Palace of Dreams - Oyoun El Samak - Zahlan Grotto - Jabal El Arbaaine

A great day out. Brilliant communication, starting with driver getting in touch on Whatsapp. Mahid was friendly, serviceminded and a good driver. The trip itself is a journey of random sites, it is great fun. The Palace reminiscent of a Disney set. Top marks

Had a private tour today with Mahdi. It was a great last day doe me at Lebanon! On almost every place we visit , there was nobody except us. Had a lot of fun with the kind guide and hè is a good driver making shure youre okay the whole day. I liked the waterfall and the swing in the mountain. Love the view of the mountains. Feeled save all the day. Thanks!!

We went on the Palace of Dreams - Oyoun El Samak - Zahlan Grotto - Jabal El Arbaaine trip which covers some of the lesser visited areas east of Tripoli. We really enjoyed our day out. Mahdi our guide was a really good driver, spoke good English and was very flexible (we were the only people on the tour). Another plus is that they pick you up and drop you off from your chosen location which makes a big difference. First stop was Oyoun el Samak (eye of the fish) lake. The road is fairly high above the lake and very narrow so you can’t really stop to take photos at that point (I did take some from the car) but it was very beautiful. We stopped at the waterfall which is the source of the lake. There is a restaurant directly in front, so very easy to access. There is a rope bridge directly in front of the waterfall for close ups (a bit slippery) and it was good to be able to hear the waterfall so close up. There was only one other couple there at the same time which was good (I can imagine it gets very crowded at weekends). After that we went to another part of the lake where we could stop and take photos. Second stop was Palace of Dreams and we were the only people there. It was interesting to see the garden (the interior isn’t open) but we were done in about 15 minutes. Third stop Zahlan Grotto, which was formed over a hundred million years ago. Again we were the only people there and the guide had to unlock for us. You walk down quite a few sets of stairs to get to the grotto and there is also a rope bridge you can go on over the valley. It is not on the scale of Jeita Grotto which most people visit but we really enjoyed it as it is so calm and peaceful. The photos do not do justice how beautiful it was. To get back up you climb a couple of flights of steps then there is a small funicular which takes you the rest of the way up. Lastly Jabal El Arbaaine – a very strange experience but enjoyable. It is a purpose built recreation area built on the top of a mountain. It was very quiet when we were there but I understand that at weekends it is very popular. The views from the area are so beautiful. There is a stripped out aeroplane perched right out over the mountain which you can go inside (I only made it to the top of the steps to peer inside) and a set of giant hands which are built right out over the side of the mountain with a rope bridge between (scary rope bridges were a bit of a theme that day!). Then there is a giant swing which takes you right over the edge. I was very nervous but we asked the guy operating it to do it fairly gently which he did. I was scared for the first couple of swings but then it was an amazing experience swinging out over the view below. We didn’t stop for lunch anywhere as we had already packed a lot in and were quite tired but instead we asked if we could stop at the Hilmi lemonade van which is on the motorway after Batroun as they have the best lemonade. We really enjoyed our day out, not just for the places we visited but just to be able to drive through the villages and see the scenery in this part of the country and would book with Zingy Rides again.