Ainata, or sometimes known as Ainata-Al Ariz (Arabic:عيناتا الأرز) is a Lebanese village, 108 km from Beirut, located in Northern Lebanon, between the Bsharri District and the Baalbek District. Officially, Ainata is considered a village of the Baalbek District, but its inhabitants consider and prefer the village to be of the Bsharri District, mostly because its name "Ainata-Al Ariz" means "Ainata-The Cedars", in reference to the Cedars of God near Bsharri since most of the descendants are originally from Bsharri. Ainata rises 1620 meters above sea level and is sometimes considered as the highest Lebanese populated village (Although some books state that Bekaa Kafra is the highest). (Wikipedia)
Ainata is located at the bottom of Mount Makmel, to the Eastern side, facing the Baalbek District, and it is almost exactly between the Bsharri district and the Baalbek District, but officially it belongs to the Baalbek District. Ainata has an altitude of ca. 1620 meters and is considered as the highest Lebanese village although some references consider Bekaa Kafra the highest. The nearest village would be Deir el Ahmar where both residents have a special bond due to having mostly the same political views and being Christians surrounded by mostly muslim villages.
