CAZA:
Jbeil
1400m Etymology:
Syriac origin, "Ain Qouro", meaning "the cold spring"Aaqoura is a village in Jbeil where the natural beauty is both wild and tamed. Set on a plateau at the foot of a mountain, the village overlooks apple terraces and steep valleys that seem driven into an endless flow on one of Lebanon’s largest estates. Circular ponds run through this unique rural landscape like lost moons in an enchanted valley. Aaqoura is famous for its exquisite juicy apples, the Roueiss grotto with countless galleries and its rock-cut church, a remnant of a Roman temple.
Must-do things
- Mar Edna historic church
- Mar Saba church
- Mar Jeryes church
- Mar Semaan church
- Mar Boutros wa Boulos church, dug into the rock and founded in the 4th century
- The former convent Saydet el-Habes located at the top of a hill with a panoramic view of the village and its surroundings
- Roueiss grotto, considered as one of the largest of Lebanon with its countless galleries dug by the only action of water
- The valley and the irrigation ponds creating an unusual landscape
- Water sources including Roueiss source
- The typical apples of Aaqoura and the annual harvest
- A pilgrimage in the 42 churches village
- The hiking trail, section 11, Aaqoura-Afqa, of 20 Km (LMT association)
- A hike in Mar Edna forest
- The ancient Roman path: a day’s walk from Aaqoura to Yammouneh
- The Shangri-la hotel’s restaurant: a good Lebanese and international cuisine in an iconic hotel in the Laqlouq region.
- The Laqlouq region, ideal for hiking, and its ski resort
- Afqa grotto and its spring gushing on the side of a mountain top
- Yanouh temple dating from the 2nd century B.C, in the nearby village of Yanouh
- Jaj Cedar Forest, home to multi-century cedars scattered among the rocks, remains of one of the oldest cedar forest reserves in Lebanon
- The Roman temple of Machnaka in the village of Almat
- The labelled villages of Tannourine and Chatine
