Among the 6 ski resorts officially in Lebanon, the resort of Kfardebian, also called Mzaar or Ouyoune el Simane is the best known, in particular as one of the closest to the capital and benefiting from the largest ski area in the country. Middle East.
The resort of Kfardebian remains the most popular, with a ski area that is now expanding thanks to the modernization of its infrastructure. You can ski there in the morning and in the afternoon to return in the evening to Beirut, only 40 kilometers away.
The station, itself located in the locality of Kfardebian being on 850 hectares and has 80 km of tracks, located between 1,850 meters and 2,800 meters of attitude.
It was born in the 1960s, on the initiative of a group of snow sports enthusiasts, including Sami Geammal, Emile Riachi who had installed a first ski lift there.
In 1961, a year later, they bought 160,000 square meters to continue the development of the resort.
Things will then be organized quickly, with, in 1963, the creation of the Company of Winter Sports and Tourism Mzaar Kfardebian which will be acquired in the 1980s by the Saudi group al Mabani.
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The highest points of the station are among the highest in Lebanon with the exception of those of the Cedars station.
One can in particular reach the summits known as Mzaar, followed, Wardeh which was opened at the end of the 1990s and Jabal Dib.
From these peaks, skiers have a magnificent view on a clear day as far as Beirut on the one hand and even the Cedars on the other.
It should also be noted that the summit of Mzaar includes a Roman temple which was totally destroyed during the civil war and whose stones were even stolen without anyone knowing their fate until now.
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Getting there
Additional tourist activities
The region also has many tourist spots that can be seen after a good day of skiing. One can notably see the natural bridge of Faqra or even further, the famous Roman site of this same locality which includes a guard tower as well as a religious sanctuary counting the Roman temple with the highest attitude in the world and a church. Byzantine and which is at the very location of the beginning of the Nahr Kalb Valley.
It is an entire complex whose first constructions even go back to the Phoenician civilization.
Also, you can go to the nearby town of Faraya where a giant statue of St Charbel has been installed and which has become a place of pilgrimage.
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