The river Xeros Morfou has its sources at the north mountain peaks of the mountains of Kykkos and mostly at the northeast forest areas of the villages of Kampos and Tsakkistra. It has its mouth between the occupied villages Xeros and Karavostasi, that are found on the gulf of Morfou.
The basin in which Xeros flows, receives a big amount of rain each year, resulting to the morphology of the ground to be to be transformed into deep and steep gorges, that get “lost” in the forests of Pine, Maple and of course the Cypriot Golden Oak trees. In these forests you will see many different kinds of trees and bushes.
From there on, the water is gathered in the riverbed of Xeros and it continues its journey towards the gulf of Morfou. From the point where it passes, it has formed a very deep and narrow gorge that does not exceed 50 metres of width.
If you are travelling towards the village of Kampos and take the road of Orkontas - Kampos - Pyrgos, you will find yourselves at this kind of gorge in ten minutes. This journey starts from the point of the bridge of Setrachos river, found at the end of the big downhill going to the valley of Marathasa. Just after the bridge, you should take the turn on your right and in ten minutes you will arrive at the valley of the river Xeros.
It is a landscape that is both scary and beautiful. Before you begin going downhill towards the river, park your car to admire the view towards the villages of Morfou, the sea of Morfou, and if the horizon has no fog, you will be able to see the mountain chain of Tavros of Turkey, with its permanently snowy mountain peak, Karamania.
From there on, continue going slowly towards the depth of the gorge, and at many points, there are parking lots and from there, you will be able to watch the river flow in the gorge, until the point where it flows into the dam of Kafizi, or as it is falsely called by everyone “Dam of Lefka” (the dam of Lefka is found in the direction of the river Setrachos and not Xeros).
This dam was built after the court’s decision that gave the right to the villages of the valley of Marathasa to use the water of the river Setrachos to irrigate their fields and rejected the claim of the Turks for the opposite.
To calm down the reactions of the Turkish settlers of Lefka, the dam of Kafizi was built, and it is found on the west of the village, using the water of the river Xeros, that until 1953 ran into the sea of Morfou.
