Jeita Grotto

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Jeita, Beirut, Lebanon

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Hiking, Outdoors
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Jeita Photo - Jeita Grotto, Beirut, Lebanon

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Jeita Grotto

by Mandan Lynn

Smithwick, South Dakota

November 27, 2010

Even when Laura suggested we go here, I wasn't sure what to expect. Since I had friends in Lebanon, I didn't do a lot of pre-trip planning as far as what I wanted to see -- I mostly just wanted to see them and figure it out from there!But we paid ...Read more

From journal Getting Lebanoned

Jeita Grotto

by HobWahid

Damascus, Syria

February 3, 2005

Best of IgoUgo The Jeita Grotto is a little piece of Disneyland inside Lebanon. A series of spectacular gaves that cut deep into the mountains north of Beirut, Lebanon, has put all its effort into turning this natural wonder into the sort of tourist haven you ...Read more The Jeita Grotto is a little piece of Disneyland inside Lebanon. A series of spectacular gaves that cut deep into the mountains north of Beirut, Lebanon, has put all its effort into turning this natural wonder into the sort of tourist haven you imagine you would have found back on old Route 66. Still, besides all the cheese and pomp pumped into the site, it is well worth a visit because the caves truly are fantastic.

Just a 30-minute drive from Beirut, the Jeita Grotto is easily accessible as the start of a longer day trip to the north. You must keep in mind, though, that the site gets absolutely packed with tourists in the summer months, and your best bet is to show up just at opening (around 9am) to ensure that you have the cave almost to yourself. The area where you park isn’t the real entrance to the caves, but instead you have to walk past a few souvenir shops and cafés before you arrive at the ticket booth just below yet another téléphérique (gondola). The guides insist that you take the gondola up to the top, which is just ridiculous since it is probably a 500-meter walk, but that is the way it works. Upon arrival at the top, after your "magical" ride on the gondola, you will be ushered past a few more souvenir shops before entering into the actual cave area.

The initial entrance to the cave, where you must check all cameras, is a long concrete tunnel with sliding glass doors that looks like it is more the entrance to some secret military bunker than a cave. Once you pass through the concrete entrance, however, and land on the floor of the cave, all that doubt and sarcasm from before disappears. The cave really is gigantic, full of enormous stalactites and stalagmites. Not surprisingly, the path is set for you along a concrete floor, but looking up at the ceiling of the cave, it is easy to lose yourself in its wonders. The developers of the Jeita Grotto exerted enormous effort in lighting the cave in an impressive series of yellows, pinks, and blues that accentuate the curves and crevices of the cave. Pushing along through the 800m of the cave, it is funny to think that during the Civil War this was used by the Christian militias as a store for munitions. Once you have had your fill of the cave, you exit and then descend down to the lower cave.

The lower cave is smaller but equally impressive simply due to the fact that it has a river flowing through it. The Grotto has conveniently set up small motorboats with drivers who will take you a few hundred meters up the river so that you can get a good look at the size of the cave. Sure, it is a bit cheesy, but that doesn’t mean it’s not fun. Close

From journal Lebanon: Playground of the Middle East

Jeita Grotto

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Jeita Grotto

Jeita Grotto