Bisri Valley

On the way to Bisri

Sunday I went to a valley that I discovered last year; the Bisri Valley. It is on the same length as Sidon, but more inland. The Bisri river is locally better known as the al-Wali river. Only the upper part is called the Bisri. ‘It is 48 kilometers long, originating from the Barouk Mountain at a height of 1,492 meters and the Niha Mountain. The River has a discharge of 10.1625 m3/s, it forms a watershed that has an area of about 294 km2 . (source) I have no idea what that last bit of information means; watershed.

Bisri Valley

Cold cold cold water

The best part of this river is that the valley on its upper part is very difficult to reach, and virtually uninhabited. As a result, it’s very clean. The valley floor is wide and flat, almost like a plain, with some strawberry farms, orange groves, and pine and oak forests. The path along the river – formally a mule path - is unpaved, sandy, and runs through deep puddles and tributaries. All of this ensures that the place remains original.

Doesn't seem to bother them.

N. found a new friend

Hut  made of driftwood

 Bisri, where the road ends and the valley begins, is a very old christian village; the local church dates back to 1252 apparently. The crusaders were still in town those days, but their days were numbered.

The river was ice-cold- you can still see patches of snow up in the mountains, but for kids this is not much of an issue; we eventually had to pull ours out, all purple and blue. They built a hut from drift wood (with help from my SIL), while the adults hung around on a sandy river bank and did nothing. It’s amazing how slow my weekdays go and how fast my weekends. 

Through gullies

and little rivers