Troodos Off The Beaten Path

I am up the Troodos square, and I am urge to visit this centre which I had no idea that existed.
When I come here however I find it closed because during April and May on Saturdays it remains closed.

This centre is situated approximately 200 m west of the Troodos Square. I followed the paved trail .

It has a exhibition gallery and in a way it informs the visitor about the importance and character of the Park. A visitor can also find here a collection of butterflies, wood samples, fossils, and much more.

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Palaichori is a very beautiful and picturesque village in the Troodos range at a hight of 900 metres above sea lever.
The village has many beautiful churches and a couple of museums, but the most important of all is to see the hideout of Grigoris Afxentiou.

This great hero was a true patriot, giving his life for the liberation of Cyprus from British colonial rule.

I have the pleasure of meeting Mr. Andrea and Maritsa Karaoli, the people who offered refuge to Afxentiou. They have given their house to the Council of Historic Memory of the Struggle 1955-59 (EOKA).

I have a thread below with the history and all details about this great hero who was a true patriot, giving his life for the liberation of Cyprus from British colonial rule.

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About 5 klms from the village of Kakopetria. Visit this very ancient church of Agios Nikolaos tis Stegis which is of great archaeological importance.

An 11th century church, and UNESCO has included the church of "St Nicholas of the Roof" in the list of Worldwide Cultural heritage, because of its special value.

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It is a very interesting walk towards the fall but depending on the season you should be fitted with the appropriate clothes and shoes.

At Psilo Dendro take the concrete path to the left of the restaurant and walk for about 100 or 150 metres to the start of the trail. Don’t turn left like I did....!

At the wooden marker board, continue up the forest track towards the famous waterfall. The track is straightforward to follow but of course there will be times when you will have to cross the Kyros river before you hear the waterfall sound.
Be careful not to slip in the water. If it is summer you won’t mind stepping in the water, but if it is winter then it will be a problem to wet your feet.

When you reach the waterfall there are some benches where you can sit and rest and admire nature, and be sure to have your camera along.
The distance is not more than 2 kms and it is really worth walking out there.

Animals and insects are all around the mountain regions. The most frequently seen animals are the fox, Cypriot hare and rabbit, long-earned hedgehod, Cypriot shrew and six species of bat. With no doubt, there are snakes too, which im only going to talk about. The snakes are only active in the summer and hibernate in the winter and are without exception, frightened of human beings. They only attack for self-defence. There are six species of which three are poisonous: blunt-nosed viper(which is extremely dangerous to man), cat snake and montpellier snake. The other three non-poisonous ones are the ravergier's whip snake, large whip-snake and cyprus whip-snake. Keep a look out for them!

Archeologists have unearthed in the watery sense of the word what they believe may be the ancient ruins of the mythical city of Atlantis not far off the coast of Cyprus. If this proves to be true it will confirm the speculation of countless generations.

Not far from Limassol, along the old highway on the way to the Troodos Mountains lies the Kouris Dam. The Kouris reservoir was built to service a thirsty semi-arid island by trapping the run-off from the Troodos Mountains. In the process they submerged many buildings and churches, some of which you can still see poking up through the waves and along its shores.

There is an archeologic site and picnic grounds nearby and it is worth a look if you are in the neighborhood. Unless you are an angler or landscape painter it is not worth a separate trip to visit the site. Just one of the quirks of the island that you just kind of have to stumble over to find.

Atlantis, fact or fiction? While as you can see Cypriots are still bent on burying their villages and archeological treasures whether caused by earthquakes or man-made events.