Atalanti Trail 2020 Troodos Cyprus

We did talk to much :) and didn't care about track so we did lost fontain at 3km on my other Atalanti route one year before you able to find it.
https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/atalanti-nature-trail-troodos-limassol-cyprus-38159688
Trail is long but easy, no deep slopes or high elevation , exposed at most part by Sun , but until really hot months like July or August perfectly no matter exposed or not. At winter snow covered don't go easy to loose track or step into trouble.

Easy trail almost no elevation just long.. Beautiful trail I think I did love even more than Artemis Trail. This trail due to length will be never crowded :) Even in tourist season I did meat only a few people. The surface is rocky, good hiking boots, not harm... there is plenty of sunshine and shade as well. Benches are available often, even fresh water at 3km, one of the best water what I did ever drink. Taste is fantastic and cold! No difficulties at all, the part trail is ideal to a family walking. Easy to follow very well marked and maintained trail I think from this point of view best one on Cyprus.

Chromium mine what you able to see here:
The Hadjipavlou mine is the smallest chrome mine of Cyprus operated during the period 1950-1954 using underground exploitation methods for the chromite ore recovery. From this mine, approximately 1,500 tons of high-grade chrome ore was produced. It is estimated that from the three Chrome mines around the Olympus Mountain, approximately 1,200,000 tons of ore were extracted, which after it’s processing more than 605,000 tons of chromite concentrates were produced.

This trail took its name from the ancient forest nymph of the Atalanti forests, a famous hunter and runner, protected by the Greek goddess, Artemis. It follows a course around Chionistra at an altitude of 1700-1750m and passes through dense clusters of black pine of the Troodos mountains. It offers excellent views of many areas and villages of Limassol, Pafos, and Nicosia. Of particular interest is the entrance to the Chromium Mining Gallery, which has been in operation since 1982. At a distance of 3km from the starting point, there is a natural water spring with drinking water and wooden benches. On the way, there are explanatory signs for plants, shrubs and also the characteristic Ophiolite complex of Troodos. The path starts from the Troodos Square and ends at the settlement of the Chromium mines at an altitude of 1750m. To return back to Troodos Square, one can follow the main asphalt road of Prodromos-Troodos or the forest trail, east of this road.

About the geology of Cyprus: The more widely accepted theory describing the geological formation of Cyprus refers to the subduction and plate collision of two separate tectonic domains, the northern Alpine orogenic belt, and the southern Eastern Mediterranean basin. The process is believed to have taken place in the Mesozoic Tethyan Ocean period (roughly, 90 million years ago). Key evidence in favor of this theory is the juxtaposed series of fragments of oceanic and continental crust, with oceanic crustal fragments preserved as ophiolite sequences, seen in various localities.

About the geology of Troodos: Cyprus was created at a convergent ocean-continent boundary. Troodos was created when the African plate subducted under the Eurasian plate, partial melt took place and magma rose from deep inside the Earth (a volcanic eruption). Troodos is an ophiolite formed above a subduction zone. The crustal sequence of Troodos consists of plutonic complex, sheeted dyke complex and pillow lavas. Troodos is rich in several minerals, including copper, umbers, ochres, chromite, and the lethal asbestos deposits. Copper is the predominant mineral and has been mined and exported since ancient times. Its chemical name in Latin (Cuprum) is said to be related to the name of the island (Cyprus).
The Troodos Ophiolite Stratigraphy and subdivisions, from lower to top, are as follows.
The Troodos ophiolite consists of 3 subdivided units: the structurally deepest but topographically highest Plutonic Complex; the overlying and surrounding Sheeted Dyke Complex; the stratigraphically highest Pillow Lava Series, which forms a discontinuous ring around the Troodos massif. On top of the ophiolite, we find the Umbers unit. Described in a 2-sequence division, the Troodos ophiolite is made up of the lower Mantle sequence and the upper Crustal sequence.

source: https://cyprus-strollers.org/activities-description/troodos-atalanti-walk-sunday-8-november/