Tyre Coast Nature Reserve

The Tyre Coast Nature Reserve runs south from the city of Tyre, in southern Lebanon, for around three and a half kilometres. It is the longest continuous sand beach in a country whose coast is otherwise rocky, heavily built or both.

It exists because of the turtles. Loggerhead and green turtles nest on this stretch, and the reserve was declared in 1998 to protect them, along with freshwater springs that rise through the sand and a wetland behind. Lebanon's coastline has been developed with little restraint and polluted substantially, and this reserve is one of very few places where a natural shore survives at all.

The beach is fine golden sand with shallow warm Mediterranean water and a gentle entry. The reserve is divided into zones: a conservation zone closed to visitors, an agricultural zone, and a tourism zone where swimming is permitted. Access is controlled, numbers are limited and nesting sections are closed in season. The freshwater springs rising through the sand keep the water noticeably cooler in places, and the wetland behind the beach supports birdlife that is unusual for a Lebanese coast this heavily built.

Tyre itself is a UNESCO World Heritage site with Roman remains including one of the largest hippodromes in the world. Southern Lebanon has a complex security situation that changes, and travel advice for this region should be checked before any visit — this is a beach in a place where that matters. The city's Roman hippodrome and the underwater ruins of the Phoenician harbour are within walking distance of the sand. The reserve is managed jointly with local municipalities, and the monitoring of nests has run without interruption since it was declared.

The longest sand beach in Lebanon exists as a reserve because loggerheads and greens still nest on it, and the zoning is real — a conservation area closed outright, nesting sections shut in season, and swimming only where marked. Tyre's Roman hippodrome is a short walk. Southern Lebanon's security situation changes and current advice is worth reading before anything else.