite Palais", "Minerva", "Spring", "Vienna", "Semiramis", "Nea Elvetia", "Edelweiss" "Mount Royal", and "Lanterns" were built after 1936.

The "Monte Carlo" hotel had a spacious ballroom -one of the largest in Cyprus -which had its share of glory days. A number of balls and national competitions for the election of Miss Cyprus were taking place in "Forest Park".

The first holidaymakers in Platres were emigrants from Egypt, which were then followed by foreigners from the international society of Egypt. Almost all of the important personalities and famous persons that came to Cyprus visited -and stayed in -the beautiful hotels of the village. Among them, the King of Egypt Faruk, the Nobel-prize winning poet George Seferis, the famous writer Daphne du Mourier, princess Mare of England, princess Irene of Greece, the prime-minister of Malta Mintoff, the chancellor of W. Germany Willie Brandt, the prime-minister of India Indira Gandhi, the actor Telly Savallas, and many others.

During the era of the E.O.K.A. struggle (1955-59), Platres had become a military post of the British army and the hotels had been requisitioned by the military authorities. They turned the village into a District centre and Commandment. They also operated here the notorious Platres detention centre in which hundreds of local inhabitants were held and brutally tortured. Thus the village seized to operate as a tourist resort.

After the independence of Cyprus in 1960 tourism started to slowly develop again, until the Turkish invasion of 1974 that affected the entire tourism all around the island. After the 1974 disaster tourism slowly started developing again, only this time mainly in the coastal areas of the island and so the tourism in Platres lost the old glamour that it once possessed.

However, new hotels, holiday residences, and houses for the holidays of members of Unions and other organisations were built during recent years; summer camps, pools, discotheques, entertainment halls, etc. were created and so a new growth and flourishing of tourism in Platres began.

Churches
The Church and the Chapels of Pano (Upper) Platres.
The Holy Temple of Panagias (Madonna) Faneromenis of Pano Platres.

The first church of Platres was the chapel of "Panagias Faneromenis", between Platres and Kato (Lower) Platres. In 1880 a more recent church, carrying the same name, was built closer to Platres. Later on the church was demolished and a new, bigger, more majestic church was built in the same place, today being the main temple of the village. It carries the same name. The inauguration of the new church occurred in 1973. It is an architecturally and aesthetically beautiful temple, a jewel of the community, and a monument worth seeing for the visitors of Platres.

The Chapel of Panagias Faneromenis.
The small chapel that was the first church of the community can be found in a close distance from Platres and a liturgy takes place there twice a year, on the 8th of September and on the Friday of Easter Week.

The Chapel of Panagias Iamatikis (Samatziotissas).
It had begun being built in 1940 upon the ruins of an old church. From the excavated foundations it was shown that there must have been an old monastery. The chapel was finished in 1975. It is decorated by icons made by the known Cypriot painter and literature man Nikos Nikolaides. It is dedicated to Panagia (Madonna) "tin Iamatiki" (the One that heals) but the name that prevailed is "chapel of Samatziotissa" due to the Samatzia region upon which it is built.

The chapel operates on the Tuesday of Easter Week and on the 31st of August.

The Chapel of St. Nicholas.
The ruins of an old monastery are found in the region of Monasteri. The inhabitants of the village would perform liturgies, in the little chapel of St. Nicholas that sits there, once a year up until 1930. In 1995 a new chapel of St. Nicholas was built on the same venue. Today liturgies are performed twice a year, on the 6th of December and on Low Sunday.