Beirut

8:30 AM — Departure from Beirut Your guide meets you at your Beirut hotel and heads north along the coastal highway before climbing into the northern Lebanese mountains — the landscape shifting from Mediterranean shore to cedar-forested peaks as you gain altitude toward the Qadisha Valley.

Deir Qozhaya

Begin at the bottom of the Qadisha Valley at one of Lebanon's oldest and most atmospheric monasteries — the Monastery of Saint Anthony of Kozhaya, carved directly into the limestone cliff face of the valley wall in the 12th century. Cave chapels, ancient stone cells, and the sound of the valley echoing around you create a sense of complete remove from the modern world. Inside, two 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 to print liturgical texts in Arabic and Syriac. Your guide tells the full story of this extraordinary place before you begin the ascent through the valley above.