Troodos Forest National Park

Troodos National Forest Park occupies the high core of the range that forms the backbone of Cyprus, around Mount Olympus (Chionistra), at 1,952 m the roof of the island. The park extends over 9,147 hectares between the 700 m of the Moni forest and that highest point, a vertical range that arranges the vegetation into successive belts. Its substrate is exceptional: the Troodos massif is the most complete and accessible ophiolite complex in the world, a fragment of oceanic crust raised by tectonics that geologists have studied since the 1960s and that in 2015 was recognised as a UNESCO Global Geopark.

The forest cover is dominated by the Cyprus black pine (Pinus nigra subsp. pallasiana), accompanied on the shaded slopes by the endemic golden oak (Quercus alnifolia), the Cyprus cedar and stands of Phoenician juniper. Some 750 plant species have been recorded within the park, of which 72 are endemic to Cyprus and 12 grow only here. At the higher altitudes there are serpentine grasslands and temporary wetlands such as Livadi tou Pashia, which floods in winter and stays damp for much of the summer.

The emblematic animal is the Cyprus mouflon (Ovis gmelini ophion), an endemic subspecies saved from extinction in the twentieth century. Among the protected birds are the griffon vulture, the raven, Bonelli's eagle, the treecreeper and two island endemics: the Cyprus warbler and the Cyprus wheatear. The park was declared in 1992 by the Department of Forests in order to preserve its ecological, scientific, hydrological and recreational values: the island's main rivers rise here and some fifty springs supply the surrounding villages. Ten nature trails, among them the circular Atalante and Artemis routes around Olympus and the Caledonia trail to the waterfall of the same name, structure the visit, along with nine picnic areas and three campsites.