This is a whole different side of Lebanon, and worth the trek out to the north of Mount Lebanon. I went there on a day tour with Nakhal Tours, a popular and well-organized tour company from Beirut which I had also used for Baalbek/Anjar. There are public buses too, to the town of Bcharré for example, but it would be too much to visit the monasteries and the cedars in one day that way.

We first drove up in the mountains, already enjoying fine vistas over the Qadisha Valley and the villages around it with their large churches and red-roofed houses. I had seen snow on the mountain tops on my way to the Bekaa Valley too, but here you're much higher (about 2,000 m above sea level). There are ski resorts also. No wonder the 'Forest of the Cedars' was covered in snow about 1 - 1,5 meters high. The 'Forest' is a pitiful patch of a few hundred trees, leaving some of my fellow tourmates wondering why we had travelled for hours to just see that. It is quite a touristy spot however, the road along the forest is packed with souvenir stalls. There were other tour buses full of Lebanese daytrippers also.

After half an hour or so, having photographed every single remaining cedar, we went back into the bus to descend into the valley. This is an exciting ride, as we had a big touring car bus and the road is very narrow and winding. All around there are cliffs, with lots of small caves in them. Some of those were used by hermits and other refugees. We went to a bigger monastic site: the Monastery of St. Anthony of Kozhaya. Most of the constructions here are relatively recent (pretty nonetheless!), but they all originated in the cave here too. The main cave can be visited, and it is still used by women praying to become pregnant and (after a succesful pregnancy) coming to give thanks by donating pots and pans.