Agios Georgios Kavkalou
Agios Georgios Kavkalou is a village of Nicosia in Cyprus and it is situated 60 kilometers southwest of Nicosia, 96 kilometers northwest of Larnaca, 80 kilometers north of Limassol and 125 kilometers northeast of Paphos.
Built at an altitude of 450 meters, next to the Elia valley, overlooking the Adelfoi Forest and the foothills of the Troodos Mountains, Agios Georgios Kavkalou of the few dozen inhabitants is bustling with rich natural landscapes and crops of olives, almonds, early apples and potatoes. surrounded by wild vegetation. In the summer, due to the cool climate and the people that have their cottages in Agios Georgios Kavkalou, the population is growing, reaching about 150 people. The name of the village is linked to a homonymous chapel that existed in the area and beneath which there was a cave where a monk lived. In fact, the icon of the saint was found in the cave. Due to the fact that the settlement is built in a “kavkalo (open plain)”, it is called Agios Georgios Kavkalou (or Agios Georgios Kavkallou).
According to historical sources, during the medieval times, there were two settlements in the area, Athasin and Kavkalon, while in the “Strogylovounaro” location to the north of the village, tombs have been discovered. The community began to be inhabited seasonally by residents of Kyperounta and other neighboring villages of Troodos during the Ottoman occupation, in particular in the 1830s, in order to exploit the lands of the region and find new pastures, especially in the summer months when the climatic conditions were unfavorable and the arable land insufficient. With the passage of time, the population increased and the settlement was used as a permanent habitation sight with stone-built small buildings.
Sightseeing in Agios Georgios Kavkalou consists of the centenarian olives, the beautiful examples of folk architecture in the stone-built houses of the village, the two green areas surrounded by pines, cypresses and carob trees, the small dam in the Malas area, and a millstone found in an ancient settlement. The Nature Trail of Agios Georgios Kavkalou gives the traveler the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful colors and scents of nature, as well as the flora and fauna in the area. The central church of Agios Georgios is located in the center of the community and at the highest point of the old residential core and was built in the 1920s, in the position of an older church. The one- aisled temple with four crossed domes and arches is not the only religious site in the village, as there are the traces of the old church of Agios Theodoros to the north and the ruins of the old church of Agia Paraskevi to the southwest in an inaccessible area within the “Adelfoi” forest. These ruins date back to the same period as Panagia (Virgin Mary) of Asino, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
To the east of Agios Georgios Kavkalou there is also the copper mine Alestou, part of which belongs to the neighboring Xyliato and which operated in the 1970s. As a matter of fact, its reopening can not be ruled out, since there are copper, iron and gold ores to this day. Today the site has iron pyrite rocks, while a small pond has covered the core of the mine.
If you find yourself in the area, it is worth visiting the beautiful Xyliato dam with its excursion area, which attracts many Cypriots and foreigners who come to admire the unique landscape with the dense pine forest and the rare Cypriot water snakes. Each overflow of the water dam turns many of its spots into a waterfall that usually lasts 2-3 months during the rainy season. The excursion area, located at the foot of the dam, can be visited by the public during its overflow from February to March, but also during the summer months.
The excursion area of Kapouras with the homonymous forest station, between Agios Georgios Kavkalou and Kannavia, is one of the most beautiful landscapes for someone to visit and enjoy nature and its food. There are wooden benches and tables, barbecues, stone water fountains, sanitary facilities and a beautiful playground.