When the Lebanon Mountain Trail’s thru-hike was cancelled this year due to war, a global initiative called Walk with Lebanon was launched, asking people around the world to hike in solidarity instead. The initiative was created by British silk design company Kinetika, in partnership with the Lebanon Mountain Trail Association (LMTA).
British artist Ali Pretty, who was unable to walk on the mountain trails of Lebanon as planned, headed to the coast-hugging trails of Türkiye instead. She was joined by others from over 25 countries, including Australia, Nepal, and France, who hiked to show their solidarity and concern for Lebanon’s nature and people.
The Lebanon Mountain Trail
The Lebanon Mountain Trail (LMT) is a 279-mile (450-kilometer) path that stretches along Lebanon’s spine from Andqet Akkar in the north to Marjeyoun in the south. The trail crosses 80 towns and villages, covering altitudes ranging from 1,870-6,797 feet (570-2,072 meters). The LMTA, which celebrates its 19th anniversary in November, has overseen the conservation, management, and promotion of the LMT.
The LMTA organizes ‘Thru Hikes’ twice a year, in April and October, which traverse the main trail sections. Led by local guides, hikers walk along mountain paths, through remote villages, valleys, nature preserves, and cedar groves, before spending the night in accommodations ranging from convents to guesthouses to homes.
Walk with Lebanon
Ali Pretty, founder of Kinetika, invited people to join her in Türkiye or to walk wherever they were in the world between April 3 and May 3. Each day was linked to the section of the trail that would have been walked during the regular Thru Hike. Pretty read the ‘story’ of each section’s flag, which was also posted on the project’s website, and urged people to ponder five questions from philosopher Bertrand Russell.
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Scottish artist Donna Campbell joined Pretty for the Lycian Way and then traveled to Nepal, where she organized an additional three-day hike along the Chisapani Nagarkot Trail. Azul Thome, a French-Lebanese walker, organized an 11-mile (18-kilometer) walk in southeast France, carrying upcycled fabric flags of migratory bird species that move between France and Lebanon.
In total, Walk with Lebanon registered 67 organized hikes across 32 different groups and organizations in over 25 countries. The responses to the community stories and the five questions were strong, and Kinetika is now compiling them into a 27-page magazine. The full October Thru Hike was reduced to weekend hikes only, but the LMTA is planning to do the full April Thru Hike next year.
According to LMTA’s Executive Director Omar Sakr, the conflict in Lebanon does not impact the entire country, and the LMTA is planning to reveal all 38 flags during the planned April 2027 Thru Hike. The flags will be gifted to each of their communities, and Sakr expects high occupancy next year if the situation continues as such.
Ali Pretty finally traveled to Lebanon in September, where she and LMTA’s Khoueiry led batik workshops to create 11 additional flags for each LMT side trail. Community members were able to have a more hands-on role in painting them, and the flags are being used to ‘tease’ the spring hike.
With the conflict in Lebanon ongoing, the LMTA’s plans for the future are uncertain, but one thing is clear: the Walk with Lebanon initiative has made a significant impact on the people and communities involved. As Azul Thome says, “When you give them an opportunity to come and celebrate that country and be in solidarity and support it … They say, ‘Look, it was an opportunity for us to do something.'” The number of people who participated in the Walk with Lebanon initiative is a sign of the power of community and solidarity, with over 50 people joining the walk in France alone.