Caledonian falls, Troodos... with your dog

Sage and my sister at the Caledonian Falls

I thought I'd post a lovely cool, shady walk in the Troodos as a break from my previous factual posts. We had a day out in the Troodos mountains when my sister and her family came to visit us, in April. I haven't been back to this spot during the summer, so it may be that there are far more people around, less green, and less water... I still think this is a great walk for any time of year, with a small amount of water for dogs to cool off in, and plenty of trees along the way for shade.

There is a nature trail that begins along the road between Troodos resort and Platres (about 700m down from Troodos near the President's summer residence). This is a well known nature trail and you will see signposts along the road for 'Caledonia Trail'. This is a 3km walk, with a difficulty rating of 3 out of 3 (the most difficult).

Having young children with us, we decided not to do the whole trail, and instead parked the car in a parking area on the road just outside of Ano Platres (going towards Troodos). From here you can follow the river to the falls, and return again in about an hour (if you are not stopping to throw sticks for dogs, and rescue small boys from the top of rocks and trees...
http://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/fd/fd.nsf/332bcc13258c2619c2257059002420a8/46a246489c1cfc71c225705900245c19?OpenDocument - Walk no. 27.

There were a few parts that were a little difficult - a couple of areas of rock scrambling, and a broken wooden bridge - this would be a tough walk if you have mobility problems. The rest of the way is fairly flat, following the river (or through the river if you are a dog or a young nephew), with all sorts of interesting plants and trees to explore.

We met one other group along the way, the rest of the time we had the path and the falls to ourselves.

The waterfall is not very high (10m, I read somewhere), but it is quite dramatic. This is a very peaceful place that is a great place for dog walking in the spring (and summer, with a bit of consideration of other walkers).

On this trip, we also stopped in at a cafe in Pano Platres for a hot chocolate. We went to one of the few cafes that were open at this time of year - which is located on the 'square' on the left hand side as you drive up towards Troodos. I think it was just called Platres Cafe-Restaurant. They welcomed us inside the taverna with Sage, and were very friendly. During the busy summer season, it may not be so easy to sit at the cafes on this square as there is not much space, but it's good to know there is somewhere to shelter from the cold after winter hikes in the Troodos mountains.

See also the Cyprus Tourism Organisation page on hiking in the Troodos:  http://www.visitcyprus.com/wps/portal/!ut/p/c4/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3hXN0fHYE8TIwMDo0BLAyNDAyOvMD9jI08PY_2CbEdFAMx9ZCc!/?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/English__en/CTO+B2C/Tourist+Information/Experience/Sports+and+Leisure/Hiking/Hiking_at_troodos_mountains

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