{"id":6525,"date":"2026-10-11T13:52:28","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T18:52:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.madeinliban.com\/masser-el-chouf\/"},"modified":"2026-10-28T14:37:06","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T19:37:06","slug":"masser-el-chouf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.madeinliban.com\/fr\/masser-el-chouf\/","title":{"rendered":"Maasser el Chouf: Cedar Forest, Village and Shouf Reserve Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Old cedars on the mountain, a stone village below and the headquarters of Lebanon’s largest nature reserve: Maasser el Chouf is a full day in the Chouf.<\/em><\/p>\n

Place Information<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Region<\/th>\nChouf, Mount Lebanon<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Best time to visit<\/th>\nMay to November<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Time needed<\/th>\nHalf a day to a full day<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Good for<\/th>\nForest walks, families, village heritage<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Getting there<\/th>\nAbout 1.5 to 2 hours by car from Beirut<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Maasser el Chouf (also written Maasser el Shouf or Ma’asser ech Chouf) is a stone village high in the Chouf mountains, about 57 km southeast of Beirut, spread between roughly 1,200 and 1,950 metres. Most people come for one reason: above the village is the Maasser cedar forest, one of the main entrances to the Shouf Biosphere Reserve and home to some of the oldest and most impressive cedars in Lebanon.<\/p>\n

The village itself deserves more time than most visitors give it. It has an old square, a 19th century church, Roman-era tombs, a watermill and an Ottoman bridge, and it houses the reserve’s headquarters. Put the forest and the village together and you have a full, unhurried day in the mountains.<\/p>\n

The Shouf Biosphere Reserve in brief<\/h2>\n

The reserve is Lebanon’s largest protected area, covering around 500 square kilometres along the Barouk mountain range, or about 5 percent of the country. It includes the Al-Shouf Cedar Reserve and the Ammiq wetland in the Bekaa, and it reaches across more than twenty villages. Its cedar stands are split into three main forests: Maasser, Barouk and Ain Zhalta-Bmohray. Our Barouk cedars guide<\/a> covers the second of these.<\/p>\n

The reserve is run from the Park House<\/strong>, a restored traditional house on the Maasser village square facing the public garden. It is the place to ask about guides, trails and current conditions. You can also find the reserve’s listing on Made in Liban: Shouf Biosphere Reserve<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What to see<\/h2>\n

The Maasser cedar forest<\/h3>\n

The Maasser entrance protects a forest of about 16 hectares of old cedars on the high slopes above the village. A wooden hut at the gate has information, restrooms and a small shop selling organic products and souvenirs. From there, several self-guided paths loop between the trees, and qualified guides are available for longer walks. The upper slopes open onto views west towards the coast; on a clear day from the 1,940 metre summit area you can see east over the Bekaa to Qaraoun lake and west to the Mediterranean.<\/p>\n

The reserve also runs an Adopt a Cedar programme, where you sponsor a young tree as part of its reforestation work. It makes a good family project and a thoughtful gift.<\/p>\n

The old village<\/h3>\n

Back in Maasser, walk from the square to Saint Michael’s Church<\/strong> (Mar Mikhael), built between 1895 and 1901 on the foundations of an older church. The former convent beside it now works as a guesthouse and community centre. Look out for the old press<\/strong>, known as Al Maassarah, a distillery that ran from the 1930s until 1975 and still holds its large clay jars and millstone; historically, presses like this made wine, arak, vinegar, olive oil and molasses for the village.<\/p>\n

Roman tombs, a mill and a bridge<\/h3>\n

The area called El Hosn<\/strong> holds Roman-era ruins and tombs cut into the rock, part of the evidence that the village has been lived in for well over two thousand years. On the trail towards Moukhtara are the remains of a stone watermill<\/strong> from the late 19th century, and an Ottoman bridge<\/strong> crosses the valley between Maasser and neighbouring Botmeh.<\/p>\n

Trails from Maasser<\/h2>\n

The reserve maintains a network of signed village and forest trails. Two touch Maasser directly:<\/p>\n