The mountains are home to Troodos Station, a listening post for both the American National Security Agency and the British GCHQ.

[9] These mountains slowly rose from the sea due to the collision of the African and European tectonic plates, a process that eventually formed the island of Cyprus.

The slowing and near-cessation of this process left the rock formations nearly intact, while subsequent erosion uncovered the magma chamber underneath the mountain, allowing a viewing of intact rocks and petrified pillow lava formed millions of years ago, an excellent example of ophiolite stratigraphy.

The observations of the Troodos ophiolite by Ian Graham Gass and co-workers was one of the key points that led to the theory of sea floor spreading.

[2] The most ubiquitous trees in the Troodos mountains are the Turkish pine (Pinus brutia) and the golden oak (Quercus alnifolia).

[2] The venomous Cypriot blunt-nosed viper (Macrovipera lebentinus lebentinus) is present in the mountains,[2] as well as a bird population including the common raven (Corvus corax), Bonelli's eagle (Hieraaetus fasciatus), Red crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) and the Eurasian griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus).