On the highest mountain peak of the forest of Machairas, at Kionia, you will find the picninc area “Kionia”. It has a capacity to host 550 people and it occupies the slopes on the east and west sides of the road.
It is an organised place with cooking equipment for food preparation. The tables and their seats occupy more than 7 altitudes and this is because the slope on which it is organised, is steep. This is also the beauty of this place. It gives you isolation from the rest of the excursionists since there is only one line of banks.
There is a natural source, that the Department of Forests - the creator of the space - transformed to a tap for the best service of the excursionists. This water is potable and always cold and refreshing.
The surrounding area is mostly consisted of a thick pine forest. The canopy created by the pines, is interrupted at some points by the leaves of the huge chestnut trees that, with their gold green leaves, give another colour to the forest.
The upright trunks of the cypresses, rise as masts among the pines and the chestnut trees, while on the lower part of the forest, Latsia dominates.
In order to get to the picnic area of “Kionia” there are two wonderful journeys. The first one is from the entrance of the village of Skarinou. You go uphill towards Lefkara. From there you carry on towards Vavatsinia. At your entrance to the residential area, you follow the right turn and carry on straight until you find the picnic area.
This journey is at its most through a pine forest and at most of its points you can park and observe the east and south beaches, as well as many villages of this area.
From Skarinou, until the picnic area, the road is uphill and very easy.
The second journey is the one from Kapedes. It is a journey with many surprises and changes. Until when you are only a kilometre away from the Monastery of Panagia Tou Machaira, you will have passed by the picnic area “Mantra tou Kampiou”, you will have “descended” to the Pedieos’ riverbed, you will have seen the chapel of Agios Onoufrios. On your left, on the peak that dominates the Monastery, you will see a huge statue of the Golden Eagle. Until that point, the road is relatively easy, even though the turns are quite “tight” at its most.
If this part of the road has boosted your adrenaline, the rest 7 kilometres until the picnic area, will make it get to the maximum. You will ascend a mountain whose slopes are practically vertical. On the turns you will think that you are seeing Cyprus from plane view. Lythrodontas, Kampia, Kapedes, Analiontas, the dams of Tamassos and Lythrodonta, you will see all of them in one.
As you will be ascending the mountain that is made of ingenous rocks of the doleric group, that are actually impenetrable. You will see and admire dozens of small sources that have each created their own torrent and all of them make the sources that “give birth” to the greatest river of Cyprus, Pedieos.
This journey, no matter how difficult it may sound to you, it is probably the most beautiful you can find in Cyprus. This is valid for those who like difficult and extreme things.
From the picnic area, the Path of observation of nature “KIONIA - PROFITIS ILIAS” begins.
If you decide to take a trip to Kionia and its picnic area, bear in mind that:
1: You should not cut wildflowers
2: You should not bother wildlife
3: You may only light a fire in the specially equipped places
4: Once you are done with food preparation, the carbon that is still on should be disposed of at a special point that exists especially for this purpose.
5: You should not throw garbage in the forest, since Kionia gives water to dams that ends up in the houses of people
6: You should not carve on tree trunks
7: Before departure, you should try to bring the place back to the condition you found it, gathering all possible rubbish that you may have accidentally dropped under the tables.
8: You may think that the picnic area is not guarded due to its position. In reality someone is keeping an eye on it from very close.
