Barouk is a town in the Chouf area, Mount Lebanon. Chouf App is a utility app for Chouf-area residents — it connects Barouk with Chouf-based stores for shopping and with a directory of trusted local trades.
elevation ~1000 m · area ~27.62 km²
Barouk lies at about 1,000 m elevation in the Chouf district of Mount Lebanon, spanning an area of 27.62 km². Its forests form part of the Al-Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve, the largest nature reserve in Lebanon.
Freiha held the name to be an ancient Phoenician word meaning 'the blessed', a fitting name for an abundant spring. Habiqa and Armala read it as Syriac from the verb 'barak' meaning 'crouching/resting'. Folk tradition links it to 'birk al-jamal' (where camels knelt to rest as caravans passed). The author considers the Phoenician reading 'the blessed' the most plausible.
Mount Barouk peaks at 1,943 m and the town has long been associated with the Nabeh el-Barouk spring at its base. Barouk is the birthplace of the poet Rachid Nakhle, author of the Lebanese national anthem.
area ~1,801 ha
أبو علوان، أحمد، البستاني، حسون، حكيم، حلاوي، دمج، العماد، عماطوري، عمر، فارس، كرباج، محمود، الينطاني، أبو شبل، جدعون، حبيقة، حداد، زيادة، عبّود، عواد، غنام، نخلة، وهبة
Lebanon's largest nature reserve, taking in roughly a quarter of the country's remaining cedar forest and about 5% of its land area. It shelters more than 200 bird species and over twenty wild mammal species — among them wolves, gazelles and wild boar — and its oldest cedars are thought to be well over a thousand years old. The Barouk entrance is the reserve's main public access point, with a ranger station and several waymarked hiking trails.
A government health center serving Barouk and the surrounding upper Chouf towns.
~46 km from Beirut · ~40 min drive
The town of Barouk is in the Chouf district of Mount Lebanon, Lebanon, at around 1000 m elevation.
Barouk is about 46 km from Beirut, roughly a 40-minute drive.
Freiha held the name to be an ancient Phoenician word meaning 'the blessed', a fitting name for an abundant spring. Habiqa and Armala read it as Syriac from the verb 'barak' meaning 'crouching/resting'. Folk tradition links it to 'birk al-jamal' (where camels knelt to rest as caravans passed). The author considers the Phoenician reading 'the blessed' the most plausible.
Families associated with Barouk include: أبو علوان, أحمد, البستاني, حسون, حكيم, حلاوي, دمج, العماد, عماطوري, عمر, فارس, كرباج, محمود, الينطاني, أبو شبل, جدعون, حبيقة, حداد, زيادة, عبّود, عواد, غنام, نخلة, وهبة.
Landmarks in Barouk include Al-Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve, Mount Barouk (1,943 m), Nabeh el-Barouk spring, Barouk Government Health Center.