A few years ago, few people knew about the picturesque waterfall of Kritou Terra, located in the Paphos area.
But after pictures of this unique attraction went viral on social media, the popular path to the waterfall is no longer overgrown.
After realising how much money they could make from tourists visiting the waterfall, the local municipality decided to introduce an entrance fee. Each car now has to pay two euros, and each person in the car one euro.
The reason given for this initiative was that it would help to reduce the costs - around 350,000 euros a year - of maintaining the area around the waterfall. The town council pays the rent for the car park, which belongs to the church. But the municipality didn't stop there. Last year, the mayor's office submitted an application to the Ministry of the Environment to create a tourist infrastructure around the waterfall. The project included: a parking area for 103 cars, a kiosk, sanitary facilities, an autonomous photovoltaic station and a fence around the car park.
Due to the project's proximity to the Special Protection Area of the European Natura 2000 network, a special study was requested, on the basis of which the Ministry of Environmental Protection issued a negative decision.
In particular, the experts stated that the construction and operation of the project in question would have a significant, irreversible negative impact on the area around the waterfall and that the project could therefore not be carried out.
It should be noted that a special committee was set up to examine the application, which included representatives from the Ministry of the Environment, the Forestry Department, the Hunting and Wildlife Service, the Ornithological Society of Cyprus, the environmental organisation Terra Cypria and the Federation of Environmental Organisations of Cyprus. In this way, the area around the famous Kritou Terra waterfall will remain untouched.
Kritou Terra is a small village near Paphos, surrounded by vineyards. It is situated 500 metres above sea level. The village overlooks the bay of Chrysochous. It is famous for being the first casino on the island during the Ottoman Empire. There were 12 water mills in the village. The waterfall, which has become particularly popular with Cypriots and foreign tourists in recent years, is located on the river Kremiotis. It is considered one of the most picturesque places on Aphrodite's island due to its microclimate and lush vegetation.