The Cedars of God (in Arabic: أرز الربّ‎ Arz ar-Rabbis) a small patch of Lebanon cedar forest located on the slopes of the Jebel Makmel mountain, at an altitude between 1900m and 2050m, five km from the town of Bcharre. Lebanon is famous for its cedar forests, but due to extensive logging cedar forests are nowadays very rare in Lebanon and Cedars of God is one of the few spots where there still are original cedar forests. Some of the trees are 1500-2000 years old and up to 40m tall. 375 old trees are left, but currently reforestation efforts are ongoing. Near the forest there is a ski resort with six lifts. This is in operation from December to April, depending on the snow conditions. The Cedars of God have been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1998.
How to get to the Cedars of God
The simplest way is to drive by car or take a taxi. From the coast it takes about 1-1:30 hours to reach the Cedars of God. The road from the coast continues across the mountains to the Bekaa valley.
Accommodation
There are several hotels at the Cedars of God, most of them for people skiing in the area.
01 Cedars of God village 02 Cedars of God forest 03 Cedars forest 04 Cedars of God forest 05 Lebanon cedar tree
06 Lebanon cedar tree 07 Snow covered Cedars of God forest 08 Cedar trees in winter 09 Lebanon cedar tree 10 Cedars of God forest
11 Cedars forest 12 Road to Baalbek 13 Road to Baalbek 14 Terraced landscape 15 Terraced fields
16 Terraced fields 17 Terraced landscape 18 Jebel Makmel mountain
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