Baalchmay to Hammana via Rweiset al Ballout and Khraybeh

Starting on the heavily traveled Beirut-Damescus road at the Baalchmay gas station , you very quickly start your steep descent into the valley towards the Beirut river.
Within minutes, you find yourself in a quiet rural setting with narrow and sinuous streets as you enter Baalchmay proper. Though these streets may seem like a complicated maze, you know you're on the right track as long as you are going down. In fact the hand-drawn path in this area is a little approximate as it is from memory.
When you reach Rweiset al Ballout, make sure you follow the "Center of the Village" and "Lamartine Park" road signs as this will take you through a very nice tree-lined path all the way down to the bridge on the Beirut River.
The bridge is the lowest point of the path. From this point, it is all uphill.
Just a few meters after crossing the bridge, turn right onto the dirt path that runs along the north bank of the river. You will eventually come across a dog farm with hundreds of dogs barking at you, don't be alarmed as they are all fenced-in and harmless. Keep going until you reach the water treatment plant, at which point you take a climbing left turn.
At this point you start your steep climb towards Hammana. The view across the valley is simply breath taking and I couldn't help but wonder at how this area managed to hold-on to its beauty in spite of the intensive urbanization and heavy traffic all around it.
About an hour into the climb, the dirt path changes into a dual concrete track, and a few minutes after that, into asphalt. The first houses begin to appear which indicates you are nearing Khraybeh. The road network eventually gets denser as you zigzag your way through the village and past a few army installations. A final straight run will take lead you directly to Hammana's main square, from where you can catch a bus back to Baalchmay.
Total moving time 4:10.
A short one by my standards because I was tight on time on that day due to family obligations.

L.