Middle East - Anthony Ham [377]
La Bastide ( 505 320, 03-643 010; d/family r US$60/80) On the road towards Beiteddine, around 1km from Deir al-Qamar, this lovely, airy, flower-patterned place makes a great base for exploring the Chouf. Ask for a room with a view over the valley, or a family-sized room with three beds and a kitchenette.
Al-Midane Café ( 03-763 768; sandwiches & salads from LL6000; 10am-late) A lovely choice for light meals and lingering on Deir al-Qamar’s central square, this place has live music at summer weekends until midnight and beyond.
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LEBANON’S CEDARS
The most famous of the world’s several species of cedar tree are the Cedars of Lebanon, mentioned in the Old Testament, and once covering great swathes of the Mt Lebanon Range.
Jerusalem’s original Temple of Solomon was made from this sort of cedar wood, and the ancient Phoenicians, too, found it appealing for its fragrance and durability. Such a long history of deforestation, however, has meant that today, just a few pockets of cedars remain in Lebanon – despite the tree appearing proudly on the nation’s flag.
Of these remnants of a once-abundant arboreal past, the best places to view the remaining cedars of Lebanon are either at the Chouf Cedar Reserve, or at the small grove at the Cedars ski resort (Click here) in the north of the country. Still, with plenty of reforestation projects going on, there are hopes that Lebanon will one day be forested by its beautiful, long-living national emblem once more.
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GETTING THERE & AWAY
Service taxis from Beirut to Beiteddine (see Beitedinne Palace, Click here) can drop you at Deir al-Qamar en route.
Chouf Cedar Reserve
The largest of Lebanon’s three natural protectorates, the Chouf Cedar Reserve ( 05-502 230; www.shoufcedar.org; admission LL5000; 9am-7pm) comprises an incredible 5% of Lebanon’s total land area. Within it are ancient rock-cut fortress remains as well as six of the country’s last remaining cedar forests, some with trees thought to be around 2000 years old. More than 200 species of birds and animals (including wolves, gazelles and wild boar) inhabit or regularly pass through the area.
Tragically understaffed, not all parts of the park are open to visitors, so your best bet is to head to the ranger hut at the Barouk entrance, near the village of Barouk. Here, you can get advice on hiking trails (there are eight currently open to the public, ranging from 40 minutes to four hours), peruse the locally made produce at the shop, and employ the services of a guide for an enlightening tour of the Chouf Cedar Reserve.
If you’re not coming here by your own car, negotiate a taxi fare from Beiteddine, some 10km away. If you want to stay overnight in the area, contact the Association for Forests, Development & Conservation (www.afdc.org.lb), which operates a forest ecolodge around 7km from the reserve.
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BEKAA VALLEY
The fertile, pastoral Bekaa Valley is at once famous for its magnificent archaeological sites at Baalbek and Aanjar, and infamous for being the homeland of Hezbollah (Party of God), along with crops of ‘Red Leb’, high-quality cannabis. Heavily cultivated over millennia (it was one of Rome’s ‘breadbaskets’), it’s actually a high plateau between the Mt Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges, less agriculturally burgeoning than in centuries past, due to a combination of deforestation and poor crop planning, but with plentiful vineyards slowly gaining an international reputation for their wines. Though you’ll see Hezbollah’s yellow flag fluttering around Baalbek, you’ll find the locals (a mixture of Christians and Shiites) a welcoming lot and the attractions of the valley as intoxicating as its vintages.
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ZAHLÉ
08 / pop 79,803
A cheerful and bustling town with some nice riverside restaurants and a holiday feel in the summer months, Zahlé makes a great lunchtime or evening stop on the way between Beirut and Baalbek, or even an alternative base for exploring the Bekaa Valley if you find its happy atmosphere and cool climate