The environmental centre
The Environmental Education Centre is 200 m west of Troodos Square. The aim of the Centre is to raise awareness of the importance and uniqueness of the park by providing a range of exhibitions and services for visitors. It also aims to let visitors know about the facilities offered in the park and about various environmental issues. It is open every day with standard opening hours and there is a small entry charge. It includes an exhibition hall, a room for video showings and lectures and small shop. Outside the centre there is a circular botanical and geological trail.
There is free parking at the centre as well as a restaurant, a playground, tennis courts and restrooms. All the facilities, including the Environmental Information Centre, comply with international standards for use by the disabled.
This hall houses several exhibits about the environment, geology, flora, fauna and various habitats of the Park. These exhibitions also cover themes relating to the park and recreation, history and culture. There are dioramas (representations of ecotopes) with stuffed animals and birds, computers, microscopes, geological models, an explanation of how Cyprus was created, fossils, a butterfly collection, samples of woods, photographs of the Park, a cross section of a tree showing its rings and age and information on the risks that the Park faces.
In this hall visitors can see a 10 minute film which gives information about the geological beginnings of Cyprus and also about the hydrology, flora and fauna of the Park. You will also learn about the various facilities available in the area.
This trail is part of the Centre and is 250 m long. On the trail you will be able see a selection of the plants that live in the Park and also to see samples of the main rocks which form the Troodos Ophiolite Complex.
The “A.G. Leventis” Troodos Botanic Gardens are in the Troodos National Forest Park, which is part of the “Natura 2000” network. The gardens are at an altitude of 1, 400 m on the main road from Karvouna to Troodos, inside the boundaries of the old Amiantos asbestos mine. The garden is a member of the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) and is one of the three botanic gardens established by the Forestry Department. The other two are in Athalassa and at the Baths of Aphrodite.
At the Centre you can lean about the flora of the Troodos region through various traditional and technological exhibitions. The Centre’s Herbarium uses stereoscopes to give visitors the opportunity to study a wide variety of dried plant specimens and the specialised library allows researchers and students to study botany in depth. The Centre also has a small shop with souvenirs and specialised books while the main exhibition halls have electronic and printed information.
At the Centre you can lean about the flora of the Troodos region through various traditional and technological exhibitions. The Centre’s Herbarium uses stereoscopes to give visitors the opportunity to study a wide variety of dried plant specimens and the specialised library allows researchers and students to study botany in depth. The Centre also has a small shop with souvenirs and specialised books while the main exhibition halls have electronic and printed information.
The Troodos Geopark (an area of 1.147 km2) Visitor Centre is located in the old Asbestos mine (Amiantos mine), an area with enormous historical value which now hosts an extraordinary botanical garden with information about the flora of the area, a seed bank of endemic species and also a plethora of evidence for 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. The building is an impressive listed structure and an example of fine architecture with historic characteristics and features that hosts, among other things, exhibits of rocks and minerals, a maquette of the geology of the area, depicting sites of geological importance and interest (faults, mines, geo-trails, etc.), informational panels and a conference room where the visitor can watch documentaries, of the significance of the geology of the Troodos mountain range.
OPENING HOURS: Weekly 09:00-16:00, except Monday
ADMISSION: Adults €3 Children €2. Special prices for groups over 10 people.
Click here to visit the webpage
OPENING HOURS: Weekly 09:00-16:00, except Monday
ADMISSION: Adults €3 Children €2. Special prices for groups over 10 people.
Click here to visit the webpage
