Beauty of Roudias river caught on camera (photos)

The forestry department led an expedition last week to study Roudias river in the southern part of the Paphos forest, with Agriculture Minister Costas Kadis among the 22 participants.

In a Facebook post, the forestry department called the expedition “a once in a lifetime experience, rich in knowledge and emotions”.

The expedition is part of the forestry department’s frequent missions to explore lesser-known aspects of the Cypriot flora and fauna. Previous expeditions have explored the ‘Mavri Kremmi’ area in Paphos forest and ‘Kiparissia’ river in Limassol forest.

The hike along the river lasted eight hours, covering 12.6 kilometres. Officials noted down all of the area’s important environmental characteristics, encountering some rare and important endemic species.

Fauna spotted included the Mouflon (Ovis gmelini ophion), the Bonelli’s eagle (Aquila fasciata), the northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), grey wagtail nests, (Motacila cinerea), the Cyprus whip snake (Hierophis cypriensis), and freshwater crabs (Potamon potamios).

Officials also noted spotting plants like Origanum cordifolium, Phlomis cypria occidentalis and Hypericum hircinum.

The expedition has been filmed and footage will be used for a documentary.