Cyprus National Forest Parks Compared: Trails, Rules, Fees

The Department of Forests lists eleven national forest parks in the Republic of Cyprus, and three of them (Troodos at 9,147 hectares, Akamas at 7,662 and Machairas at 4,523.6) hold about 92% of the combined area. Trail length is a poor guide to effort: the 14 km Atalanti loop is grade 2, while the 3 km Kalidonia trail is grade 3. Cooking fires are allowed only in the built grills at picnic and camping sites, and camping only at campsites.

Parks in Cyprus: the eleven national forest parks

If you searched for Cyprus national parks, the official designation is national forest park. This table follows the Department of Forests inventory, read on 9 October 2026. Areas are in hectares. In every table here, "Not confirmed" means the official pages we opened did not settle the point. It never means none, zero or free.

Park	Area (ha)	Declared	District, or reference town	Signature feature (official description)
Troodos	9,147.0	1992, 1999	Limassol and Nicosia	Ophiolite geology
Akamas	7,662	2016	Paphos	Avakas Gorge and turtle beaches
Machairas	4,523.6	2004	Not confirmed	Forest conservation
Athalassa	840.2	1985, 1990, 1995	Nicosia	Agios Georgios lake
Cape Greco (Kavo Gkreko)	384.9	1993	Famagusta	Sea caves
Petra tou Romiou	349.2	2001	Paphos	Coastal viewpoints
Polemidia	125.4	1996	Limassol	Urban recreation
Rizoelia	97	1998	Aradippou (town)	Recreation and viewpoints
Potamos Liopetriou (Liopetri Forest)	89	1984	Not confirmed	Protected coastal habitats
Paedagogical Academy	45	1983, 1994	Nicosia (Aglantzia)	Urban recreation
Agios Nikandros	25.92	2000	Ayia Napa (town)	Coastal recreation

Added together, the eleven areas come to about 23,289 hectares. Troodos, Akamas and Machairas account for 21,332.6 of them, leaving under 2,000 hectares for the other eight.

Where the inventory gives more than one declaration date, the table lists each year. The oldest entry is Paedagogical Academy, declared on 27 December 1983. The newest is Akamas, declared on 17 June 2016.

Four of the eleven have their own pages here: Troodos National Forest Park, the Akamas Peninsula, Cape Greco National Forest Park and Athalassa National Forest Park. The declared Akamas park is 7,662 hectares, while our Akamas page covers the wider peninsula. Cedar Valley is not one of the eleven: our page describes it as a valley in the Paphos state forest.

Best national parks in Cyprus for walking: what each publishes

Park	Official trail count	Published trail length	Visitor centre	Natura 2000 site code
Troodos	10	About 57.6 km	Troodos Visitor Centre	CY5000004
Machairas	5	About 19 km	Not confirmed	CY2000004
Cape Greco	Not confirmed	16 km network	Kavo Greco Information and Education Centre	CY3000005, CY3000002
Akamas	6 (wider peninsula)	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	CY4000010
Petra tou Romiou	Not confirmed	One listed trail, 7.1 km	Not confirmed	CY5000005
Athalassa	Not confirmed	20 km network	Athalassa Information and Education Centre	Not confirmed
Rizoelia	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	CY6000006

Troodos has the largest published network: 10 trails and approximately 57.6 km, according to the Department of Forests. Machairas follows with 5 trails and approximately 19 km. Cape Greco is described with a 16 km network but no trail count we could confirm, and the 6 trails given for Akamas belong to a description of the wider peninsula. Athalassa's 20 km network is the figure on Visit Cyprus, the official tourism portal (visitcyprus.com, a different website from this one). The four parks not shown had nothing confirmed in these columns.

The Natura 2000 codes identify protected sites associated with each park; their boundaries need not match the park's. They come from the Department of Environment's site inventory and, for CY3000002, the Kavo Gkreko Special Protection Area, from the site list on natura2000.cy.

Troodos nature trails by length and grade

The three trail tables are a selection of 17 officially published trails, not a full inventory. Figures come from the Visit Cyprus trail pages, read on 9 October 2026; where the Department of Forests trail list or the Visit Cyprus brochure differs, the table shows both. The portal grades trails 1 for easy with a gentle gradient, 2 for average difficulty and 3 for high difficulty, described as unsuitable for young children.

