Cave mouth
Where the river emerges.
Afif Abla — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Afif Abla — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Disdero — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Seoras2005 — CC BY 3.0 · Afif Abla — CC BY-SA 4.0
Afqa is a village in the Byblos District of Mount Lebanon, at about 1,200 metres, some 23 km east of Byblos and 40 km northeast of Beirut in a straight line. It has one of the finest waterfalls in the mountains of the Levant, the source of the Adonis River, also called the Abraham River. Known in ancient times as Aphaca, a name that can mean «source», it was a sacred sanctuary more than a town, and remains of an ancient temple still stand there. The waterfall sits on a bluff about 180 metres high that forms a vast natural amphitheatre, and the river emerges from a large limestone cave in the cliff, which stores snowmelt and releases it into springs and streams. Each spring the meltwater carries reddish mud into the river, and scarlet anemones bloom in the valley. Clear white water bursts from the mouth of the cave into a turquoise pool, then tumbles in a series of cascades between honey and orange limestone rocks covered in green plants. On sunny days a rainbow forms in the spray. Visitors walk to the mouth of the cave, admire the falls and the temple remains, and stroll the valley. Spring and early summer, when the water runs strongest, are the best times. Check the UK Foreign Office's current Lebanon guidance before you go.
Where the river emerges.
A turquoise pool.
Ancient.
Afqa, Byblos District, Lebanon
Spring and early summer.
Usually, yes.