Two of the Department of Forests' Troodos nature trails could hardly be more different. Livadi, 1.5 km and about 30 minutes, is a circular trail at about 1,700 metres that the Department has adapted for wheelchairs. Loumata ton Aeton, officially "Kato Amiantos to Loumata ton Aeton", is a linear walk of 2.5 km and about an hour from a pine hillside down to a river at Kato Amiantos, passing a hideout of the 1955 to 1959 liberation struggle. Both lie inside the Troodos National Forest Park, a Natura 2000 site, and they carry the Department's two easiest grades, 1 and 2 on its scale of 1 to 3. Both were closed for the winter from 13 January to 25 April 2026, and the Department's trail list marks neither as closed today.
Livadi: the wheelchair-adapted loop
The trail starts off the Troodos to Karvounas road (B9): 1.5 km from Troodos Square and 9 km from Karvounas, turn at the sign for the Kampos tou Livadiou picnic site and follow the uphill asphalted road towards the army camp for about 300 metres; the start is on the left. The Department of Forests' own maps call the same loop "Kampos tou Livadiou (wheelchairs)". It runs almost level, between about 1,685 and 1,705 metres, on a relatively smooth path laid with gravel, through natural black pine forest with Troodos (foetid) juniper and, in the Department's words, some century-old trees. Information signs along the way name plants such as golden oak, whitebeam, barberry and bracken, and endemics such as Troodos viper-grass and Troodos spurge; there has been no logging in these forests since 1972, because the area is managed for its biodiversity, water and landscape. About 0.5 km in, a viewpoint looks out over the Solea valley; to finish the loop, walk back about 100 metres and take the path on the right, as the sign shows. The Department's best period for Livadi is April to October, and there is no drinking water on the route.
How accessible is it?
The Department of Forests says Livadi "has been suitably shaped for use by people with mobility difficulties", and Visit Cyprus grades it 1, wheelchair accessible. Neither publishes gradients, path widths, handrails or accessible toilets or parking at the start, and the Troodos Geopark describes only part of the loop as suitable for wheelchairs, so go with a companion and expect to judge the gravel for yourself, especially after rain. The Department's picnic list does not mark the Kampos tou Livadiou site as having facilities for people with reduced mobility; it gives that mark to Livadi tou Pasia, 2.3 km before Troodos Square on the same road, where Visit Cyprus's 2023 accessibility audit found one accessible toilet but a steep access ramp (10 to 20 per cent) without handrails.
Picnic sites and the visitor centre
Kampos tou Livadiou picnic site, at 1,650 metres and about 2 km from Troodos Square, takes up to 400 people and has drinking water, toilets, tables and designated barbecue places. Fires are allowed only in those places, and you must bring your own charcoal, because forest wood may not be used. Livadi tou Pasia is bigger still, with room for 1,600. The Department of Forests' Troodos visitor centre, 200 metres west of Troodos Square, opens on weekdays from 09:00 to 14:30 and charges 1 EUR.
Loumata ton Aeton: from the hillside to the river
Loumata ton Aeton ("ton Aeton" means "of the eagles") starts on the road from Kato Amiantos to the SEK camp: coming from Karvounas towards Saittas through Amiantos, turn right after the bridge for the camp, and the start, with its information kiosk, is on that road. The trail is signposted from the main road and through the village, and you can park at the start. The first part crosses a steep hillside of Calabrian pine with rock-rose, terebinth, storax, strawberry tree and the endemic golden oak, with views towards the Kyperounta area and the old Amiantos asbestos mine, where reforestation is under way. The path then drops to the Loumata ton Aeton river, which the Department of Forests says flows strongly even in summer, and follows the riverbed, past laurel, myrtle, oleander and honeysuckle, to a village road near the Amiantos community park. Most of it is the old path that the asbestos mine's workers walked to the neighbouring villages, and the Department built the trail in 2003 and 2004 with Cyprus Tourism Organisation funding. Signs along the way name the plants and rock formations.
