Sawfar

Sawfar (Arabic: صوفر‎‎), also spelled as Saoufar or Sofar) is a village in the Aley District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate in Lebanon. It is situated at an altitude of 1,320 meters and next to the main road linking Beirut with Damascus in Syria.

Map of Saoufar, Lebanon

It has a population of about 3,000, most of whom are Druze. In some summers, the population increases up to around 15,000 due to tourism. Sawfar gains its importance from its strategic and panoramic overlooking of Matn District, with th Lamartine Valley separating the two areas.

Sawfar is the base of the summer location of the French Embassy in Lebanon and is a base to one of the a well-known hotel, the Chateau Bernina, tucked in the green side of northern Sawfar and overlooking Lamartine Valley and the Kneise Mountain.

Sawfar receives heavy snow during the winter time, which may reach a level higher than one meter high after particularly heavy storms. Temperatures usually drop to less than zero during the months of December and January. Nevertheless, it experiences moderate and dry summers, which is why it is considered by the population as a perfect destination for Lebanese residents escaping the moisture of the coastline during hot summers. Sawfar is also a destination for Arab summer tourism due to its alleged tranquility and dry weather in summer.