Parko ton Ethnon — the Park of the Nations — is a picnic spot inside Athalassa National Forest Park, the 840-hectare green lung on the south-eastern edge of Nicosia, at about 150 m altitude. The name is literal: this is the corner of Athalassa where visiting heads of state and dignitaries plant commemorative trees. Drinking water is available and the site is laid out to be wheelchair-accessible, but note what is missing — there are no barbecue hearths and no playground, so it suits a spread-a-blanket picnic and a walk rather than a souvla afternoon.
The park around it is the city's outdoor engine room: some 20 km of walking trails and a separate 16 km cycle path, more than 300 plant species including endemics, and a recorded 173 bird species, with the Athalassa dam (built in 1962) and its bird observation point as the birdwatching magnet.
The trail connections are among the best in the network. Athalassa: Nations Park - Agios Georgios (about 3 km) starts right at the park, the two signed links to the main Athalassa picnic area — Athalassa: Picnic Area - Nations Park (short) and Athalassa: Picnic Area - Nations Park (long) — begin at the same lawns, and the Athalassa: Sculpture Park walk starts under a kilometre away.