Lebanon is using hiking to teach tourists about the country, and its people more about themselves.
While informal hiking groups existed in Lebanon previously, the country’s 15-year civil war (1975–1990) kept people from moving freely about the country, and its aftermath left many hikers seeking the safety of experienced guides to help navigate the poorly marked trails and undetonated landmines that still litter the landscape.
Through Liban Trek and the LMT, Moufarege is working to create a new national hiking culture that aims to teach Lebanese and international hikers about the country’s diverse landscapes — from the wild oak and pine forests of the northern Akkar District to the lakes and vineyards of the Beqaa basin to the monasteries and chapels set into the mountainsides of the Qadisha Valley — while also to teaching Lebanon’s often-fragmented sects more about each other.
