Qadisha Valley, Cedars Hike & Kozhaya | Small-Group Tour Beirut

5.0 (3 reviews) 8 hours Free cancellation

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Qadisha Valley, Cedars Hike & Kozhaya | Small-Group Tour Beirut — Photos: the activity supplier, via Viator

Qadisha Valley, Cedars Hike & Kozhaya | Small-Group Tour Beirut, photo 2 — Photos: the activity supplier, via Viator

About this activity

Lebanon's north is genuinely unlike anywhere else in the country — and this small-group day trip from Beirut takes you deep into it. A UNESCO gorge where monks carved their sanctuaries into sheer limestone cliffs. The museum and tomb of Khalil Gibran — Lebanon's most celebrated poet, whose book The Prophet has sold 100 million copies. An easy hike through the Cedars of God at 2,000 metres above sea level. A mountain lunch included in the price. And a 12th-century monastery carved directly into the cliff face of the Qadisha Valley, housing the first printing press ever used in the Middle East.

Four completely different stops. One professional guide who connects them all. Lunch and all tickets included — nothing extra to pay. Perfect for solo travelers who want to explore Lebanon's most dramatic north without having to figure it all out alone.

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At a glance

Duration: 8 hours
Confirmation: Instant confirmation
Ticket: Mobile or paper ticket accepted
Group: Up to 10 people
People per booking: 1–9
Guide: Arabic, English
Operated by: Beirut Trip

Ages: Adults (0–99 years)

What is included

Included

Included: Tour Leader
Included: Hotel pickup and drop-off in Beirut
Included: In-vehicle air conditioning: Air-conditioned vehicle
Included: All Tickets - Admission to the sites

Not included

Not included: Gratuities (optional)
Not included: Lunch

Itinerary

Beirut

Passing by

8:30 AM — Departure from Beirut

Your guide meets you at your Beirut hotel and heads north along the coastal highway before climbing steeply into the Lebanese mountains — the temperature dropping and the landscape shifting as you gain altitude toward the north.
Qadisha Valley

15 min

Qadisha Valley — the gorge that hid a civilisation

Pull over at the rim of the Qadisha Valley and take a moment — because this view is something else. Sheer limestone walls drop hundreds of metres to the valley floor, dotted with ancient monastery caves and hermitages carved directly into the rock face by Christian communities who chose these inaccessible cliffs specifically because nobody could easily reach them. Qadisha means "Holy" in Aramaic — earned over seventeen centuries of people hiding their faith in this dramatic gorge. Your guide explains the full story of who lived here, why, and what they left behind. Multiple photo stops along the rim.
Gibran Museum

30 min Admission included

Khalil Gibran Museum — 100 million copies and a cave tomb

Visit the museum dedicated to Khalil Gibran — Lebanon's most celebrated writer, whose book The Prophet has sold over 100 million copies in more than 100 languages, making it one of the best-selling books of the 20th century. Housed in a former Carmelite monastery carved into the cliff above Bcharre, the museum holds Gibran's original oil paintings, watercolours, and personal manuscripts — far more than most visitors expect from a small mountain town. His tomb is here too, in the cave chapel at the heart of the monastery, exactly where he asked to be buried — back in the village that shaped everything he ever wrote. Your guide brings Gibran's life and philosophy to life in the place where it all started.
Stop 4

45 min Admission included

Cedars of God — easy hike through trees older than most countries

Walk among the Cedars of God — a UNESCO-protected grove at 2,000 metres above sea level where some trees are over 1,000 years old and their trunks measure more than 14 metres in circumference. These are the descendants of the forests that built Phoenician ships, Solomon's Temple, and Egyptian palaces — and walking among them on an easy 45-minute hike with your guide explaining their story is one of those genuinely special moments that the north of Lebanon keeps producing. Marked trail, easy terrain, suitable for all fitness levels. Just bring comfortable shoes and an open mind.
Bcharre

one hour

Lunch in Bcharre — included

A proper mountain Lebanese lunch at a local Bcharre restaurant — generous mezze, grilled meats, fresh bread, and Qadisha Valley views. Fully included in your tour price. Eat well — the best stop of the day is still ahead.
Stop 6

30 min

Kozhaya Monastery — carved into the cliff, first printing press in the Middle East

Descend back into the Qadisha Valley for the day's most unexpected stop — the Monastery of Saint Anthony of Kozhaya, one of Lebanon's oldest monasteries, carved directly into the limestone cliff face of the valley wall in the 12th century. Cave chapels, ancient stone cells, and the deep silence of the gorge create a sense of complete remove from everything — including the modern world. Inside, two things worth knowing about: a cave sanctuary that has been a pilgrimage site 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 genuinely extraordinary place that most Lebanon visitors never find. Your guide explains everything.
Beirut

Passing by

Return to Beirut — approx. 6:00–7:00 PM

Scenic drive back south to Beirut with drop-off at your hotel — completing a full day in Lebanon's extraordinary north, with every ticket paid and lunch already taken care of.