Filenews 2 February 2026 - by Angelos Nikolaou
Five years after the decision of the competent authorities to keep the forest road from the Baths of Aphrodite to the Amoroza Fountain closed to private vehicles, as part of the operation of the Akamas National Forest Park (SAR), the Department of Forests returns with new plans to improve this road.
A new information report submitted to the Department of Environment on September 3, 2025, concerns the improvement of the existing forest road from the point of Loutra tis Aphrodite to the point "Kakoskali", with a total length of 1,800 meters. According to the Department of Forests, its improvement will make the road safe for use by the public and official vehicles. It will also allow the faster and safer intervention of the fire brigades in the event of a fire incident in the northern part of the Akamas SAR, as well as the safer evacuation of the visitors of the Park.
The proposed project includes point widening at points of the road (in parts) with a total length of 430 meters, so that the final total width along the road is 5 meters, of which 4.5 meters will be the road surface where the vehicles will move and 50 centimeters to install the road safety parapet. The existing road has a width ranging from 3 to 6 meters, with an average of 4 meters. Also, after the completion of the widening, where and where required, the road surface will be covered with a graded mixture of gravel and sand of category B (Crusher run B), enriched with soil stabilizers such as lime or cement.
According to the Department of Forests, although there is a lined safety parapet installed in a small part of the road, it is proposed that a new type of safety parapet be removed, and a safety parapet lined with wood be installed.
The information report notes that no security walls, supports or ditches will be built. In two to three parts of the road, it is added, Irish concrete crossings will be built to drain rainwater to main argakia.
This issue has been discussed since June 2021. In the Special Ecological Assessment Report (EOA), it is stated that the minimum possible widening with double-lane roads should have a road width of 4.8 meters. Exceptions are the streets Loutra Aphrodite – Fontana Amorosa and Laras Circular with a road width of 3.5 meters and Aspros Potamos – Lara – Gioni with a road width of 5.5 meters. On roads where the existing road width is larger, it will be limited to 4.8 meters.
According to a legally binding term of the HOC for the Akamas SAR Sustainable Development Plan, which was issued by the Department of Environment in June, as well as an essential condition of the Opinion of the Strategic Environmental Impact Study (SEIA) for the Akamas SAR Sustainable Development Plan, which was issued by the Department of Environment on September 20, 2021, the road Loutra tis Aphrodite – Fontana Amoroza should already be used exclusively by:
>> The staff of the Department of Forests, the Department of Environment, the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research, the Game and Fauna Service and the Paphos District Administration.
>> The staff of other public services, after first informing the Department of Forests.
>> The organized transport vehicles (park shuttle) of the visitors of the Akamas SAR.
>> The vehicles of landowners along the road and those where access to their plots is from the said road, as well as other private individuals after obtaining written permission from the Director of the Department of Forests.
It should only be used by competent Services and specific users
On 26 September 2024, the Department of Environment issued the EOA Report on the preliminary works for the normalization of the three-point road surface of the Baths of Aphrodite – Fontana Amorosa road, in the context of the maintenance of forest roads, which fall under the Akamas SAR, as well as in the Natura 2000 network areas Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and Special Protection Area (SPA) Akamas Peninsula.
According to the conclusion of the EOA Report, "the road Baths of Aphrodite – Fontana Amoroza is a road that has historically had access problems and a number of accidents, due to the erosion of the road surface by rainwater. Therefore, the Department of Forests from time to time proceeded with the maintenance of the road, so that visitors and fire trucks could move safely, since the road is one of the two roads that can lead to specific areas of the Akamas Peninsula, such as the Blue Lagoon and the Amorosa Fountain. The implementation of the Akamas SAR Sustainable Development Plan provides for the closure of this road, so that it can only be used by competent services and specific users in the area." According to the EOA Report, "the evaluation concerns only the maintenance of the road for safe passage. The issue of vehicle type restriction concerns the design of the SARP more broadly and not the present application. The closure of the road as provided will be implemented together with the implementation of the Plan where there will be the appropriate provisions for the correct implementation." Taking into account the above, the views of the members of the Ad-hoc Committee for the EOA and the specialized experts on road construction issues, 15 legally binding conditions are set to avoid any potential negative, irreversible effects.
It is noted that, following the submission of relevant complaints by environmental non-governmental organizations, which participate in the ad-hoc committee for the EOA, on March 11, 2024, an EDA Supplementary Report was issued for Phase A of the road network of the Akamas SAR, within the Natura 2000 network SAC and SPA Akamas Peninsula. Subsequently, on August 12, 2025, a Compliance Report was issued in accordance with the terms of the EDC Supplementary Report for Phase A of the Akamas SAR's road network.
The submission of the relevant Information Report by the Department of Forests raises reasonable questions and serious concerns as to the fact that this road should have already been closed for private vehicles, including four-wheeled motorcycles (pigs), based on the EOA Report and the SEIA Opinion on the Akamas SAR Sustainable Development Plan. Instead, and while an EOA Report has already been issued for the preliminary works for the normalization of the three-point road surface of the Baths of Aphrodite – Fontana Amoroza road, in the context of the maintenance of the forest roads of the Akamas SAR, the Department of Forests returns with a new application for further improvement of this road.
