The path walks you through the park Athalassa and along the dam Athalassa. You will start from the side of the park to the village of Geri and following the course will see that the path links two picnic sites.
The Athalassa can be described as the "green lung" of a rapidly growing city with few green areas of Nicosia. The area of Athalassa is located southeast of Nicosia, approximately 5 km from it and surrounded by Aglantzia north and east, Strovolos west, and Geri and Latsia south. In case you wonder, it is probable that the name comes from the fact that in recent geological time was, like the rest of Mesaoria, under the sea, which is why the shells you meet in the area are plentiful. In medieval maps, lists a settlement (government villa area St. George) with Ailasa names, Ailaza or Atalassa, justifying the ruins of the medieval castle and convent La Cava in small Aronas, built by King James the First. It is very likely that the first houses that saw Giovanni Mariti in 1767 if they were in the area the Farming Cottage.
The terrain is relatively smooth (130-190 meters), excluding the two trapezoidal Aroni, small and large Aronas Aronas (Lion Hill), while the region leaked torrent Deep with two tributaries. There are two dams in Athalassa, the small dam of St. George and the fence Athalassa. The fence Athalassa was built in 1962 at the junction of streams Deep and Monk, for irrigation purposes. It is dirt, with a height of 18 meters, length 447 meters, surface of 230,000 sq. measures, capacity 791 000 cubic meters and a volume of 103,000 cubic meters.
Geologically, the Athalassa is part of the sedimentary sequence of the Troodos, lithological, consisting of three (3) major geological formations, which formed during the Cenozoic Era. The predominant formation of the area is the Athalassa Formation (sandstones, sandstones, sandy loam and conglomerate rocks), which takes its name due to the larger compact extent of the area of Athalassa, while there are small areas that belong to the Formation Nicosia ( sandstones, sandstone, mud, gravel, sandy loam, marl, limestone and conglomerates), and a small area of Formation Alluvium-Colluvium (sands, silts, clays and gravels).
Park Athalassa is a masterpiece of long cultivation efforts, and there you will meet more than 300 dentrodi, shrub and herbaceous plant species (particularly exotic, and there are 10 endemic herbaceous and shrub species and 11 rare), while equally admiration causes the fauna of the Park, with 173 species of birds, 27 species of butterflies, 7 species of mammals, 6 species of reptiles and one amphibian. Note as well, that the only natural plant community is in the fence area, with hygrophilous vegetation. The wide variety of mainly aquatic migratory birds, of which some overwinter, most stationed here during the great migrations of autumn and spring, mainly due to the waters of the two fences and general climatic conditions.
Since August 1974, about 40 hectares of the Main State Forest Athalassas located within the buffer zone. In 1985, in an effort to save space by private and other interventions, approximately 357 hectares were declared a "Athalassa National Forest Park", unique to the island. Part of the Main State Forest Athalassa, in addition to those uses covered by the New Nicosia General Hospital and the University Campus. In Livestock Manor Department of Agriculture bred cows, goats, sheep and pigs, in special stables and pigsties, while in the experimental farm of the Department of Agriculture tested various crops. It was here that the British created the first farm, the first building to be built in 1912 and 1921. In a poultry wing bred hares and partridges, while ygrothermokipio grow several varieties of olives. Athalassa is the "Park of Nations", in which foreign Heads of State plant trees in remembrance of their visit, and here lies the Artillery Training Center (KEPV).
Start Point: Nations Park. Access from Aglantzia – Geri main road.
End Point: Agios Georgios
Estimated Duration: 45 minutes
Difficulty Rate: Category 1: Easy trail, with gentle gradient. Suitable for all ages and fitness levels.
Road Conditions: The final 800 metres of the access road is on loose surface road, rugged and steep.
Trip Length: 2,5 kilometres