Lebanon - Jeita

What's the Difference between a Cave and a Grotto?
Jeita is a small town north of Beirut in the mountains.  It's known for its Maronite population, adherents to an ancient version of Christianity from Syria.  On our bus ride there, our guide explained that we were on our way to Mount Lebanon to visit the Jeita Grotto.  "I am not, as your guide, allowed to give my personal opinion" he explained, before proceeding to do just that.  "The Jeita Grotto should be one of the seven wonders of the world, but since they have not asked experts but rather took a vote from 7 billion people, 6.9 of which have never heard of a small country called Lebanon....."  His voice trailed off for a moment before he began again.  "We are dealing with this unfortunate event as best we can."

The Jeita Grotto is comprised of an upper and lower chamber which together stretch close to six miles.  As we pulled into the parking lot, our guide was back with more opinions. "Unfortunately, my friends, no photos are allowed.  We sold a 40 year concession to a German-Lebanese conglomerate to run the tourism of the grotto.  These people will tell you they are saving the grotto from your harmful flash bulbs.  This is nonsense, if you want to preserve the grotto, you should close it.  They simply want to sell you post cards and posters."  As we walked the long corridor to the grotto's entrance, we had to store our phones and cameras in lockers.  Luckily, the internet is full of photos.

A grotto is nothing more than a cave.  In this case, an incredibly impressive one,  carved from limestone over the millennia.  I've been to many caves all over the world and I've never seen one like this.  The shapes and colors of the stalactites and mites varied from one to the next.  Some looked otherworldly, as if they'd been put there by an alien race.

There were white marble icicles and huge, billowing curtains of stone.

There were cream colored mushrooms, blooming along the walls.

We hiked deep inside the upper chamber, perhaps a mile, and the scale got bigger and bigger.  There was a suspended walkway in one section and looking from the ceiling above, to the chasm below, I reckoned you could easily fit a 40 story building there.

We were a tour group of around 20 and each of us to a person was hushed and quiet.  It's an awe-inspiring experience.  As you walk, you simply hear the shuffle of feet and the dripping of water, interrupted once by a guard scolding someone "Hey, no phone, no phone please.  No photos allowed."

Luckily someone, at some point, didn't listen.

At the lower chamber, which  is flooded with crystal clear water, we went for a short boat ride.  Again, silence.