CAZA:
Keserwan
600 to 750m
Etymology:
Latin origin, "Augusta" which would refer to the emperor Augustus, or Syriac, "Gousto", meaning "shelter"The village of Ghosta stands proud on a hillside of Keserwan’s mountain. Like an eagle’s nest perched in a preserved nature, it plunges steeply over the sea and offers a breathtaking panoramic view of the Jounieh bay and the coastal villages. Its beautiful stone houses and its old monuments, such as the 17th-century Ain Warka school or the historic Kreim monastery, trace the history of the Maronites in Mount Lebanon. Despite a rapidly urbanizing environment, a simple stroll along its tree-lined streets and its charming staircases fills one’s senses with delight and tranquility.
Must-do things
- Ain Warka school built in 1660
- Saydet Nesbay monastery
- Kreim monastery founded in 1720
- Mar Semaan church
- Mar Youssef church
- Beit el-Bitar, former seat of the kaymakam at the time of the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate
- The pine and oak forest surrounding the village
- The green valley plunging into the Jounieh Bay
- Ghosta summer festival held from August 28 to September 1st, on the occasion of the feast of Saint-Simeon
- Dahret el-Zeitoun: the ideal starting point for paragliding
- La’moucheh: a restaurant located in Ghosta offering Lebanese cuisine
- The ruins of Qalaat Faqra, encompassing a Roman temple dating from the year 43, and Kfardebian’s Natural Bridge
- Jabal Moussa Biosphere Reserve which became part of the UNESCO Network of Biosphere Reserves in 2009
- Jeita Grotto in Nahr el-Kelb valley, an exceptional cave whose lower part was inhabited in prehistoric times
- Kfardebian ski resort