Overview
Starting your ride at the Troodos Square, you will immediately find yourself on quiet dirt roads offering great views of Limassol’s wine villages and the Commandaria wine area.
Around three kilometres after you set off, you can take a little detour up to the viewpoint of the Persephone walking nature trail, “Makria Kontarka.” The nature trail offers stunning views of vineyards and wine villages as far as the Limassol port to the South.
Resuming the cycling route, you will see on your left a scar on the mountain slope left by the long since closed asbestos mine at Pano Amiantos. The Troodos Geopark Visitor Centre is located at the old Asbestos mine, an area with enormous historical value.
There you can visit the extraordinary botanical gardens, where you can learn about the flora of the area, and visit a seed bank of endemic species. You can also find out about the past mining activity and the community which once flourished there.
The Geopark Visitor Centre is situated in the newly restored elementary school of the abandoned asbestos mine. Extensive reforestation works are ongoing in an effort to reverse the caused to the local ecosystem by during the mine’s operation. The Centre’s exhibits highlight the extreme geological importance and uniqueness of the Troodos Mountain range and it is worth a visit.
Continuing along the route you will reach its lowest point and then the Psilodentro area. There, you can take a break and prepare yourself for the long uphill route that follows.
