Cedrus libani is on the Lebanese flag, on the currency and in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Forests once covered much of the mountain range; they were cut for Egyptian temples, Phoenician ships, Solomon Temple, Roman fleets and Ottoman railways, and by the twentieth century only fragments remained.
The Cedars of God
Horsh Arz el-Rab above Bsharri at 2000 m is the most famous grove: a few hundred trees, some of them over a thousand years old and a handful possibly much more. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. A stone wall built in the nineteenth century by the Maronite patriarch protected the grove from goats, which is why it survives. A chapel stands among the trees and a small museum explains the history.
Tannourine and Chouf
The Tannourine reserve, north of Byblos, holds a denser and healthier forest of around 60,000 trees and is far less visited. The Al-Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve south of Beirut is the largest protected area in the country at 550 square kilometres, roughly five percent of Lebanon, and contains three separate cedar forests including the Barouk grove, with marked trails and guides.
The threat
The cedar is under pressure from a warming climate that is pushing its viable altitude band upward, from insect outbreaks that were previously controlled by cold winters, and from tourism development at the tree line. Reforestation programmes have planted hundreds of thousands of seedlings, but the trees grow slowly and the survival rate depends on rainfall.
Walking
The Lebanon Mountain Trail runs 470 km from Andqet in the north to Marjaayoun in the south, through 76 towns and villages, and passes several cedar groves. It is walked in about thirty days or in sections, with village guesthouses along the way, and is the best way to see the mountains at the pace they deserve.
Practicalities
Bsharri is three hours from Beirut and can be combined with the Qadisha Valley below it. The Cedars area also has Lebanon main ski resort, so the road is maintained in winter. Entry to the groves is a small fee and walking off the marked paths is not permitted.
What the tree is
Cedrus libani grows to 40 m with a flat spreading crown and can live well over a thousand years. It is not a true relative of the American cedars that share the name. The wood is aromatic, resists rot and insects, and that combination is precisely what made it worth shipping across the eastern Mediterranean for three thousand years.