By Grade 6

Jeita Grotto Jeita is one of the loveliest

tourist attractions in Lebanon. From it’s to it’s stalagmites to it’s stalactites the cave took thousands and thousands of years to be made. This natural outcome of water and pressure created a two part cave. The bottom which you travel through in a boat, and the top part that you can walk through. It is 120 meters (390 feet)at the highest point. There are about 10,000 visitors a week. Each person is bound to be pleased with the sight their eyes met.

Jeita Grotto is the jewel of tourism in Lebanon offering to its visitors qualified modern services and accommodation in harmony with a fascinating nature. It creates a magical trip to tourists enabling them to spend a day of wonder-filled adventure by being carried away from a tangible world to a wonderland where are found 2 fabulous grottoes full of unimaginable beauty and mystic ! It is a source of attraction for tourists discovering the mysterious world in the heart of the earth.

The “Touristic Site of Jeita” gathers all elements of nature such as stone, water, trees, flowers, air, animals, etc… with a touch of culture and surrounded with a verdurous environment. It is one of

the most impressive and interesting natural sites in the world.

INSIDE THE CAVERNSIn summer you can visit both the upper and lower galleries while enjoying the refreshingly cool temperature inside the caves. The lower section is sometimes closed in winter when the water level is high, but the extensive upper galleries are open all year.Plan on about two hours for the tour, which includes a boat ride through the lower galleries, the visit to the upper galleries on foot and a film presentation.The Lower Galleries   This part of the cavern takes you to a beautiful underworld millions of years in the making.Both the 600-meter boat trip on a subterranean lake is only a sampling of the system that has been explored for almost 6,910 meters.The first impression is the sound of rushing water and a sensation of clean cold. But the roar of the waterfall at the entrance gives way to profound silence as you glide deeper into the cave. An effective new lighting system illuminates expert rock climbers-and marvel at the columns and sculptures fashioned by those great architects-water and time.

Getting Around Jeita     Leaving your car in the parking area, you purchase entry and parking

tickets. From here the fun begins with a short ride up the mountain in one of four Austrian cable cars.    If you prefer land transportation, a Disney-like "train" pulled by a small replica of a steam engine makes regular runs up and down the hill between the parking area and the upper galleries.     Near the entrance to the upper galleries is an air conditioned theater which has scheduled showings of a film about Jeita in several languages. Check which time the language you want is shown so you can coordinate the film with your visit to the cave.    The tickets you have bought double as access cards and are inserted at the entry gates of the upper and lower galleries and for the cable car. Also keep them handy for the train and the theater. When departing, your parking ticket is needed to exit the gate.    The facility has several restaurants, snack bars and restrooms as well as souvenir shops selling Lebanese handicrafts. Open Tuesday through Thursday from 9 am to 6 pm and Friday through Sunday from 9 am to 7 pm. Closed on Mondays, unless it is a national holiday.

Cedars of Lebanon The Cedars of Lebanon

are famous, and not just because it is one of Lebanon’s symbols. The beauty of the trees are un-definable. As you walk across the land full of cedars and snow. During the winter time a ski resort is opened on the mountain. Four Cedars at Arz el Rab (Cedars of the Lord) have gotten to 35 meters high. Their trunks are about 12 to 14 meters around. It truly is an amazing sight to see.

t more than 1.800 meters above sea level, the Cedars of Lebanon fascinate with their majesty and great age. Known for their long lasting wood resistant to temperature, humidity and decay, the trees were widely exploited in antiquity. In the Phoenician era, cedars wood was exported in bulk, mainly to Egypt and the Phoenician colonies of the Mediterranean.

King Solomon ordered large quantities of cedar wood from king Hiram of Tyre to build his temple in Jerusalem. The Egyptians used the wood for shipbuilding and making sarcophagi, while they employed the cedar oil for mummification.

Intensive exploitation of the Cedars continued through the centuries until their numbers were seriously diminished. Of the immense forests that once covered Mount Lebanon, only few isolated reserves remain today in Jaj, Tannourine, Ehden, Barouk, and Maasser el-Chouf.

The most famous cedars are undoubtedly those of Bsharreh, many of which are hundreds of years old. Four of these trees, estimated between 1.500 and 2,000 years old, have reached a height of 35 meters and their trunks are between 12 and 14 meters around.

With branches positioned like arms at prayer, the so-called Cedars of the Lord are their most impressive when seen under layers of white snow.

The resort of The Cedars near Bsharreh is also known for its excellent skiing and the exceptional view of the Quadisha valley seen from the highest slopes.