Qadisha Valley
From where the Qadisha road meets the valley floor, it's a 5km (1½-2 hour) walk to the serene still-working convent of Deir Qannoubin, probably the oldest…
©Joel Carillet/Getty Images
Qadisha Valley
The trip up to the mountain village of Bcharré takes you through some of the most beautiful scenery in Lebanon. The road winds along mountainous slopes, continuously gaining in altitude and offering spectacular views of the Qadisha Valley, a Unesco World Heritage–listed site that is home to isolated rock-cut monasteries, wildflowers and plenty of wildlife. Red-roofed villages perch atop hills or cling precariously to the mountainsides; the Qadisha River, with its source just below the Cedars ski resort, runs along the valley bottom; and Lebanon’s highest peak, Qornet As Sawda (3090m), soars overhead. With plentiful opportunities for hiking quiet valley trails or scaling isolated mountain landscapes, this is the perfect antidote to the urban mayhem of Beirut.
Attractions
Must-see attractions for your itinerary
Qadisha Valley
According to his wishes, the body of poet and artist Khalil Gibran (1883–1931), author of the much-loved The Prophet (1923), was interred in the chapel of…
Qadisha Valley
Extending around 500m into the mountain, this small grotto contains some impressive limestone formations. Though not as spectacular as Jeita Grotto near…
Qadisha Valley
Just beyond Qannoubin is the Chapel of Mar Marina, a female saint who, disguised as a man, lived as a monk at Qannoubin for many years before being…
Qadisha Valley
Near where the winding Qadisha road hits the valley floor is one of the most important monasteries, Deir Mar Elisha, which can be accessed by car and now…
Qadisha Valley
In the Qadisha valley below the village of Hawqa, this monastery (Our Lady of Hawqa) can be reached by a 4.5km path beyond Deir Qannoubin. It's a…
Qadisha Valley
In the southern section of the valley, accessed via a path just over a kilometre west (ie further from Bcharré) from the main road down to the valley…
Qadisha Valley
The working monastery of Deir Mar Antonios Qozhaya is in the northern section of the Qadisha valley between the villages of Hawqa and Ehden and accessible…
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