Avakas Gorge, Cyprus - Nature's Wonder

There are times sometimes when you encounter nature and the realisation dawns on you, how magnificent and majestic it is, how man is dwarfed by its size, how short-lived he is compared to its timelessness and how insignificant is anything he can create compared to its sheer magic, power and beauty. It also makes you admire how nature patiently sculpts its wonders over millions of years and what a tiny insignificant speck man is in the whole scheme of things.

It was one such humbling trip we made to Avakas gorge in the Akamas peninsula of Cyprus.
We turned in from the Toxeftra beach, short of Lara bay, to go onto the dusty road impressed by the gigantic honeycomb rocks which almost looked like giant termite hills. There was a sheer drop to the canyon as we drove the short distance up to the parking for the gorge in the merciless June heat. As we walked up along the dry river bed to the music of crickets and numerous other inhabitants of the bushes, even though we had seen pictures of the famous gorge, we had no idea of the imposing sight that awaited us.

Avakas gorge is at the start of the Akamas peninsula's South coast and has  been formed by the action of the Avakas River over millions of years. The rocks are characteristic of the area, mainly reef limestone and chalk. The access is not very well developed; the road is unpaved and narrow at times but being set away from the concrete world adds to its charm. The whole area is very rich in Cyprus flora and fauna and being a designated nature trail, all the rocks and plants, some endemic to the region, are marked.  Besides the sweet smelling oleander that I recognise, I made a list of flora from the little name plates attached to them- lentisk, junipers, styrax, pine trees, cypress, plane trees, fern, giant reed, tamarisks, carob and olive trees.  Fauna, I could hear a variety of bugs and insects, could see crows, pigeons and partridges and came face to face with and had a long conversation with a herd of mountain goats showing off their skills and sure footedness by standing on a ledge which did not look wide enough to accommodate their tiny hooves. There were also hundreds of butterflies of all shapes, sizes and colours.

The gorge itself is simply magnificent. The magical display of light and shadows is unlike anywhere else on the island. The photos, like I discovered later too, can only give you a small idea of the beauty of this wonder of nature. The most publicised picture of the gorge that of the big rock stuck between the two sides high up and when you look at it, it does make you both amazed at the bounty and variety of nature and cower in fear at the awe inspiring sight. 

The gorge is daunting to say the least, each ledge and outcrop of rock looks as if it will tumble with slightest of tremors,  and the base of the gorge only a few feet wide, it does give you a hemmed in feeling....in a good way.

The mood of the place changes every minute of the day, every day of the year: so much so that it was different when we were walking to one end and it changes from a bright, lively, chirpy, golden gorge into a shadowy, furtive, grey gorge by the time we came back in an hour.