River · Lebanon
Litani
The Litani is the longest river of Lebanon. It begins in the Bekaa valley near Baalbek and runs about 174 kilometres through the country before reaching the Mediterranean Sea north of Tyre.
Picture credit: Eternalsleeper (Public domain) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is the Litani?
The river starts here: Bekaa valley near Baalbek.
It ends in the Mediterranean Sea north of Tyre.
Countries on the river: Lebanon.
The story behind it
The Litani is special because it stays inside one country from the first spring to the last wave. It flows through the Bekaa valley, a wide plain between two mountain ranges where farmers grow wheat, potatoes, vines and fruit trees. Snow melting on the slopes fills the river in spring, while the summers are long, hot and almost without rain, so every drop counts. A dam holds back a large reservoir whose water turns turbines and is led into canals and orchards. Further on the river cuts a deep, rocky gorge, and an old crusader castle looks down from the cliffs above it. Near the coast the Litani becomes shallow and slow, and waste water from towns and farms has made it dirty, so people are working to clean it again.
Questions children ask
How long is the Litani?
The Litani measures about 174 kilometres. Even though that is short for a big river, no other watercourse in Lebanon is longer.
Which country does the Litani flow through?
The Litani flows only through Lebanon. Among the rivers of the region that is unusual, because most of them cross at least one border.
Where does the Litani flow into the sea?
The river reaches the Mediterranean Sea a little north of the old city of Tyre. Its last kilometres run through flat farmland close to the coast.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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