The Cedars Ski Resort Lebanon

The Cedars Ski Resort    Faraya Mzaar Ski Resort

Overview of The Cedars -
The most beautiful ski resort in Lebanon.
This has much more of a middle eastern flavour. It is utterly beautiful and the lift managers are charming opening ski lifts upon your arrival, but it is laid back and not the resort for dedicated skiers. It is better as a cross country ski resort. However, that said there are some good runs from the top and the top is accessed by a single seater chairlift that is in need of some modernising. You go to the Cedars for the ambience. There is a lovely restaurant at the bottom of the slopes - you can leave your shoes at the shop while you ski, then change and walk downhill on the old road, no longer used by traffic and enjoy the spectacular views. The Cedars is good snow fun with plenty of winter sports diversions like paragliding, or skidoo treks, snowboarding, snow shoeing etc and not to be taken too seriously! (From here you can also descend into the Kadisha Gorge to trek but you will need a guide).

Resort Location: Also in the Mount Lebanon Range north of Faraya Mzaar. The resort is a 2 hour drive from Beirut, but only an hour from Tripoli, which is definitely worth a visit when travelling from one resort to the other. The drive up to the Cedars is through some of the most beautiful scenery in Lebanon. 

Ski Lifts: The resort is in a huge basin and it is impossible to get lost, so there is no lift map. There are only 4 snow wire lifts for beginners, 4 T bars (that parallel each other) so really two T bars as regards the amount of slope that they give you access to.  There is also a one seater chairlift right up the mountain (which allows for good off piste around the basin.) There are plans to upgrade this, but it is not in time for this season.

Altitude: The resort is at 2150m with the single chair extending up to 2700m. 

Ski season and recommended time to visit: The road up to this resort can be tricky at times, so we recommend that if your chief reason to visit Lebanon is to ski, that you concentrate your skiing efforst chiefly on Faraya Mzaar. If you can spare a few extra days in Lebanon, then this resort can be factored into your itinerary, provided, if the road is inaccessible due to snow conditions, that you accept that your itinerary might have to be altered at the last minute. If you are holidaying in March you would be very unlucky if the road conditions were bad - this would be the time to visit this resort.

Ski standard and alternative snow sports: This is a good place for beginners, but for intermediates and advanced skiers it is only really good for a day. The joy of the Cedars is that it is utterly beautiful when the sun shines and the view from the top of the chairlift surpasses anything you could imagine. 

The off piste around the basin is challenging, but be warned that the chairlift only runs in good weather.  It is also only suitable for intermediates and advanced as it is difficult to get on and off. 
An alternative if the skiing bores the advanced skier is to try hiring snowboards or cross-country skis instead.  Otherwise skidoos can be hired at $30.00 (around £20.00) per half-hour and are riden out on an undulating basin, well away from the ski area. 

Ski Pass: This costs $17 per day during the week and $24 at weekends. A half day after 12.00am is $10 during the week and $17 at the weekend.

Another exciting alternative is a skidoo trip back over to Faraya. This needs a guide and arranged collection. If interested we can organise this in advance for you and get you a quote that will obviously be cheaper, depending on the numbers of takers in the party. Paraskiing is also an option run by a private club, so if you were interested, this would need to be organised before your departure. 

With this resort there are wonderful hikes in the Kadisha Gorge. You can trek along the side of the gorge and climb into the ancient Maronite chapels (built in caves in the rock face), which is an experience in itself. Although the skiing is not at all comparable to Faraya Mzaar, this is such a fascinating area of Lebanon that it is worth staying for two days if you can to get a feel for it. 

Ski Hire: This is of a international standard and the shop is right on the slopes, so you can ski back down and drop off your skis for the night. The cost is again $10.00 (around £6.50) per day and you can if you wish hire cross-country skis, snowboards or snowshoes as well. 

Nightlife: Again, like Faraya this is not up to much during the week, but at the weekends it is buzzing. 

Accommodation: This is in the 3 star Hotel Chbat, which is excellent and should be more than 3 stars! Monsieur Chbat, who is a fantastic host, has created a lovely ambience. It is positioned in the pretty village of Bcharre, 15 minutes from the slopes, but again transport is laid on.  If the weather turns bad, it means there are no delays in getting away to go sightseeing. 

Food: You are not going to do better than the home cooking that comes out of Monsieur Chbats kitchen. We have had two of the best meals ever in Lebanon in his care. They are not really fancy but the taste is fantastic. The price is very reasonable at $15.00 (£10.00). There are also a couple of good restaurants around $23.00 (£15.00) up by the slopes and a café on the slopes but again beer and wine are expensive.

So what can we see when we get there?