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I stumbled upon this article in The Daily Star this morning about wine tasting in Lebanon mentioning companies that organize tours to wineries in the Bekaa valley and the north, in addition to the most famous wineries to visit.

A visit to one of these places will definitely offer something different and more cost-effective than the overrated night life experience and overpriced beaches in Lebanon for both locals and tourists.

Where to go:

Chateau Ksara

Open every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tours and tasting sessions are available without an appointment, although it is recommended to call in advance. Appointments can also be made for tours of the wine-making process. Contact: +961-1-200-715
Website: www.chateauksara.com.lb

Chateau Massaya

For vintage aficionados, Massaya offers tasting of library wines no longer available on the market, for which calling ahead is preferred. Open Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. during the summer months. Opening hours are shorter during the winter. Contact: +961-8- 510-135
Website: www.massaya.com

Chateau Kefraya

A visit to Chateau Kefraya’s 430-hectare grounds incorporates the winery’s Treasures Room, which includes wines dating back to the chateau’s late ’70s beginnings. Guided visits are available every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Contact: +961-8-645-333
Website: www.chateaukefraya.com/

Chateau Musar

Lebanon’s most-loved wine export, Chateau Musar is created in the cellar of a 17th century castle in Ghazir, Mount Lebanon. Tasting sessions and tours can be arranged by appointment. Contact: +961-9-925-056
Website: www.chateaumusar.com.lb

Photo via CD Traveller.

This post should be more like “Freeze Batroun! I will shoot you!” because all the photos below were taken early in October at Batroun, but since none of Batroun landmarks appear in the photos, and due to the fact that I intended to capture photos for the people enjoying the last few days of the Summer in 2009, this post is going to be freezing the end of summer! (And yes I’m 1 month late on publishing it, shame on me!)

Enough with talking, let’s move to the photos.

*The last photo was taken on the same day from Shikka.

Today’s episode of “Freeze I will shoot you” is brought to you from a nice village called “Balaa” in Tannourine, located around 70 kilometers from Beirut. I went there 10 days ago with some friends under the guidance of Mireille (from Life Geeked), who showed us a lot of nice places in both of Batroun, Tannourine, and Laklouk. So Balaa was actually just a stop on a one day road trip.

Balaa is very famous for its 250 meters deep natural sink hole that  has been carved by water 160 million years ago! According to Mireille, a magnificent waterfall can be observed during winter and spring with water vapors rising up to the surface, so I’m definitely going to revisit Balaa again.

Moving to the photos…

There’s a distance of around 300 meters separating the sinkhole from the main road, and yes you have to walk to get to it.

And we’re gettig closer..

And here we are! The photos actually do no justice to the location. What appears like a shade in the middle is actually is small waterfall.

As you can see, the place IS dangerous, the edges are a bit slippery and you really don’t want to risk falling down.

The bridge in the middle is reachable, and the below photo is taken from its top.

Yep, 250 meters deep!

The location is suitable for a picnic by the way, but camping is forbidden as per the ministry of environment.

Check out this report by Cal Perry from CNN about the summer season this year in Beirut. So far this is the best summer after more than 4 years of continuous political instability that has started with PM Rafic Hariri assassination and ended with the 2009 elections 2 months ago, and Beirut is literally on fire with the countless events this summer, not to forget the booming nightlife everywhere in the country.

I loved how Cal Perry ended the report “This summer, the world is partying on the shores of the mediteranean”.