The border starts at confluence of the Nahr al-Kabir river with the Mediterranean Sea, and then follows this river eastwards some distance inland. The Lebanese border forms a salient to include the villages of Karha and Knaisse Akkar in the north-east of Akkar District, just west of the Syrian Lake Homs, before turning to the south-east via a series of irregular lines, cutting across the Orontes (at ) and the trans-Beqaa road between Qaa and Al-Qusayr (at ), reaching the Anti-Lebanon mountains at about . The border then turns towards the south-west, generally following the Anti-Lebanon mountains via a series of irregular lines, until reaching Mount Hermon.