Belonging to the Bécharre region in the north of the Monte Lebanon chain, the area was added to the World Heritage List in 1998 due to its centuries-old history linked to the beginnings of Christianity.
Currently, UNESCO is promoting development strategies for the site through initiatives surrounding its steep paths, monasteries and cultural heritage. According to the agency’s Beirut office, the main goal is to create a positive economic impact on local communities through preserving the valley, training young people as tourist guides and preventing forest fires in Qadisha.
In this sense, the international institution, with the support of Italy, contributed to the restoration of three roads, two of which lead to previously renovated monasteries.
In addition to the Lebanon Mountain Trail, Unesco offers sessions on the history of the valley, the neighboring cedar forest, the importance of inscription on the World Heritage List, as well as first aid guidelines, equipment, mapping techniques or even climate change.
In addition to training tour guides, he taught city guards, civil defense members and young volunteers the best ways to avoid or contain a fire while waiting for firefighters to arrive.
The valley is home to most of the monasteries and hermitages from the period of the first spread of Christianity and its natural caves, almost inaccessibly dug into the slopes of the hills and decorated with frescoes, testify to an architecture specifically designed for the spiritual and vital Needs of a strict life.
Linked to Qadisha by historical reference and proximity, the Cedar Forest of God is one of the rare places where Cedrus lebani, one of the most valuable building materials of the ancient world, mentioned 103 times in the Bible, still grows.
In addition to the Qadisha Valley and the Forest of the Cedars of God, the ruins of Anjar (1984), the temples of Baalbek (1984), Byblos (1984), Tire (1984) and the Rachid are on the UNESCO list as representatives of Lebanon Karami International Fair in Tripoli (2023).
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