Trail	Length (km)	Type	Published time	Grade	Start point
Artemis	7	Circular	2.5 to 3 hours	1	300 m from the junction of the Chionistra road and the Troodos to Prodromos road
Atalanti	14	Circular	4 to 5 hours	2	Troodos Square
Persephone	3	Linear	1 hour	1	150 m south of Troodos Square, towards the police station
Kalidonia	3	Linear	1.5 hours	3	Upper end: old Troodos to Platres road, after the Presidential Summer Residence. Lower end: Psilodentro, above Pano Platres
Chrysovrysi	1.5	Linear	1 hour	2	Karvounas to Troodos road, 300 m from Chrysovrysi Spring
Prodromos Dam to Stavroulia	4.5 or 5.5	Linear	1.5 to 2 hours	3	Troodos to Prodromos road, above Prodromos Dam

Choose by grade first, then by distance. Atalanti is the longest trail here at 14 km and is published as grade 2. Kalidonia is 3 km and grade 3. Persephone is also 3 km but grade 1, as is the 7 km Artemis loop.

Four of the six are linear, so you finish somewhere other than where you parked unless you walk back or arrange a lift. Prodromos Dam to Stavroulia is published in two variants, 4.5 km and 5.5 km. Kalidonia is the trail covered on our Caledonia Waterfalls page.

The Geological Survey Department gives the highest peak of Cyprus as Chionistra summit, at 1,952 m, and the Artemis trail page identifies Olympos as Chionistra. Our Troodos trip planner covers villages, churches and places to stay, and Troodos Mountains gives an overview of the range.

Cape Greco walks compared

Trail	Length (km)	Type	Published time	Grade	Start point
Aphrodite	2	Circular	1 hour	1	Visitor Centre parking site
Konnoi to Agioi Anargyroi	4.8	Circular	2 hours	1	Konnos Beach or Agioi Anargyroi church
Konnoi to Cyclops Cave	1.7 or 2.4	Circular	45 minutes	1	Konnos beach parking area
Sea Caves to Agioi Anargyroi	4	Linear	1.5 hours	1	Sea Caves or Agioi Anargyroi church
Kavos	1.2 or 2.5	Circular	45 minutes	1 or 2	Old quarry parking area, off the Ayia Napa to Cape Greco road

On published grades, Cape Greco is the gentlest of the three areas: Visit Cyprus rates all five trails grade 1, and none is listed at more than 2 hours. Two can start at Konnos, which our Konnos Bay page describes.

Official sources disagree on two rows. For the Cyclops Cave loop, the Visit Cyprus trail page gives 1.7 km and the Department of Forests trail list gives 2.4 km. For Kavos, Visit Cyprus gives 1.2 km and grade 1, while the forestry list gives 2.5 km and grade 2; both give 45 minutes.

Sea Caves to Agioi Anargyroi is linear, so its 4 km is not a circular outing. The name Aphrodite is used twice: the Cape Greco trail is a 2 km grade 1 loop, while the Akamas one is 7.5 km and published as grade 3.

Akamas peninsula trails and the Avakas Gorge closure

Trail	Length (km)	Type	Published time	Grade	Start point
Adonis	7.5	Circular	3 to 4 hours, or 3 hours	3 or 2	400 m before the Baths of Aphrodite
Aphrodite	7.5	Circular	3 to 4 hours, or 3 hours	3 or 2	Baths of Aphrodite
Smigies, short route	2.5	Circular	1 hour	2	Smigies picnic site
Smigies, long route	6, 5 or 7.5	Circular	2 hours, or 3 hours	2	Smigies picnic site
Pissouromoutti	3	Circular	2 hours	2	Smigies picnic site
Avakas Gorge (temporarily closed)	1.2 or 1.1	Linear	45 minutes, or 2 hours	1 to 2	Avakas Gorge, from the Agios Georgios Pegeias to Toxeftra road

The Avakas Gorge trail was still labelled "Temporarily closed" on its official trail page on 9 October 2026. Check that page before you plan around it; our Avakas Gorge page has the background.

Official sources disagree on four rows. For Adonis and Aphrodite, the individual trail pages give grade 3 and 3 to 4 hours, while the Visit Cyprus trail brochure gives grade 2 and 3 hours. The long Smigies route has three published lengths: 6 km and 2 hours on the trail page and hiking map, 5 km in the Department of Forests list, and 7.5 km and 3 hours in the brochure. Until that is settled, allow water and daylight for the longest figure. Avakas is 1.2 km and 45 minutes on its trail page, 1.1 km in the forestry list and 2 hours in the brochure.

No trail in this selection is a plain grade 1: the lowest published grade is Avakas at 1 to 2, and it is closed. The Blue Lagoon is not one of these marked trails; our Blue Lagoon page covers how people reach it.

