page_title: Jeita Grotto
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Jeita Grotto / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: "Guardian of Time" sculpture by Lebanese artist Tony Farah, Jeita Grotto, Lebanon.
context_page_description: The Jeita Grotto is a system of two separate, but interconnected, karstic limestone caves spanning an overall length of nearly 9 kilometres. The caves are situated in the Nahr al-Kalb valley within the locality of Jeita, 18 kilometres north of the Lebanese capital Beirut. Though inhabited in prehistoric times, the lower cave was not rediscovered until 1836 by Reverend William Thomson; it can only be visited by boat since it channels an underground river that provides fresh drinking water to more than a million Lebanese.
  In 1958, Lebanese speleologists discovered the upper galleries 60 metres above the lower cave which have been accommodated with an access tunnel and a series of walkways to enable tourists safe access without disturbing the natural landscape. The upper galleries house the world's largest known stalactite. The galleries are composed of a series of chambers the largest of which peaks at a height of 12 metres.
  Aside from being a Lebanese national symbol and a top tourist destination, the Jeita grotto plays an important social, economic and cultural role in the country. It was one of top 14 finalists in the New 7 Wonders of Nature competition.
context_section_description: The Jeita caves are solutional karst caves which have formed over millions of years due to the dissolution of limestone. The limestone is dissolved by carbonic acid charged rain water and groundwater; when the limestone, which is originally waterproof, contains cracks produced by tectonic forces the water oozes into the rock and starts to widen the cracks and solute caves inside the layers. Jeita is the longest cave complex in the Middle East; it sits at 300 metres (980 ft) above sea level and has a height difference of 305 metres (1,001 ft).  Geologically, the caves provide a tunnel or escape route for the underground river, which is the principal source of Nahr al-Kalb.
  The Jeita grotto is the longest explored cave in Lebanon. After many years of exploration, speleologists have penetrated about 6,200 metres (20,300 ft) from the entry point of the lower grotto to the far end of the underground river and about 2,130 metres (6,990 ft) of the upper galleries.
caption: "The Guardian of Time", a sculpture by Lebanese artist Tony Farah outside the lower cave at Jeita.
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