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Guide >Hiking Trails >

LMT 20 Maasser el Chouf - Niha

  • NATURE & ECOTOURISM
  • SPORTS & ADVENTURE
  • hiking

Maasser el Chouf, Chouf district

Trail length 12 km

North to South
From Maasser el Chouf to Niha
Total ascent 548m 
Total descent 681m
Level of difficulty Challenging

South to North
From Niha to Maasser el Chouf
Total ascent 681m 
Total descent 548m
Level of difficulty Difficult

From Chouf Cedar Park, start your walk along the paved road towards Mresti village. Once you leave the village, take a left turn and then a right to start climbing up a dirt road. Go past the concrete water reservoir and then take the footpath to the left passing by Ain el Zghire. Continue on to the ridge line before descending until you reach a dirt road. Walk downhill and turn left at the first dirt road before passing the stream and walking uphill along another dirt road until it becomes a partially-concealed path. Continue downhill again and take a left turn onto another dirt road before starting to climb towards some beautiful geological formations. Keep walking along the dirt roads, passing by a hill lake on your right-hand side and continue towards the village of Mrousti. Walk into the village and climb up to take the footpath to another dirt road and follow it towards a farm before arriving at the Ain Chaachouaa spring. Cross by the spring and follow the dirt road before taking a footpath which passes near the pine forest up to rocky saddle where you start a steep decent towards the valley. Then follow the water canal to reach the main square of Niha village.

Important to know
- There are no difficult passages along this section; the trail consists of dirt & paved roads and footpaths.
- This section is marked. This section goes through the Shouf Biosphere Reserve.
- If you plan to walk alone, please inform the LMTA about the dates of your trip at info@lebanontrail.org and ask for the GPS track.
- For your stay, contact the guesthouse or the guide a few days before you start your trip.

Getting there
To reach Maasser el Chouf and Niha, take the coastal highway south to Damour. From there take the road to Deir el Qamar (دير القمر) and Beit ed Dine. At Maasser Beit ed Dine, go right and continue through Baqaata (بقعاتا) to Moukhtara. From Moukhtara go east to reach Khreibet, Mresti, and Maasser el Chouf and then south to reach Jbaa, Niha and Baadarane. All roads are paved and public transportation is available. You can access the LMT from any of these villages.

Source: Lebanon Mountain Trail Association