Visitor arrangements in Akamas are still changing: a Philenews report dated 20 June 2026 says a revised plan reduces the visitor hubs to eight. We could not confirm which hubs, transport or access charges are in place, so this page lists none.

Visitor centres: opening hours and fees

Three parks have a centre with published hours and a tariff. Both tables use the Department of Forests visitor-centre page, as of 9 October 2026.

Centre	Park	Published days and hours	Entry fee, as of 9 October 2026
Troodos Visitor Centre	Troodos	Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 14:30	Adults €1; children under 6 free
Athalassa Information and Education Centre	Athalassa	Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 14:30	€1; children under 6 and qualifying school visits free
Kavo Greco Information and Education Centre	Cape Greco	Seasonal, see the next table	€1 for ages 6 to 11; €2 for ages 12 and over

Kavo Greco centre hours by season (Department of Forests):

Period	Days	Hours, as of 9 October 2026
May to October	Weekdays, weekends and public holidays	10:00 to 18:30
November to March	Weekdays	10:00 to 14:00
April	Weekdays	10:00 to 14:00
April	Weekends and public holidays	10:00 to 18:30
Good Friday to Easter Monday	All days	Closed

The Troodos and Athalassa centres are published as Monday to Friday only, which matters if your day there falls on a weekend.

Cape Greco is where two official pages disagree. Both give 10:00 to 18:30 from May to October, but Visit Cyprus says the centre is closed on public holidays, while the Department of Forests lists public holidays among its opening days. For winter, Visit Cyprus gives one season, 1 November to 30 April, on weekdays from 10:00 to 14:30. The Department of Forests ends weekday hours at 14:00 and treats April separately. Age bands differ too, as of 9 October 2026: Visit Cyprus lists €2 for adults, €1 for ages 6 to 12 and free entry for ages 0 to 6, and the Greek version of the forestry page starts its €2 band above 12. Confirm before a visit on a public holiday, between November and April, or with a 12-year-old.

These charges are for the centres, not the parks. None of the pages we opened publishes a general admission charge for any of the eleven parks, and none states that entry is free, so that question stays open here.

Forest rules: fires, camping, off-road driving, drones and Lara turtle beach

Topic	Status	What the source says
Fires and barbecues	Confirmed	Fires to prepare food only in specially constructed grills at picnic and camping sites; put the charcoal out before leaving
Camping	Confirmed	Camping in the forest only at camping sites
Driving off forest roads	Confirmed	Driving a motor vehicle of any type outside forest roads is prohibited by the Forest Law
Aspros Potamos to Toxeftra forest road (Akamas)	Listed as closed	The Department of Forests notice says the road remains closed
Avakas Gorge trail	Labelled temporarily closed	The title of the official trail page carries the label
Lara and Toxeftra beaches, 1 June to 30 September	Described in a 2019 government report	No camping, umbrellas or sunbeds, no people in the area at night, no vehicles on the beaches, no boats entering or anchoring, no fishing except with rod and line
Driving on turtle nesting beaches	Banned by a March 2026 amendment	Fisheries Regulations amendment K.D.P. 139/2026 covers the Lara-Toxeftra and Polis-Gialia areas
Drones	Decree of 4 March 2026	All civil and private drone flights prohibited over the Republic and within 12 nautical miles of its coast
General park entry fee	Not confirmed	No tariff and no statement of free entry found

The barbecue permission applies to the built grills themselves. A picnic site is not a licence to light a fire on the ground beside one.

A rough forest road and open ground are different things: driving any type of motor vehicle outside forest roads is what the Department of Forests says the Forest Law expressly prohibits. Separately, the Aspros Potamos to Toxeftra forest road in Akamas is listed as remaining closed in a Department of Forests notice read on 9 October 2026.

The Lara rows rest on a 2019 government report to the Council of Europe and a March 2026 amendment to the Fisheries Regulations (K.D.P. 139/2026). We could not open the current consolidated text, so exact night hours are not restated; our Lara Beach page has the visiting basics, and the signs at the beach are the authority.

For drones, a decree published on 4 March 2026 prohibits all civil and private drone flights over the Republic of Cyprus and within 12 nautical miles of its coast. The official drone portal that hosts it also tells operators to check its geographical zones before any flight, so look at drones.gov.cy for the current position before you pack one. No fine amounts are quoted here, because none was confirmed.

