Day 2: Aitanit to Rashaya, Trekking the Lebanon Mountain Trail

On the second day of our four-day trek along the final stretch of the Lebanon Mountain Trail (LMT), we walked from the village of Aitanit at the western edge of Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley to Rashaya to the East. The journey took about 7 hours during which we crossed 17 km (11 miles). The most impressive feature of this particular stretch was the feeling of being dwarfed by Jabal el Sheikh (Mount Hermon), the highest peak in the Anti-Lebanon mountain chain. This mystical mountain, which sits at the corner of Lebanon, Syria, and Israeli occupied Palestinian land, has been considered sacred by various cultures and religions since antiquity. According to local belief, the mountain is the site of the transfiguration of Christ. It is also said that the mountain was the first to emerge after the Noah’s biblical flood. We began by descending to the valley floor where the contrast between the snow-covered mountain and the greenery below was overwhelming. We then crossed over the Litani Dam [Read more...]