2022-05-21 Deir El Qamar - Kfar Qatra - Deir El Qamar

A wonderful trail that should be trekked in March/early April to avoid the heat; especially, the elevation average is around 700 meters.
The trail started from the Minshiyyi area in Deir El Qamar and snaked between thick bushy hills and on the edge of cliffs overlooking the sleep towns in the Chouf valley; you could also enjoy the view of the Mediterranean.
The objective of the trail was to reach the Kfar Qatra Rock (a.k.a. sin Um Saeed - Um Saeed's Tooth) - a hanging rock (see pictures) that overlooks the Chouf Valley and the surrounding villages.
On our way, at the outskirts of Kfar Qatra, we came across Lavender Getaway, a nice well done restaurant with wonderful views. The owner, Rudolph, welcomed us in and refilled our water bottles before we moved on.
Next to the Lavender Getaway, lies the wellspring and ruins of the Kfar Hammil village (it was destroyed in the 1956 earthquake and its inhabitants moved to nearby villages) where campers set up their tents.
After Kfar Hammil we reached Kfar Qatra. The Kfar Qatra town section was pavement. One of the hikers is a native and she was kind enough to point to us the landmarks and shared her childhood stories. At the end of Kfar Qatra the trail became a cow path named the Yatoun road (kiln road - kilns were in almost every town and were used to convert rocks into white plaster to be used in painting homes). The Yatoun trail was an uphill and connected us with the Sin Um Saeed trail. After the rock, the trail became a dirt road leading us back to Deir El Qamar passing by Fareed EL Bistany Hospital and the St. Abda monastery.
A wonderful hike with a wonderful group.