Cedars of God, Ancient cedar forest in Kadisha Valley, Lebanon.

The Cedars of God is an old forest in the Kadisha Valley in northern Lebanon, where hundreds of cedars grow above 2000 meters (6500 feet) in elevation. The largest trees show massive trunks and wide crowns that spread among rocky slopes and stony ground.

Since ancient times the forest supplied timber for ships and temples used by rulers across the Mediterranean. Centuries of harvest reduced the population until conservation efforts in the 20th century began to protect the remaining trees.

The Arabic name Arz el-Rab means "Cedars of the Lord"; Christian monks of the Kadisha Valley monasteries venerated these trees for centuries. The Lebanon cedar is named over 100 times in the Bible, and the forest appears in Tablets 4–6 of the Epic of Gilgamesh. Visitors today enter with authorized guides.

Access follows paths that run among the trees, and sturdy shoes help on the uneven terrain of stones and roots. The elevation brings cool temperatures even in summer, so an extra layer of clothing is useful.

The forest is a remnant of the cedar forests that once covered Mount Lebanon. Four trees reach 35 metres in height, with trunks 12 to 14 metres around. In 1876 Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom funded a stone wall around 102 hectares to protect young saplings from goats.