TITLE: Concrete examples of noncongruence, arithmetic subgroups of SL(2,R)
QUESTION [11 upvotes]: A  subgroup of $SL_2(\mathbb{R})$ is called arithmetic if it is commensurable with $SL_2(\mathbb{Z})$.
An arithmetic subgroup is called congruence if it contains a subgroup of type $\Gamma(N)$ for some $N\in \mathbb{N}$.

Question: What are concrete examples of subgroups of $SL_2(\mathbb{R})$, which are arithmetic, but not congruence?

I have heard the Belyi theorem produces some examples, but I have never seen a concrete one.

Further Question: Can such things exist in higher rank Lie groups (real rank $\geq 2$)?

REPLY [5 votes]: If you want to go really concrete, take any connected finite $3$-valent graph in the $2$-sphere with disks as components of the complement. 
This yields a conjugacy class of genus $0$ finite index torsion free subgroups of $\Gamma(1)=PSL(2,\mathbb{Z})$. In fact the index is $6n$ if the graph has $2n$ vertices (hence $3n$ edges and $n+2$ faces). ADDED: Indeed, since $\Gamma(1)\simeq Z/2*Z/3$, there is a transitive action of $\Gamma(1)$ on oriented edges of the graph, flipping orientation for $Z/2$, and rotating around source vertex for $Z/3$. The conjugacy class of stabilizers subgroups determines the graph.
But there are clearly infinitely many such graphs (up to oriented homeomorphism), whereas there are only finitely many congruence subgroups of genus $0$ in $\Gamma(1)$ (about $33$ conjugacy classes of torsion free ones, with maximum index $60$, according to this table).