Ra's al Helal is a village on the Mediterranean coast in the Jebel Akhdar foothills, in the northeastern region of Cyrenaica

Cyrenaica

Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya.Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it was part of the Creta et Cyrenaica province during the Roman period, later divided in Libia Pentapolis and Libia Sicca...

, Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

. Ra's al Helal, , takes its name from its cape

Cape (geography)

In geography, a cape or headland is a point or body of land extending into a body of water, usually the sea.A cape usually represents a marked change in trend of the coastline. Their proximity to the coastline makes them prone to natural forms of erosion, mainly tidal actions. This results in capes...

 landform which is crescent

Crescent

In art and symbolism, a crescent is generally the shape produced when a circular disk has a segment of another circle removed from its edge, so that what remains is a shape enclosed by two circular arcs of different diameters which intersect at two points .In astronomy, a crescent...

 shaped when viewed from above in the surrounding mountains. The village is in the District of Derna.

Geography

Ra's al Helal is located 55 km (34 mi) to the north-east of Bayda, in Cyrenaica

Cyrenaica

Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya.Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it was part of the Creta et Cyrenaica province during the Roman period, later divided in Libia Pentapolis and Libia Sicca...

. It had a population totaling 2,235 in 2006. Ra's al Helal is known for its green forested beach and its waterfalls.

Ra's al Helal beach

The Mediterranean coast of Libya is almost 1900 km (1,180.6 mi) long, and nearly all its beaches are far from forests or significant vegetation. Being one of the few exceptions, Ra's al Helal is attracts many vacationers. The area is isolated because of the lack of a direct coastal road connecting the nearby western town of Susa

Susa, Libya

Susa or Soussa is a town and seaside resort in the District of Jabal al Akhdar in north-eastern Libya. Susa stands by the ruins of Apollonia, Cyrenaica.The town contains the Apollonia Museum. It is located about 30 km northeast of Bayda....

 with Benghazi

Benghazi

Benghazi is the second largest city in Libya, the main city of the Cyrenaica region , and the former provisional capital of the National Transitional Council. The wider metropolitan area is also a district of Libya...

, the country's second largest city and the largest city on the Cyrenaica coast.

Ra's al Helal waterfalls

The Ra's al Helal waterfalls are located up in the Jebel Akhdar mountains, some 3.5 km (2.2 mi) from the coastal road. They are considered one of the most beautiful natural places in the country, and attract many Libyan visitors and vacationers.

Conditions

• However, the access road to the waterfalls, constructed during the Italian occupation era, is old, narrow, and in poor condition.
• Some viewing locations for the waterfalls are along dangerous cliffs, so visiting alone is not safe.
• Some visitors leave their garbage behind on the slopes and in the waterfalls, which spoils the view and causes pollution.