Grotto of Saint Charbel

The Grotto of Saint Charbel lies at Ain al Hawr, on the north side of Bqaa Kafra, the village where Saint Charbel Makhlouf was born in 1828. As a boy, Youssef Makhlouf often withdrew to this rocky cave to pray and meditate, and it is remembered as his first hermitage. Today it is a sanctuary visited by pilgrims from Lebanon and abroad, who come to drink from the spring that flows from its rock as holy water, see its small religious exhibition, and read the testimonies of graces attributed to the saint. It is a short drive from his birth house in the village.