Cyprus: Nature highlights - Part 1

According to tradition, in order to really get to know a place, you need to walk it. Cyprus at the crossroads of three continents has years of tradition and culture and a diverse landscape that you may find surprising on such a small island.

Visitors should explore the island’s natural beauty and especially its fauna, flora and mining heritage, by walking its natural trails, which have been created ti highlight the beautiful landscapes of the island.

There is vast choice of walking trails in Cyprus, but only a few have been included here, a selection of 20 nature trails.

A series of unique and complex geological processes have made Cyprus a model for scientists and a key to understanding the evolution of planet earth and oceans.
The wooded summit of Troodos is the deepest layer of a piece of oceanic crust and the upper mantle of the earth.

Cyprus diverse landscape, with its strong Mediterranean character, is an impressive sight for visitors, especially due to the island s small size. Many of the forest areas have been classified as National Forest Parks protected areas for flora and fauna. The national forests cover more than 70% of the natura 2000 network of the island.

Cyprus forests are mostly natural woodlands of great biodiversity and major ecological significance. The main forest tree, from the coastal area until an attitude of up to 1400 metres, is the Calabrian and the Black Pine dominates in the higher reaches of Troodos. In large rivers and the areas surrounding them, the dominant trees are the oriental plane and the aider. On a smaller scale there are other tree species such as the Cyprus cedar and the Mediterranean Cypress. In middle and high elevations, a common species of bush is the golden oak, found on its own, in unmixed forests, or together with the pine tree. In the lowlands you will find the maquis shurbland, with dominant species the Phoenician juniper, the olive tree, the carob tree, and the mastic tree as well as the Calabrian.

Cyprus flora comprises around 1625 different kinds of plants, subspecies, varieties, types or hubrids. Of these 139 are endemic to Cyprus, ie plants native only to Cyprus and found nowhere else in the world.

Walking along , nature trails you will encounter some of the many endemic plants that are in danger of extinction, such as ‘’the skilla’’, lochs glory of the snow, lefkara ankle, kotchy’s orchid, Cyprus tulip as well as other varieties most of which have been included in the Berne Convention’s list of protected plants.

To be continued part 2