“It all started early 1990s when my father decided to build a cosy cottage embedded amongst the tall pine trees ,to get away from the chaos of everyday life,” Sergio Karam says. His father along with his friends hiked along the mountain trails, and so his cottage became a place to rest for all of those that hiked with him.

“To accommodate for such need, in 2010 the project of Jabalna Ecolodge was born and thus bungalows were carefully built between the many pine trees which now serve as hidden getaways,” Karam passionately describes the ecological establishment.

Jabalna Ecolodge is essentially an eco-friendly hostel located within nature’s own pine forests, and bungalows are available and can accommodate singles to large groups from all walks of life desiring to immerse themselves in Lebanon’s northern mountains. “Tents are also available. Hiking tours are weekly operated during both summer and winter seasons including while it snows,” Karam adds.

Jabalna is located in Al-Morghan, Al Qoubaiyat in Northern Lebanon. “Jabalna Ecolodge started with only three bungalows which upon renting out provided the funds to expand our business,” Karam explains adding that another source of funds is the financial support from renting equipment for activities such as snowshoeing in the Winter.

To spread their mission and main concept, Karam says that they resort to Facebook and the word of mouth. “We also participate in many conferences and festivals related to nature, and due to our relations with many NGO, Jabalna is well promoted between the participants and the activities of the NGOs,” Karam says.

They currently have a project to plant cedar and pine trees from collected seeds to regrow the burned mountains.

Learn more about Jabalna Ecolodge through their Facebook page.