Baskinta - Wadi el Deleb - Zaarour - Dahr el Mtein - Majdel Tarchich - Aintoura - Wadi el Amine - Mamboukh

Epic hike combining selected sections of my past hikes around Zaarour mountain. It's a long hike with a considerable ascent. It's physically demanding and needs a lot of stamina. Have your headlamps because you will probably use them at the end of the hike. We started from Abdallah Ghanem Cultural Center in Baskinta and followed the Literary trail down to the river. An old bridge will let you cross the river. Pay attention while crossing the bridge, there's a "hole" on the left side, especially when you are on your way back at the end of the hike. From this point, prepare for a continuous ascent until the Zaarour summit (2000 m). The trail leads to Saydit el Khelli before continuing in Wadi el Deleb to the old church next to Zaarour - Sannine main road. After crossing the road, a long ascent will take you to the summit of Zaarour. It was cloudy, windy and cold. Always have a light fleece and a windstopper even in spring/summer. We continued our way north on the ridge and we encountered a peaceful "Levant rat snake," a rare and endangered snake. Beware of snakes while hiking but never kill any snake you may encounter (nor any other animal). You will have beautiful sceneries all around on a clear day: Wadi el deleb, Sannine, Kneisseh and Chouf reserve. The descent to Wadi el Manzoul and Dahr el Mtein is wonderful. It's like a carpet of green trees, grass and colorful flowers. We didn't visit "Fouwar Dara" which is not far (check my other trails). The trail continued to Majdel Tarchich where we had a short road walk before taking a trail again that runs under Aintoura- Majdel Tarchich main road. The trail here is beautiful, crossing many streams. Sometimes the path is unclear but not difficult to guess. This part of hike takes you to "Qattine Azar", the second deepest sinkhole in Lebanon (after Fouwar Dara). After visiting this beautiful place, we climbed towards the main road of Qattaret Aintoura. In the next section, we continued our ascent to Wadi el Amin to catch the LMT (section Mtein-Baskinta). This LMT section is very nice but tricky at some parts. A site of roman ruins is on the way. At some point, you will start following water pipes and there are metallic chains to assist you at some parts. LMT markings need maintenance here to avoid losing the right path. Try to finish the "pipes" section before sunset because some parts need a lot of attention. Once in Mamboukh, the trail goes down (knees may hurt after the long hike). You will finish your hike climbing back to the starting point. I recommend you finish your hike at Olac restaurant (take a taxi or call your friends) if you are tired or if it's already late (if you reach Olac less than 3 hours before sunset, i recommend exiting the hike at this point). Hiking the "pipes" part at night is risky. Enjoy this wonderful hike but know your limits. Kindly leave a short review when you follow any of my trails :)
Some important tips:

1- Start very early. We started at 6h55 but you can even start earlier to have more time before sunset.
2- Have a lot of water in hot weather. There are many streams and rivers on the way but no fountains. Better to have 3 to 4 liters. Having a water bag with a reliable filter is a good option as well in case you had to use streams water. We had the chance to hike with a cloudy, windy and cool weather limiting our water needs but this is not always the case!
3- There are 5 road exit points to leave this loop. You can plan your exit by leaving another car there or take a taxi/ride if your exit was unplanned. Remember that safety comes first in Hiking and never put yourself or put rescuers in danger if you are not feeling well completing the loop! Just enjoy the part you did and exit the trail safely!
4- Here are the exit points:
- At 6 km: when you reach the old church at Zaarour-Sannine main road
-At 13 km: when you finish your descent from Zaarour ridge, you will be close to Sannine- Tarchich road
-At 19 km: When you exit Dahr el Mtein you will be on Aintoura-Majdel Tarchich main road before taking the trail to Qattine Azar
-At 21 km: After Qattine Azar, you will cross again Aintoura main road while continuig to Wadi el Amine
-At 26 km: At Mrouj-Zaarour main road near Olac restaurant.
5- Wear long pants and good hiking boots. Gaiters may be a good option at some parts to protect your legs from reptiles bites in spring/summer season. Watch your steps at some parts. Respect the wildlife. Never kill any animal or reptile you may encouter. Just leave them in peace and continue your way. Remember that Nature is their Home and you are a visitor!