The stone walls
Ruins on bare rock.
ElysianEzryn — CC BY-SA 4.0 · David Germain-Robin — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Julien Harneis from Conakry, Guinea — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Amalmc — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Charles William Meredith van de Velde — Public domain
Beaufort Castle, known in Arabic as Qalaat al-Shaqif, is a Crusader fortress on a rock cliff above the Litani River, near Arnoun in southern Lebanon. Its Arabic name means «Castle of the Steep Cliff». It is among the region's largest castles and has one of its strongest positions, showing the importance of this mountain route over many centuries. There was a fortification here before Fulk, King of Jerusalem, took it in 1139, and the Crusader castle probably began soon after. Saladin captured it in 1190, the Crusaders returned 50 years later, and Sultan Baibars took it for good in 1268. The name Beaufort is Old French for «beautiful fortress», given by its builders. You see a mass of crumbling stone walls on bare rock, with brown hills and a wide sky behind. From its eastern edge the cliff falls some 300 m to the Litani valley, and mountains stretch to the horizon. Events of the 20th century damaged it heavily, so what you see today is more ruin than complete castle. It is about 30 km in a straight line from Sidon. One source says non-Lebanese needed security clearance, and access is not assured at present, so do not go without official confirmation. The UK Foreign Office currently advises against all travel to this area, and access may not be possible, so check official guidance before making any plans.
Ruins on bare rock.
300 m above the valley.
A wide view from above.
Near Arnoun, Nabatieh Governorate, southern Lebanon
We cannot assure it, so do not go without recent official confirmation.
Saladin took it in 1190, and Baibars captured it for good in 1268.