Qadisha Valley, Cedars Hike & Kozhaya | Small-Group All-Inclusive

Your professional guide meets you at your hotel and heads north along the coastal highway before climbing into the beautiful Lebanese mountains toward the north — the scenery becoming more dramatic and more spectacular with every kilometre.

Arrive at the rim of the magnificent Qadisha Valley — one of the most breathtaking and most photographed viewpoints in Lebanon. Sheer limestone walls drop hundreds of metres to the valley floor below, dotted with ancient monastery caves and hermitages that Christian communities have carved into the rock face over seventeen centuries of faith and devotion. Qadisha means "Holy" in Aramaic — a name this sacred valley has fully earned. Your guide explains the remarkable story of the communities who chose these dramatic and inaccessible cliffs as their spiritual home, pointing out the monastery caves visible in the rock face below. Multiple photo stops along the rim give everyone in the group the best possible views and photographs.

Visit the museum dedicated to Khalil Gibran — Lebanon's most beloved writer, philosopher, and painter, whose book The Prophet has sold over 100 million copies in more than 100 languages. Housed in a beautifully restored former Carmelite monastery carved into the cliff above Bcharre, the museum contains a wonderful collection of Gibran's original paintings, watercolours, and personal manuscripts. His tomb is here in the cave chapel — exactly where he asked to be buried, returning to the mountain village that shaped his entire life and work. Your guide brings Gibran's story and philosophy to life in an accessible and genuinely touching way that resonates with visitors of all backgrounds.

Walk among the Cedars of God — a UNESCO-protected grove of magnificent ancient cedar trees at 2,000 metres above sea level, some over 1,000 years old with trunks measuring more than 14 metres in circumference. A gentle 45-minute guided hike along the marked trail takes you through the grove at a comfortable pace — suitable for all fitness levels and all ages, with no steep terrain and no technical difficulty. The mountain air is fresh and cool, the scenery is magnificent, and the sense of walking among trees that built Phoenician ships and Solomon's Temple is genuinely special and moving. Your guide explains the ecology and conservation story of this protected forest throughout.

A well-earned and thoroughly enjoyable lunch at one of Bcharre's welcoming mountain restaurants — generous Lebanese mezze, grilled meats, and fresh bread with beautiful Qadisha Valley views. Fully included in your tour price — nothing extra to pay. A wonderful and relaxing break before the day's final and most atmospheric stop.

Descend into the Qadisha Valley for the day's most atmospheric and most memorable final stop — the Monastery of Saint Anthony of Kozhaya, one of Lebanon's oldest and most venerated monasteries, carved directly into the limestone cliff face of the valley wall in the 12th century. Cave chapels, ancient stone cells, and the wonderful peace of the gorge create a truly special and serene atmosphere that stays with every visitor. Inside, two remarkable treasures await — a cave sanctuary that has been a place of pilgrimage for over eight centuries, and the first printing press ever used in the Middle East, brought here by Maronite monks in the 16th century. Your guide brings the full and fascinating history of this extraordinary place to life with warmth and care.

6:00–7:00 PM Your guide and driver bring you comfortably back to Beirut with drop-off at your hotel — completing a truly exceptional full day in Lebanon's magnificent north, with every ticket paid and every meal taken care of.