Lebanon Mountain Trail Trek

We’ll be received at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport by our LHO Team Leader and shuttled to Jezzine, the southernmost village and starting point of our trail. Please book your inbound flight to arrive before 2pm in order to join the shuttle to Jezzine. In the evening we’ll be hosting a welcome dinner at the restaurant of our beautiful guest house to introduce the team to each other and to explore the first element of our adventure: The food! A gear check will be conducted later in the evening to make sure that everyone has whatever they need for the days ahead.

After breakfast, we’ll load up our luggage in our transport, throw our backpacks on and start walking into the upper edges of the pine forest. The edge of the forest is known locally as the “Jered”. It’s where the forests of the lower altitude meet the dry regions of the higher mountain altitudes. We’ll be walking along the cliff tops of the Jered and stopping at the Niha fort, a historic hermitage used by the legendary Fakheredine. From there, we’ll head to our lunch spot before making our way towards the beautiful town of Maaser El Chouf.

After breakfast we’ll head straight out onto the trail and make our way up into the Chouf biosphere reserve, home to 3 interconnected cedar forests that make up the southernmost Cedar forest in the world. The start of the day is the most challenging as we wind up through the trails towards the high point. From there, we’ll be crossing the mountain tops and moving from Cedar forest to Cedar forest with portions of Jered in-between. We’ll exit the trail at the end of the Barouk Cedar forest reserve where we’ll be picked up and taken down the road to our accommodation on the cliff top of Fallougha overlooking the beautiful Metn region.

After breakfast we’ll be shuttled to Chabrouh, gateway to the Northern portion of our trail. We’ll start with a walk around the lake of Chabrouh before moving up into the higher Jered that overlooks the entire Sannine mountain range. From there, we’ll descend down to Afqa cave, the 3rd largest accessible cave in Lebanon. There are also beautiful waterfalls around so bring your swimsuits! After the visit, we’ll be shuttled to our next guest house in a town called Assia.

After breakfast, we’ll visit Balaa sinkhole, a natural wonder of Lebanon, before making our way to the trail head at the foot of the Tannourine Cedar reserve. The trail starts with a short uphill into the cedar forest before turning North towards the adjacent valley of Bcharre. The highest mountains in Lebanon will be towering above us at altitudes reaching 3000 meters! The trail will end at the highlands of Hasroun village in Bcharre to check in for a short break at our next guest house. We’ll be ending the day with a sunset walk through a small Cedar grove that is home to the oldest Cedar trees on the planet and it is said that King Solomon built his temple from the bark of this forest. That’s why they are known as the Cedars of God.

Our last trekking day together will take us through the deep Qadisha valley, home to a series of hermitages built into the rocks. It is said that one of them is the eldest Christian hermitage known to exist. We’ll follow the valley floor and its river until the town of Fredis. We’ll then continue on the trail for 3km until we reach the Monastery of Qozhaya. From there, we’ll be transported to the town of Ehden where great food and a beautiful guest house await!

After breakfast, we’ll be shuttled to the airport to catch our flights back home. Make sure to book your outbound flight from 12pm onwards.