Take care where the path crosses the river, especially in spring, when the water rises: the Department warns that in winter and early spring the riverside section can become impassable, and its best period for this trail is April to November. The route is linear and officially 2.5 km, although the Department's own digital map line measures about 1.6 km for the path itself. You can walk back the same way or return through the village by road towards the SEK camp, about 3 km in all. The camp belongs to SEK, the Cyprus Workers' Confederation: it is the union's children's camp and holiday homes for its members, not a public campsite.
The EOKA hideout
About halfway along, very near the path, is a hideout of the 1955 to 1959 liberation struggle, which the Department of Forests describes as restored; in the photograph on its 2006 leaflet a small wooden signpost reads "ΚΡΗΣΦΥΓΕΤΟ / HIDE OUT". No official source says who used it or what happened there, and it is not on the list of restored hideouts kept by the Council for Historical Memory of the EOKA Struggle. On the summit of Egklisi, between Kato Amiantos and Pelendri, that council built the Heroon of the EOKA Liberation Struggle in honour of the struggle's 108 fallen: the memorial was unveiled on 22 October 2000, its museum hall opened on 11 November 2001, and the 108 Steps of Freedom lead up to it.
Nearby: the Geopark centre and the Botanical Garden
The Troodos Geopark Visitor Centre, in the old Amiantos primary school inside the former asbestos mine, opens daily from 09:00 to 16:00 except on public holidays, and the gate at the mine entrance is locked when the centre closes. A footpath of about 20 minutes joins it to the A.G. Leventis Troodos Botanical Garden, at 1,400 metres. Both are about 7.5 km, or 12 minutes by car, from the Loumata start. The mine was worked by Cyprus Asbestos Mines Ltd from 1934 until 1988, and its rehabilitation began in the autumn of 1995.
When to go, rules and safety
The Department of Forests closes Troodos trails when snow, frost and landslides make them dangerous: both trails were shut from 13 January to 25 April 2026, and from 7 February 2025 the winter before, and last winter snow fell on Troodos from mid December to late March. In winter, check the Department's announcements or ring the Troodos Forest Division (22608512) before you set out. Days are short once the clocks go back on 25 October: the sun sets at Livadi at about 17:00, and by 1 December at 16:37. Hunting for resident game is allowed on Sundays and Wednesdays from 1 November to 27 December, and for thrushes on Sundays and Wednesdays from 3 January to 28 February 2027, plus Saturday 27 February, so wear bright clothing on those days. Fires are allowed only at the picnic sites' barbecue places, cycling and motorcycling are banned on all nature trails, picking plants and removing rocks are against forest law, and drones are banned around Livadi, which lies in a prohibited zone. Stay on the marked path, wear non-slip shoes, carry water and tell someone when you expect to be back; report smoke or fire on 1407, free of charge.
Getting there
By car (route planner estimates; mountain roads are slower in practice), the Livadi start is about 4 minutes from Troodos Square, 16 minutes from Pano Platres, 66 minutes from Limassol and 80 minutes from Nicosia; the Loumata start is about 18 minutes from Troodos Square, 56 minutes from Limassol and 76 minutes from Nicosia, and the two trails are about 16 minutes apart. NPT route 408 runs from Makario Stadium bus station in Nicosia to Troodos Square on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, leaving at 08:00, 11:00 and 14:00 and returning from the square at 10:00, 13:00 and 16:00; from the square it is about 2.4 km on foot to the Livadi start, about 32 minutes, mostly along the main road. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays NPT route 87 links Kakopetria with Troodos Square three times a day, and EMEL route 64 leaves Limassol's Old Port at 09:16 for Troodos Square and returns at 15:30 on its Friday timetable; check EMEL for other days. For Loumata ton Aeton you need a car: the only buses through Amiantos, EMEL 60K and 62Y, run at commuter times. And if the mountains have you thinking about life in Cyprus, our relocation help is here when you need it.
