The three bridges
Stacked rock above the chasm.
Lodo27 from Moscow, Russia — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Serge Melki from Indianapolis, USA — CC BY 2.0 · Lodo27 from Moscow, Russia — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Serge Melki from Indianapolis, USA — CC BY 2.0 · Lodo27 from Moscow, Russia — CC BY-SA 3.0
Baatara Gorge Waterfall, also called the Balaa sinkhole, is one of Lebanon's strangest natural sights. Water drops behind three natural rock bridges and vanishes into a deep chasm of limestone, high on Mount Lebanon near Tannourine. Lovers of nature and photography come in spring, when snowmelt makes the flow strongest. The waterfall drops 255 m into the Balaa Pothole, a cave of Jurassic limestone also known as the Cave of the Three Bridges. During the spring melt a 90 to 100 m cascade falls behind the bridges and then into a 240 m chasm. It became known to the western world in 1952 through a French cave scientist, and it lies on the Lebanon Mountain Trail. Stone steps lead down from the dirt road to platforms overlooking the chasm, and you see bridges of rock stacked one above the other in brown and orange. White water emerges beneath the top bridge and falls into the dark. Green pastures and grey rock surround the site, and signs warn of slipping near the edges. It is about 9 km in a straight line from Tannourine, reached by a small dirt road past Balaa village. March to May is the best time, when the water is strong, and it falls away greatly by late summer. Take care: the ground is slippery and some edges are unprotected, so keep children close. Bring sturdy shoes and warm clothes.
Stacked rock above the chasm.
White water into the dark.
Stone steps towards the chasm.
Balaa, past Tannourine, Batroun District, northern Lebanon
In spring with the snowmelt, while by late summer the flow falls away greatly.
It needs care, as the ground is slippery and some edges are unprotected, so keep children close.