Forest campsites and published fees

Because camping is allowed only at campsites, here are the four forest campsites listed by Troodos Geopark, with seasons and prices as shown on its page on 9 October 2026. Listed does not mean open: the last column gives the latest status we found. The listing's prices are undated, and this is not every licensed campsite in the Republic.

Campsite	Published season	Published fee, as of 9 October 2026	Fee basis	Latest status found
Platania	May to September	€5	Per night, for two people	Closed: operation suspended in November 2025, later terminated by Department of Forests notice, pending redevelopment
Troodos	"Summer" in the table; May to end of October in the description	€5; €31	€5 per day for 2 to 3 people; €31 for a week	Closed over reported safety concerns (Politis, 11 August 2026)
Kampi tou Kalogyrou	June to September	€2	Per person	Upgraded but closed, awaiting approvals (Cyprus Mail, 26 July 2026; Politis, 11 August 2026)
Stavros tis Psokas	All year	€1; €2	€1 for one tent; €2 for two people	Open, according to the forestry department (Cyprus Mail, 26 July 2026)

Only Stavros tis Psokas was reported open in summer 2026. The Department of Forests has published notices suspending and then ending the operation of the Platania campsite (in Greek), and press reports described the Troodos and Kampi tou Kalogyrou sites as closed, with no confirmed reopening date for Troodos. Treat the listed seasons and prices as a record, not an offer, and confirm before you plan a night. The Stavros tis Psokas listing shows €1 for one tent and €2 for two people, as of 9 October 2026, without saying whether the amounts add up.

How this page was compiled

This is desk research: we did not walk the trails or visit the centres for it. On 9 October 2026 we read the sources listed below, together with the individual Visit Cyprus trail pages, hiking map and brochure and the Geological Survey Department's Troodos Geopark page. A same-day fact-check added the drone decree, the Lara sources and the campsite closures. Where two official sources disagreed, both figures are shown. We did not add trail lengths together to make park totals.

Not confirmed: general park admission, the exact night hours at Lara, whether the March 2026 drone decree still applies, districts and trail totals for several smaller parks, which Akamas visitor facilities operate, whether each campsite is open and its prices current, and conditions on the ground at the closed road and trail. Prices, opening hours and closures change, so check the source before you travel.

• Department of Forests: National forest parks (in Greek)
• Department of Forests: Visitor centres
• Department of Forests: Nature trails (in Greek)
• Department of Forests: Fire-safety guide
• Department of Forests: Aspros Potamos to Toxeftra road closure
• Department of Environment: Natura 2000 sites
• Visit Cyprus: Nature trails and difficulty categories
• Visit Cyprus: Cape Greco Environmental Centre
• Troodos Geopark: Hiking and camping sites
• Council of Europe: Cyprus government report on the Akamas peninsula, 2019
• Official Gazette: K.D.P. 139/2026, fisheries amendment (PDF, in Greek)

Frequently Asked Questions

How many national parks are there in Cyprus?

There are eleven national forest parks in the Republic of Cyprus, according to the Department of Forests inventory read on 9 October 2026. They range from Agios Nikandros at 25.92 hectares to Troodos at 9,147 hectares. The oldest declaration on the list is Paedagogical Academy in 1983 and the newest is Akamas in 2016.

What are the best national parks in Cyprus for walking?

Troodos has the largest published trail network, with 10 trails and approximately 57.6 km according to the Department of Forests. Machairas is next with 5 trails and approximately 19 km. Cape Greco has a 16 km network where Visit Cyprus rates all five trails in our table grade 1, and Akamas has two 7.5 km loops rated grade 3 on their trail pages.

Is there an entrance fee for national forest parks in Cyprus?

We could not confirm one either way. None of the official pages opened on 9 October 2026 publishes a general admission charge for any of the eleven parks, and none states that entry is free. The published charges we found are for visitor centres and forest campsites, not for entering a park.

What are the turtle rules at Lara Beach?

From 1 June to 30 September, the Fisheries Regulations for the Lara and Toxeftra area prohibit camping, umbrellas and sunbeds, people in the area at night, vehicles on the beaches, boats entering or anchoring, and fishing other than with rod and line, according to a 2019 government report to the Council of Europe. A March 2026 amendment also bans driving on the turtle nesting beaches. The exact night hours were not confirmed.

Can you have a barbecue or camp in the forest in Cyprus?

Only in the places built for it. The Department of Forests fire-safety guide allows fires to prepare food only in specially constructed grills at picnic and camping sites, and camping only at camping sites. Troodos Geopark lists four forest campsites, but only Stavros tis Psokas was reported open in summer 2026.