Kozhaya, Cedars Hike & Baalbek Small-Group | May–Oct · Lunch Incl

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. 8:30 AM — Hotel pickup Your guide meets the group at your Beirut hotel and heads north — coastal highway climbing into the Lebanese mountains toward the Qadisha Valley. The scenery shifts dramatically as you gain altitude.

   Passes by

2. Qadisha Valley — photo stop at the rim Pull over at the rim of the Qadisha Valley — sheer limestone walls dropping hundreds of metres to the valley floor below, dotted with ancient monastery caves carved into the cliff face over seventeen centuries. Qadisha means "Holy" in Aramaic. Your guide explains who lived here and why these inaccessible cliffs were chosen. Multiple photo stops.

   10 min

3. Kozhaya Monastery — first printing press in the Middle East The Monastery of Saint Anthony of Kozhaya — founded in the 12th century and carved directly into the limestone cliff face of the Qadisha Valley. Cave chapels, ancient stone cells, complete gorge silence. Inside: a pilgrimage cave active for over eight centuries, and the first printing press ever used in the Middle East, brought here by Maronite monks in the 16th century to print liturgical texts in Arabic and Syriac. A place that rewards the effort of getting here. Your guide explains the full significance of the printing press and what it means for the history of knowledge in the Levant.

   30 min

4. Cedars of God — one-hour guided hike at 2,000 metres A UNESCO-protected grove where some trees exceed 1,000 years and trunks measure more than 14 metres in circumference — descendants of the forests that built Phoenician ships and furnished Solomon's Temple. A one-hour guided hike on marked trails at your own pace — easy terrain, suitable for all fitness levels. Your guide covers the ecology and conservation history of Lebanon's most emblematic tree. From here, the mountain road east opens toward Baalbek — the crossing that makes this tour impossible in winter and exceptional in summer.

   1 hAdmission included

5. Stone of the Pregnant Woman — before the temples A single limestone block, 21 metres long, weighing 1,000 tonnes, cut 2,000 years ago and never moved. Your guide explains the engineering logic — and why standing next to it recalibrates your sense of what is waiting five minutes ahead.

   15 min

6. Baalbek Temple Complex — the guide earns their fee here The Temple of Jupiter on Trilithon stones each weighing over 800 tonnes — the largest dressed stones in human history. The Temple of Bacchus, larger than the Parthenon and almost entirely intact — the best-preserved Roman temple on earth. The Temple of Venus completing a complex that took three centuries to build. You crossed a mountain pass to get here. Your guide makes sure the visit is worth every kilometre of it.

   1.5 hAdmission included

7. Lunch in Baalbek — included Lebanese mezze and grilled meats in a town that has been feeding travellers since the Roman legions passed through. Fully included in the tour price.

   1 h

8. Return to Beirut — approx. 7:00–8:00 PM Drop-off at your Beirut hotel. A cliff-face monastery, a cedar grove, a mountain crossing, and the world's greatest Roman temples — Lebanon's summer mountain route done properly.

   Passes by

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 1 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

How it compares in Beirut

• Its from-price is 100% above the median of the 193 day trips we list in Beirut.
• Its length is typical for the group.
• By number of reviews it ranks 139 of 193.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Beirut

Beirut is Lebanon's capital on a Mediterranean headland, a Phoenician port city with Roman remains and mountains rising close behind.

Beirut juts into the Mediterranean on a rocky headland, with the snow-streaked peaks of Mount Lebanon rising behind. Founded by the Phoenicians, it became the Roman city of Berytus, famed for its school of law, and the remains of Roman baths lie in the city centre. The Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque, with its blue domes, and the nearby churches of St George show the mix of faiths.

Top-ranked sights in Beirut: Jeita Grotto, Our Lady of Lebanon (Notre Dame du Liban), Byblos (Jbeil).

See all 442 experiences in Beirut