Mtein - Mchikha - Jouar El Houz - Kfarselwan - Tarchich - Aintoura

Wonderful hike in Metn district. I strongly recommend it for hikers searching for lot of adrenaline! Good hiking shoes, long pants and hiking poles are strongly recommended. This hike is physically demanding and includes 3 difficult sections reserved for advanced hikers (about 10% of the hike). I'm rating this hike "very difficult" because of these sections (check below). For hikers who prefer to stay on trail (and there is no harm in this), you can avoid these off-trail challenging sections (see below) and still enjoy the beauty of this hike.
Starting from Mtein square, we followed the LMT section 16 to Mchikha then down to the valley (tough descent but on trail). After a short part on the road, we started our ascent to Jouar el Houz. This forest trail is one of the most beautiful trails of the LMT. Take your time to enjoy the beauty of this section. After about 350 m of ascent, we reached the first farm in Jouar El Houz. Soon after this waypoint, we left the LMT and continued on unblazed trails with thick bushes. The trail vanished before reaching the valley and this is where started the first difficult section. The descent is steep and slippery with trees and bushes blocking the way. The beauty of the valley (wadi el Qattara) is worth the effort and the riverbed forms beautiful "mini" waterfalls. After the river crossing, we went up again off-trail then down to cross another dry riverbed (not always!) before climbing a hill leading to Kfarselwan. If you want to avoid this tough section, stay on the unblazed trail and catch the road leading to Kfarselwan to continue on my recording at the northwestern side of the town. The trail around Kfarselwan is very nice without technical difficulty. The view of Mount Kneisseh is breathtaking. As the adrenaline levels were decreasing here, we followed the trail down to the valley to start the second difficult section of riverbed crossing and ascent to Tarchich. The riverbed was dry at this time of the year but this crossing may become impossible when the river is running. If you want to avoid this difficult part, don't go down to the valley. Instead keep going straight following the contour of the hills and make a loop to the east to reach Tarchich. This will add more distance tou your trail (same for kfarselwan section detour). Once we reached Tarchich, we recovered our energy with an easy village walk before starting our 3rd descent. The trail till the last house of the village is easy but from this point, the descent is off-trail, steep slippery before catching the trail in the valley. I do not recommend this section. Instead follow here my other trail on wikiloc named "Aintoura (El Metn) - Tarchich". You will stay on trail without any problem. A beautiful old stone bridge will help you cross the valley to start the easy ascent to Aintoura. No more difficult sections till the end of the hike. On the way up to Aintoura, beautiful sceneries all around especially that it was around sunset time. After a walk in Aintoura, we took several footpaths and dirt roads to reach Our starting point in Mtein. Enjoy the trail and stay safe!