The river Serrachis is the third biggest river in Cyprus. It has a length of 55 kilometres, from its sources, until its estuary at the sea of Morphou, and it enriches the aquifers of many villages of Nicosia and a part of Morphou.
Serrachis is a worldwide phenomenon as far as it concerns the number of tributaries it has. From the north slopes of the mountain range of Troodos, dozens of small rivers begin, that are initially connected to two bigger ones, Peristerona and Akaki. In their turn, they connect with each other north from the Peristerona and Akaki villages, and form Serrachis, that continues to a meandric journey through the orchards of the fields of Morphou and a little before its estuary at the sea, it connects with the river Ovgos, the only river in the area that has its direction from east to west.
The river’s journey towards the sea is interrupted 4 times, due to the dams that have been created by the government of the island. Apart from the enrichment of the aquifers, Serrachis gives a lot to agricultural production, in all the villages that it meets during its journey. Big and small canals, take the water to fields and orchards.
The river causes awe with its bed’s size, that is huge compared to the small area of Cyprus, and can be a pole of attraction during all the seasons, even those when it is empty. Hundreds of species of Cypriot flora and fauna can be found on its shores, while its environment changes constantly.
It has been chosen to be included in the programme “Nature 2000” for its biodiversity. However, this does not prevent some unscrupulous people to take their garbage there.
Thanks to the river, the bones of the Saints Barnabas and Ilarionas have been discovered, since its water unburied the casket that kept them for many years. This is how some settler of the area noticed the casket and collected it, while he was at the estuary.
