Lake Qaraoun

Qaraoun was created in 1959 by damming the Litani, and at around eleven square kilometres it is the largest body of inland water in Lebanon, held between the Barouk range and the Anti-Lebanon with the Bekaa running north behind it. It supplies irrigation and power. It also has a well-documented pollution problem from agricultural and industrial discharge upstream, with recurring algal blooms, and swimming is not advisable. The setting and the birdlife on the water are the reasons to stop.

Background

The water is held back by the Albert Naccache dam, a concrete-faced rockfill structure 61 m high and the largest dam in Lebanon, built in the middle reaches of the Litani. The river runs 170 kilometres, all of it inside Lebanon, rising near Baalbek and reaching the sea north of Tyre. About 1,600 square kilometres of its basin drains to the reservoir, which lies at 861 metres in the southern Beqaa Valley. The reservoir supplies domestic water, irrigation for 27,500 ha and three hydroelectric stations at Markaba, Awali and Jun, with 190 MW installed and 600 GWh generated. Some 20,000 migratory birds visit the lake every year. In the catchment, 90% of rainfall comes between November and April.

Source: Wikipedia, "Lake Qaraoun"

Highlights

• The reservoir - eleven square kilometres of water between two mountain ranges.
• The dam - the 1959 structure at the southern end of the lake.
• The waterbirds - wildfowl and waders using the shallows, especially in winter.
• The Bekaa setting - the valley running north with ranges on both sides.

When to go

April to June and September to November are the most comfortable. Algal blooms are worst in late summer. Winter brings the largest numbers of wildfowl.

Before you go

Water quality is poor and swimming and fishing are not advisable; this is well documented and ongoing. Facilities around the lake are minimal. The shoreline is largely undeveloped and access points are few.

Nearby

Aammiq wetland is north, and the Chouf range rises to the west.

Key facts