LMT 1 Qobbayat - Qammouaa

Trail length 15 km

North to South
From Qobbayat to Qammouaa
Total ascent 1200m 
Total descent 129m
Level of difficulty Difficult (5h30)

Leave the monastery and walk along the paved road. Continue following the marks until you reach the dirt road on your left. Then walk along this road and follow the water canal passing by Ain el Sitt spring. Continue on to the Deir Mar Challita monastery, crossing the paved road and passing by Nabaa el Abiad spring. The trail then crosses a pine forest and climbs toward Mar Sarkis and Bakhos church ruins. Continue on the dirt road than take a single track to Byout Zabboud, walk the hamlet and walk toward Nabaa Zabboud. pass the spring and start to climb toward the Black Forest passing by Ain Tabet and a hamlet, take a dirt road that will lead you to el Qammouaa plateau main paved road.
 

South to North
From Qammouaa to Qobbayat
Total ascent 642m 
Total descent 1216m
Level of difficulty Difficult

From Qobbayat el Qammouaa main road, follow the marking to an impasse then walk along the uncleared path to the dirt road. Continue along this dirt road until you reach a shepherd’s farm then continue along the uncleared path until you reach the spring of Ain Tabet. From there, follow the footpath downhill passing thru a pine forest. At the dirt road intersection, take a right turn and continue on downhill following the marks where the path is not cleared anymore. Continue over a flat rock formation until you reach the Ain Zabboud spring, then follow a water canal downhill until you reach some isolated houses on a dirt road. Continue straight on and then take a left turn and walk a few meters before taking a right turn along an uncleared dirt road until you reach the top of the hill. From there, walk along a tiny footpath that crosses a dry stream to the right and then follow the dirt road that will take you to Mar Sarkis and Bakhos churches. From there, take a winding path to the paved road, walk along it past a few houses before taking a cleared footpath that reaches Nabaa el Abiad spring. From there, take the paved road and enter the parking of Saint Chalita Church. Before reaching the metal door entrance, take the paved road to the right and pass a metal door before following a footpath that connects with a water canal. Continue until you  reach a dirt road leading to the resort of Graneroverde. Pass it and follow the water canal to the Ain el Sitt spring and from there, continue along it before going left onto the paved road which you follow as far as el Carmel monastery where section 1 ends.

Important to know
-There are no dangerous or difficult passages along this section; the trail consists of dirt and paved roads, footpath and goat trails.
- This section is partly marked (el Qoubaiyat side) - There are other way marking signs along this section (green and blue), if you are using the LMT trails stay always on the white and purple marking. 
- If you plan to walk alone, please inform the LMTA about the dates of your trip at info@lebanontrail.org and ask for the GPS track.
- If you wish to stay in any of the villages, contact the guesthouses or the guide few days before starting your trip. 

Getting there
Take the coastal highway northbound from Tripoli. At el Abdeh, take the right hand fork towards Halba. At Halba, you can either go left to el Qoubaiyat or right to Aakkar el Aatiqa and Tashea. Once you reach el Qoubaiyat, ask for “Les Demeures” lodge next to the Carmelite monastery. All roads are paved, and public transport is available to el Qoubaiyat and Akkar el Atiqa. The LMT is accessible from all these villages.

Source: Lebanon Mountain Trail Association