Last Sunday, I went on a hiking trip in one of the most breathtaking reserves in Lebanon : the “Jabal Moussa Biosphere Reserve “, A five hour hike from the village of Mchati to the village of Qehmez.

Chouwen by Nadim Kesserwani

Jabal Moussa Biosphere Reserve (JMBR) is located in Kesrouan District, Lebanon, on the  western slopes of Mount Lebanon Chain  overlooking the Mediterranean Sea to the West. It covers an area of 6500 hectares, at an altitude ranging between 350 meters in the North-West and 1,700 meters to the South-East. Jabal Moussa is surrounded by 7 main villages: Yahchouch, Qehmez, Jouret el Thermos, Nahr ed Dahab, Ghbale, Aabri, and Chouwan.

Cultural heritage

Jabal Moussa and its surroundings present spiritual and historical sites, all of them integrated in their natural environment.
Such sites include: Adonis Valley as the site of death of god Adonis according to Phoenician mythology, Roman Stairs in Mchati and Ghineh, rock carvings by the Emperor Hadrian dating back to the 2nd century AD in Mchati and Broqta where certain types of trees were ordered to be protected, the remains of old houses isolated in the mountain, an abandoned Ottoman settlement comprising a water mill, farms and an olive press by the river in Chouwan, a Byzantine Church that includes a mosaic in Ghineh, the Adonis rock in Ghineh showing the killing of the God Adonis during a hunt, the Mar Geryes Monastery built on the remains of a Roman temple and a cross erected at the mountain summit in 2000.

Carvings

Natural heritage

JMBR presents a rich cultural and natural heritage. It is home to at least 727 flora species, out of which 26 are endemic to Lebanon, and 6 to Jabal Moussa. It is also a Global Important Bird Area (IBA), and more than 137 migratory and soaring bird species have been recorded so far.

Flora

My mom and I during the hike.