jeita grotto

Torn between war and the calmness of nature, Lebanon strives hard to establish tourism in their country. As they solve issues against the ranged parties, the country never fail to be a home for their tourists. One of which is Jeita Grotto, a subterranean river located at the Valley of Nahral-Kalb north of Beirut. Being in the run to be one of New Seven Wonders of the World, Jeita Grotto shows various rock formations, stone curtains and vaults of stalactites and stalagmites. The grotto has two parts, the upper cave where the gallery is located and the lower cave where the underground river is found.

Discovered by Reverend William Thomson in 1836, this asian tourist spot was maintained by Mapas, a German company that renovate and maintains the cave. The cave was closed when the Lebanese civil war arise in 1978 leading the use of both upper and lower galleries to store ammunitions and the building outside the cave served as the office for military. It is opened again for public in 1995 and became one of Lebanon's treasured destinations.

One of the cave's attraction includes the Pantheon where you can write your name and your experience in touring the cave on a piece of paper, put it in a bottle, seal it then place it on top of the stalagmite. This stalagmite is found at the lower cave together with other stalagmites such as the Grand Chaos and the Shangri-la. In the upper cave, you will find the White Chamber where you can see the longest stalagmite in the world that measures 8.2 metres (27 ft) along with other formations such as columns, mushrooms, ponds, curtains and draperies. Once you get here, you will wonder how nature sculpted this one of a kind masterpiece.