VALLÉE DES CÈDRES

This protected area (Κοιλάδα των Κέδρων/Kilada ton Kedron, Cedar Valley) belongs to the "Tripylos and Cedar Valley Nature Reserve", which covers 823 ha. It is home to a forest dominated by the Cyprus cedar (Cedrus brevifolia), an endemic species closely related to the Lebanese cedar (Cedrus libani) that can reach 30 m in height and live up to five hundred years. The valley lies at an altitude of 1,200 m, bordering the districts of Nicosia, Limassol and Paphos. Dominated by Mount Tripylos (1,362 m above sea level) and under the protection of the National Forestry Office, the reserve is developed with hiking trails. It is part of the Paphos forest, which covers 700 ^km2 in the western part of the Troodos massif. In addition to the Cyprus cedar, this large forest is home to the plane tree, the Calabrian pine and the Cyprus golden oak (Quercus alnifolia), nicknamed the "dwarf oak" since it reaches a maximum height of 10 m. There are numerous springs and rivers, 600 plant species, birds such as the Bonneli's eagle, the goshawk and the hen harrier, eight types of snake, frogs, lizards, the fox, the Cyprus mouse (Mus cypriacus)... And it's in the Cedar Valley that you'll find the highest concentration of bighorn sheep in Cyprus. If you don't come across one in the wild, you can catch a glimpse of a thirty-year-old sheep living in captivity at the Stavros tis Psokas forestry station, 9 km south-west of the Cedar Valley.