Chouf is a historical region of Lebanon, and also an administrative district in the governorate of Mount Lebanon.

Located in the south-east of Beirut, the historical region comprises a narrow coastal strip with notably the Christian town of Damour and the valleys and mountains of the western slopes of Jabal Barouk, the name of the local Mount Lebanon massif. Chouf is the heartland of Lebanese Druze community. The Emirs of Lebanon used to have their residence in Chouf. Most notably, Bachir Chehab II built the magnificent palace of Beiteddine during the first half of the 19th century. Another historical town, just below Beiteddine, is Deir al Qamar (the Monastery of the Moon).

Another large town in Chouf is called Baakline. It used to be the capital of old Mountain of Lebanon, where Amir Fakher El-Deen was born. He was well liked by both Christians and Druze. He switched his residence to Deir al Qamar symbolizing his neutrality.

The Chouf is a living proof of the harmony between Maronite Christians and Druze. Although violent clashes between the Maronite Christians and Druze took place during the civil war, reconciliation between them came to fruition on August 8, 2001. Today, the Christians and Druze of Lebanon are united and allies against foreign interference in their country.

Despite a bloody history, the Chouf is one of the best-preserved Lebanese districts and its nature has been generally spared from the intense building frenzy that has spoiled neighboring Metn and Kesrouan. The biggest forest of Cedars of Lebanon is found on the flanks of Jabal Barouk.

Chouf towns:

. Barja
. Barouk
. Beitedine
. Damour
. Deir el Qamar
. Dibbiyeh
. Jiyyeh
. Kfarfakoud

There some towns that are more known than others and they are worth a visit while in Lebanon especially if you are a lover of nature and history, but throughout the whole of the Chouf district you will enjoy beautiful green nature.

Barouk

Barouk is a village in the Chouf District of Lebanon. Historically, the village is known for being the "land of good", because of its fountain (Nabeh-el-Barouk). The poet Rachid Nakhleh, the writer of the national hymn (Koulouna lil Watan), was born in Barouk. The village is also famous for its apples and other fruits, and for its many forests such as pine trees and oak trees which are well known in Lebanon.
Barouk is crowned by its mountain "Jabal el Barouk" that stands 1943 m above sea level. The mountain also has the largest natural reserve in Lebanon, the Al Chouf Cedar Nature Reserve, and contains the oldest and most elegant cedar forest in Lebanon, the "Cedrus Libani". That cedar is considered, among with other cedar forests, the real Cedars of Lord "Arz el Rab"

Dibbiyeh

Dibbiyeh is a Maronite village in the Chouf mountains district roughly 30km south of Beirut, Lebanon. It is traditionally a town established and inhabited by the Boustani family of Lebanon. Historically, the town has two old churches, St Joseph's Maronite Church lies in the middle of the small village square while St Maroun's Maronite Church lies on the outskirts of the town tucked away over a small hill.

Jieh

Jieh is a seaside town in Mount Lebanon on the Mediterranean Sea. Jieh has a population of 5000 people. It lies 23km south of Beirut, Lebanon in the Chouf district via a 20 minute drive along the Beirut to Sidon highway south of the capital. Jieh, the fertile land according to the Greek sources, extends 7 km along the Lebanese sea coast. It is the ancient city of Porphyreon whose history goes back to centuries before Christ.

The Prophet Jonah was said to have landed on its shores when he was spat out of the giant fish described in the Old Testament, and a temple was built which stands until today. It was known at the time of the Phoenicians as a thriving natural seaport. This natural seaport continued functioning and remains up to the present times. Many invaders passed through Porphyreon such as Tohomtmos the Egyptian who landed his soldiers on its natural seaport in order to fight the North. Alexander the Macedonian relaxed on its shore preparing for the attack on Tyre. St Peter and St Paul also walked through Jieh several times. I

n modern times Jieh took some of the harshest blows of the Lebanese Civil War that raged from 1975-1990. Being a coastal town made it vulnerable to the countless numbers of Palestine Liberation Organization raids on the area, as well as Israeli army invasions during the 1980s, but the worst being on January 20, 1976, now in its 30th anniversary. Nonetheless, Jieh is being rebuilt, albeit at a much slower pace to the nearby capital city of Beirut.

Many Christian families who fled the town of Jieh have sent money back from all over the world to rebuild its mother church Our Lady of the Star which still needs $1million to complete. The rebuilding of the St George's Church has also just begun. Those who remained in Lebanon still periodically visit on weekends and move back during the summer holiday season where this town is most famous for its seven kilometer sandy beach, a rarity along Lebanon's mainly rocky coastline.

Archaeology

The town houses some of Lebanon's finest archaeological ruins, some of them buried under modern buildings, others waiting to be dug up by excavators, and others having already been removed and placed in museums. Mosaics depicting the story of the Prophet Jonah and the giant fish in the Old Testament have been found in churches dug from underground over time.

Examples of these are the grand floor mosaics from the Byzantine Empire period which were so big that trucks were needed to transport them to museums as was the case with the fine collection owned by Walid Jumblatt, a local politician, which are on display at his Beiteddine museum. Jieh has recently been the scene of accidental excavations of a Byzantine era Christian church and surrounding tombs which had been buried underground for centuries. Nothing is being done to protect them at the moment.