About Xyliatos Dam

Xyliatos dam is located in the Nicosia district in the heart of the Troodos mountains, near the village of Xyliatos at an elevation that places it well within the forested mountain zone. Completed in 1982 with a capacity of 1.4 MCM and standing 21 metres tall, the earth-fill dam captures runoff from the northern Troodos slopes — a catchment characterised by dense state forest, rocky terrain, and reliable winter snowfall at the higher elevations. This forested catchment gives Xyliatos a relatively stable hydrological character: the tree cover intercepts rainfall, slows surface runoff, and promotes groundwater recharge, smoothing the flow of water into the reservoir compared to bare or agricultural catchments. The surrounding pine and golden oak forest belongs to the Troodos State Forest, one of the largest protected forest areas in Cyprus, which limits agricultural encroachment and helps maintain the catchment's ecological integrity. Xyliatos primarily supports local agricultural irrigation in the foothill villages below the reservoir, including the small-scale viticulture and vegetable growing that characterise mountain communities. The reservoir and its surrounding forest have become an established destination for hikers and nature walkers from Nicosia, offering accessible mountain scenery less than an hour's drive from the capital. A marked nature trail circumnavigates the reservoir, passing through mature pine woodland and offering views across the Xyliatos valley. The dam is modest in scale but its mountain setting and forest environment give it a character quite different from the lowland reservoirs of the Mesaoria plain or the coastal dams of the Paphos district, contributing to the landscape value of this popular recreational zone.