Trozena is a small and abandoned village belonging to the district of Limassol. Its ruins are found on a “mild” slope that is surrounded by high mountain peaks. All the houses have been transformed into ruins and the only construction that is still conserved and found in good condition is the church of Agios Georgios.
The church is buil west of the village, on the edge of a deep gorge. From the forecourt, a visitor may observe the whole valley of Trozena that some confluent of Diarizos has created.
Upon travelling to Trozena from the west, where the valley of Diarizos is found, the first thing you will notice, is the “virgin” landscape created by the river. There is dense vegetation, composed of Alder, Platanus, Terebinth and many other kinds of trees and it will “accompany” you along the five kilometre road, until the metal bridge which takes you to the village itself.
The old, metal bridge, is a “miracle” of engineering. It joins the shores of the river and provides safety to vehicles carrying up to 8 tons of weight. If you see it from the riverbed, you will have the impression that you are “standing” in the air. It is a construction excecuted by an English engineer that served the English occupational army.
Upon reaching the village, you will notcie the absolute abandonment. Houses without doors and windows. Yards filled with vegetation. I you take a look closer, it will give you the impression that the residents left hurriedly from it. There are flower pots at the houses' entrances that still bloom. In some homes you will see chairs and tables, just as their owners left them, they are still in the same position waiting for the people to come back.
On the east side, there is a magnificent phenomenon waiting for you. Headwaters of thousands of cubic metres well out from the rock found among the huge, ancient Platanus trees. The water comes out of its mouth with force and it starts its superficial journey towards the river of Diarizos.
During rainy periods, when the continuous rain saturates the infinit thirst of the limestones that make up the surrounding mountains, the water is gathered in a unique gorge that ends up in the same area were the “wild” headwaters gush. The amount of water becomes excessive and after it covers a distace of 200 metres, it overflows the small and narrow bed created at the headwaters. When you reach the area of the church of Agios Georgios, a few dozen metres west, you will see the water precipitating into the deep gorge and then a magnificent phenomenon takes place. Multiple waterfalls give incredible images.
Unfortunately this view does not last more than 2-3 days. When the superficial waters of the rains stop flowing, the waterfalls disappear. Only the flow of water from the headwaters remains, but this is not enough to create a “visible” waterfall. It gets lost in the beautiful, dense vegetation of the slope.
In the same area, next to the church, on the waterfalls of Trozena, or as they are also called the “waterfalls of Paradise”, there is a cave. The access to it is not easy. In the olden years, the cave hosted a great number of fuit bats (Megabat). The settlers of the villages of the area, thought that the bats destroyed the fruit production of their fields. They closed the entrance of the cave with the help of a net and they succeeded to kill all the animals.
We would like to thank the former Mukhtar of Trozena, Mr Giorgos Poukamisas who served the village for thirty years, for the precious help he gave us upon our stay in the abandoned village, as well as for the important information he provided us with.
In order to reach this small, hidden paradise, you should descend the road of Agios Nicolaos towards Paphos. After you pass by the villages of Praitori and Kedares, you should continue going straight until you find the road sign guiding you to take the left exit, with the indication for the villages of gerovasa and Trozena.
In order to get to this small, hidden paradise, you should go downhill on the road from Agios Nicolaos to Paphos. After you pass the villages of Pretori and Kedares and continue going straight until you find the road sign telling you to take the turn on your left with the indication for the villages of Gerovasa and Trozena.
Follow the road and in 3 kilometres you will see the abandoned Turkish Cypriot village of Gerovasa in the valley on your right.
Keep going straight uphill and in 1500 metres you will see the metal bridge above the river. Do not be afraid of the metal bridge with the wooden coating. It can take up to eight tons of weint on both axes. Pass over it and in 500 metres you will get to Trozena.
From the entrance of the village, your car can get to the headwaters and from there on to the church. The raod's condition throughout the journey of about five kilometres is very good and accessible to all types of cars, except those exceeding the weight of eight tons, due to the bridge.
Watch the video of our visit:
