Qadisha Valley, Cedars Hike & Kozhaya | Small-Group All-Inclusive
- 9 hours
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- 2 languages
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
Lebanon's north is where the country stops performing for tourists and starts being genuinely itself. This all-inclusive guided day trip covers four stops that most Lebanon visitors never reach — and that the ones who do consistently rate as the highlight of their entire trip. A UNESCO gorge. The tomb of the author whose book outsold almost everything written in the 20th century. A cedar forest where some trees are older than most countries. A 12th-century monastery carved into a cliff face that houses the first printing press ever used in the Middle East. Everything — guide, lunch, all tickets — included. No extras to budget for. No decisions to make on the day. Just nine hours in one of the most extraordinary landscapes in the Middle East, with a guide who knows every stop in depth.
Inclusions
What's included
- Lunch in a local restaurant (if option selected)
- 1-hour guided hike through the Cedars of God
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in Beirut
- Tickets / Admission to all Historical sites (if option selected)
- Professional expert guide
- Qadisha Valley UNESCO viewpoint — multiple photo stops
What's not
- Gratuities (optional)
- Food or drinks unless specified
Itinerary
8:30 AM — Hotel pickup Your guide meets the group at your Beirut hotel and heads north — coastal highway to mountain road, the landscape changing dramatically as you climb toward the Qadisha Valley.
Qadisha Valley — UNESCO gorge · photo stops at the rim Pull over at the rim and look down — sheer limestone walls dropping hundreds of metres to the valley floor, dotted with ancient monastery caves carved into the cliff face over seventeen centuries. Qadisha means "Holy" in Aramaic. Your guide explains who chose these inaccessible cliffs as a place to live, why they chose them, and what has survived. Multiple photo stops along the rim. This is the view that makes people understand why Lebanon's north is different from everywhere else.
Khalil Gibran Museum — The Prophet, in the village that made it The Prophet has sold over 100 million copies in more than 100 languages — one of the best-selling books written in the entire 20th century. Khalil Gibran was born in Bcharre, shaped by this mountain valley, and buried here — in the cave chapel of this former Carmelite monastery that now holds his original paintings, watercolours, and personal manuscripts. Your guide covers Gibran's life, his years in New York, and why The Prophet reads differently when you are standing in the landscape that produced it.
Cedars of God — one-hour guided hike · UNESCO-protected grove A UNESCO-protected grove at 2,000 metres above sea level where some trees exceed 1,000 years and trunks measure more than 14 metres in circumference. These are the descendants of the forests that built Phoenician ships, furnished Solomon's Temple, and supplied Egyptian palaces. A one-hour guided hike on marked trails at your own pace — easy terrain, suitable for all fitness levels, spectacular mountain scenery. Your guide covers the ecology, the mythology, and the conservation history of Lebanon's most emblematic tree. The kind of place that stays with you.
Lunch in Bcharre — included Mountain Lebanese mezze at a local Bcharre restaurant — grilled meats, fresh bread, Qadisha Valley views. Fully included. The best stop of the day is still ahead.
Kozhaya Monastery — first printing press in the Middle East Descend into the Qadisha Valley for the day's final and most atmospheric stop — the Monastery of Saint Anthony of Kozhaya, founded in the 12th century and carved directly into the limestone cliff face of the valley wall. Cave chapels, ancient stone cells, and the complete silence of the gorge. 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 most travelers discover by accident and never forget. Your guide explains the full significance of the printing press and what it means for the history of knowledge in the Levant.
Return to Beirut — approx. 6:00–7:00 PM Drop-off at your Beirut hotel. A UNESCO gorge, the tomb of The Prophet's author, thousand-year-old cedar trees, and the first printing press in the Middle East — Lebanon's north done properly, everything included.
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
4.8
- 59
- 42
- 30
- 20
- 10
Ratings come from 11 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
- Pickup
- Pickup is included for everyone.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Group size
- Up to 12 travellers
- Operated by
- Beirut Daily Tours
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
How it compares in Beirut
- Its from-price is 15% below the median of the 442 experiences we list in Beirut.
- Its length is typical for the group.
- By number of reviews it ranks 64 of 442.
- 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).
Special offers in Beirut
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
