page_title: Niha, Zahlé
section_title: Geography and climate
hierarchical_section_title: Niha, Zahlé / Geography and climate
caption_attribution_description: English: Panorama of the village of Niha, Bekaa, Lebanon.
context_page_description: Niha is a village in the Bekaa Valley about 8 km north of Zahlé. It is famous for its Roman archeological ruins, and in particular two lower Roman temples that date back to the 1st century AD.
context_section_description: The village is located about 65 km east of the Lebanese capital Beirut off the main road that leads to Baalbeck. It is 8 km north of Zahlé and nearly 2 km north-east of the town of Ablah. The village sits in a small canyon at an average altitude of 1,100 m (3,600 ft). It is surrounded by fast rising hills with vertical drops of 150 m (500 ft). The canyon narrows and rises to the back country of Niha also known as the "Hosn" (in Arabic, hosn means fortress) at an approximate elevation of 1,350 m (4,400 ft). The mountains continue to rise over some ten kilometers to reach the top of Mount Sannine at 2,628 m (8,622 ft).
  Niha is bordered to the west by the high rising mountains of Mount Lebanon and the peak of Mount Sannine, to the north by the village of Tamnine, to the south by the villages of Nabi Ayla (Arabic: نبي أيلا) and Forzol (Arabic: ألفرزل), and to the east by Ablah and the fertile plains of the Bekaa. Niha's climate is arid and temperate. Temperatures average 27 C (80 F) in the dry summer season, with occasional heat waves that can reach 40 C (105 F). Winters are cool and tend to be wet. Annual rain fall is approximately 500 mm (20 in) and snow fall can reach 1 m (3 ft). Winter temperatures average 5 C (40 F) but occasionally dip to -10 C (15 F).
  The landscape at the lower elevation appears from a distance bleached as limestone is dominant in the soil. Red soil mixed with limestone make the ground fertile for agriculture which dominates the economy of the village (and that of the Bekaa valley). The temperate and dry climate, and high elevation make the village suitable to grow a variety of fruits. Grapevines, cherry, almond and apple orchards dot the terraced hills. The village as well as the rest of the Bekaa produce the bulk of the fruits in Lebanon and export significant volumes to the Arab countries.
  Niha gets its primary water from underground water tables as well as several springs in the hills above the village. The snow melt filtered through the limestone gives the water an appealing freshness with a light taste of calcite. A new wastewater treatment plant was planned to be established in 2009 with the assistance of USAID for the villages of Niha, Ablah and Nabi Ayla.
caption: A panorama photograph of Niha, Zahle. The Lower Great Temple in the village is barely visible to the far left (1). The red roof of the church of the Prophet Elias is seen about a quarter of the photograph from the left (2). The old Roman quarries can be seen in the distance (3) on the way to the Hosn of Niha. Rayak and the Bekaa plain are to the far right (4). Some of the village's vineyards are also visible (5).
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