| Jeita
Grotto 20km north
of Beirut

The 6200m long
cavern was discovered back in 1836.The are plenty of
grottoes with stalactites and stalagmites in the world,
but it would appear that none of them even approach
the astounding wealth or the extent of those of Jeita.
Over a distance of 650 meters, at two levels, the lower
one in a boat and the upper one on foot, following perfectly
made cement gangways, the tourist picks his winding
way through darkly forbidding caverns.
The
subterranean river:
The lower grotto is full
of the noise of water, through which you pass
in a boat managed by a mariner skilled at sliding
through the maze rocks. From the lower grotto,
where you arrive by car, you can take the teleferic
to the entrance to the upper grotto for an Alice’s
tour through Wonderland.

The
upper galleria:
The most striking, the
most spell-binding, is the upper grotto, where
there is only occasional drop of cold water
which is the result of niggardly drippings which
have gone on for thousands of years.
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