Daroun-Harissa is a municipality that consists of two villages, Harissa and Daraoun, in the Keserwan District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate of Lebanon. The municipality is located 27 km north of Beirut. Harissa is accessible from the coastal city of Jounieh either by road or by a nine-minute journey by a gondola lift, known as the Téléphérique.
Harissa is home to an important Christian pilgrimage site with a shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Lebanon (Notre Dame du Liban). It attracts both pilgrims and tourists who want to enjoy views of the bay of Jounieh. When it was inaugurated in 1908 the Patriarch dedicated Lebanon to the Virgin Mary: “Oh Mary, Queen of mountains and seas and Queen of our beloved Lebanon …”
Our Lady of Lebanon is one of the most important shrines in the world honoring the Virgin Mary. The shrine is highlighted by a huge, 15-ton bronze statue of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of God. It is 8.5 m high, and has a diameter of five meters. The Virgin Mary stretches her hands towards Beirut. The shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon draws millions of faithful both Christians and Muslims from all over the world.