Wikiloc | 2019-10-04 Niha Forzol Niha Loop

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Photo of2019-10-04 Niha Forzol Niha Loop - Bekaa

Author

zahi.ramadan

with 1 trail buddy

10,914 276 1937

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Trail stats

Distance: 10.16 mi
Elevation gain: 3,094 ft
Technical difficulty: Difficult
Elevation loss: 3,094 ft
Max elevation: 5,036 ft
TrailRank: 59
Min elevation: 3,516 ft
Trail type: Loop

Time: 7 hours 52 minutes
Coordinates: 1726
Uploaded: October 4, 2019
Recorded: October 2019

1 Clap

near Nîha, Béqaa (Lebanon)

Viewed 1133 times, downloaded 23 times

Trail photos

Itinerary description

This is an exploratory hike; it started from Niha's town square next to the church. After a few hundred meters of the town's roads we hit an uphill steep slope for about 2 km with a 450+ elevation gain. The trail went downhill then through a series of down and uphill slopes to make it back to the cars. The trail went through beautiful Jurd (highlands) scenery passing by arid hills interjected by green patches of almond and cherry orchards. The trail also contained two Roman ruins sites and through a valley of beautiful La Piaz rock formation. The last 1+ km of the hike was through a newly "under construction" unfinished road that was steep, slippery, and dangerous; however, we all made it unscathed.
The break at the top of the mountain gave us an unfettered view of the Bekaa valley (silo of the Roman empire) and the quilt-like patches of earth colors.
The weather was hot for this time of the year; the high altitude did not help ease the heat.
I rate this hike as a difficult hike.

Waypoints

Go Left

Go Right

Roman Quarry

You find these quarries close to temples; it is amazing how the rocks are cut straight and in equal huge sizes.

Go Right

Habiss Cliffs of Forzol

These cliffs contain many caves and there are signs that these cliffs had multistory buildings using woods for the floors; this is obvious because of the many holes that fit wood beams at different levels. See pics below. This site also contains an underground cave with many tiny rooms.

View of the Bekka Valley

This is where we had our first break; top of the Bekaa with a 360 degrees view of the valley.

Go Right

Fork Road

Going up the La Piaz Rock valley; we turned around at this waypoint

Right to Temple

At this point you have a choice of going straight to enter the La Piaz Rock valley or take right to go to the Roman Temple ruins. Not going to the valley will take off 2 km from the trail.