Sannine (Berland - Cross - Jouret el Tannour - Jerd Sannine)

Another beautiful loop in Sannine highlands. Spring-like weather in winter and unusually little snow at this time of the year. Starting just before Nabeh Sannine, we started our climb the tough way via "Berland route": 550 m ascent in 1.5 km. There's no trail here but the ascent is not difficult for experienced hikers. Search for small bushes and bigger rocks for a better grip on this steep slope. Pebbles will slow you down and should be avoided. Continue your way up to the "col" having the big rocks on your right all the time. Here you can enjoy the best sceneries ever especially the Bekaa valley, anti-Lebanon mountain chain, Mount Hermon, Barouk, Kneisseh, Zaarour, Bakish plateau, Baskinta and Wadi el Deleb, Beirut and the lebanese coast... The way continues north with a less steep ascent first for around 500 m distance/100 m ascent, then a steeper 800 m distance/250 m ascent to reach Sannine Cross. Take your time here to enjoy the stunning 360° view from mount Makmel north to mount Hermon south and from the Mediterranean sea west to Anti-Liban east. We continued our hike on the 4×4 trail to the east then south after an intersection (if you continue straight east, you can reach the "true" Sannine summit/ check my other trails). The trail here is easy and leads to Jouret el Tannour. Here, you can either continue south towards " Al Moutallat" (the army post) or go southwest to catch the ridge. The ridge walk is beautiful and we did part of it (check my other trails for the complete ridge walk) before starting our descent to the north. There's no trail here and some knees may suffer a bit. At a lower altitude, you will find trails and footpaths leading to the starting point. Hiking poles are strongly recommended. The overall distance is only 12 km (you will think that you did much more!) but distance doesn't mean a lot in the mountains, it's all about the vertical ascent, the slope and the type of terrain and Sannine mountain is the best example of this. Enjoy beautiful Lebanon, stay safe and keep it clean!