Beirut Trip Overview
Save time, and combine the natural beauty and History in one day tour from Beirut. Enjoy the green sceneries on your way to Bcharre through the Holy valley of Qadisha with a short stop at Kozhaya Monastery. Visit after the Cedars of God forest , take some picture and head after to Baalback.
After lunch, Visit Baalbek, one of the most celebrated sanctuaries of the ancient world and home to the complex which includes two of the largest and grandest Roman temple ever built.
Additional Info
Duration: 8 to 9 hours
Starts: Beirut, Lebanon
Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Historical & Heritage Tours
Explore Beirut Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Beirut, Lebanon, Lebanon
Save time, and combine the natural beauty and History in one day tour from Beirut. Enjoy the green sceneries on your way to Bcharre through the Holy valley of Qadisha with a short stop at Kozhaya Monastery. Visit after the Cedars of God forest , take some picture and head after to Baalback.
After lunch, Visit Baalbek, one of the most celebrated sanctuaries of the ancient world and home to the complex which includes two of the largest and grandest Roman temple ever built.
Pass By: Qadisha Valley, 6 Km From Becharre, Bcharre Lebanon
Qadisha valley is one of the most important settlement sites of the first Christian monasteries in the world, and its monasteries, many of which of great age, are set in an extraordinarily rugged landscape.
The Qadisha Valley comprises all the caves, monasteries and cultivated terraces that are associated with the activities from a very early phase of Christianity.
Pass By: Bcharre, Bcharre, North Governorate
Bcharre is the town of the only remaining and preserved original Cedars of God, and is the birthplace of the famous poet, painter and sculptor Khalil Jubran who now has a museum in the town to honor him. Moreover, Bcharre is home to the oldest skiing area, the Cedars Ski Resort and to Lebanon’s first ski lift, built in 1953.
Bcharre is sometimes called “the city of churches” as it houses some 37 churches.
Stop At: The Cedars of God, Bcharre Lebanon
The Forest of the Cedars of God with its 375 trees, is the last remains of antique forests and one of the rare sites where the Cedars still grows.
It was highly prized in ancient times and was one of the most valued construction materials of great religious buildings and cited 103 times in the Bible.
The Cedar is the symbol of the country, its pride, and features prominently on the Lebanese flag.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Deir Qozhaya, Qadisha Valley, Bcharre Lebanon
The Monastery of Saint Anthony the Great is situated at a height of 950 meters above sea level in the celebrated Valley of Qozhaya. The pine trees and oak trees cover the great hills surrounding it. Fruit trees of every description grow all along the valley, which extends into the Valley of Qannubin to form the great Qadisha Valley, thus bearing witness to the history of eremitic life and the quest for holiness in Lebanon.
Historians and scholars suppose that this Monastery was first built and began to be occupied by hermits at the beginning of the fourth century. It was several times looted, set on fire and razed to the ground, but there still remain vestiges dating back to the seventh century.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Baalbek, Lebanon
Baalbek, is home to the Baalbek temple complex which includes two of the largest and grandest Roman temple ruins: the Temple of Bacchus and the Temple of Jupiter. It was inscribed in 1984 as an UNESCO World Heritage site.
This Phoenician city, where a triad of deities was worshipped, was known as Heliopolis during the Hellenistic period. It retained its religious function during Roman times, when the sanctuary of the Heliopolitan Jupiter attracted thousands of pilgrims. Baalbek, with its colossal structures, is one of the finest examples of Imperial Roman architecture at its apogee.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Temples of Baalbek, Baalbeck Lebanon
The complex of temples at Baalbek is located at the foot of the south-west slope of Anti-Lebanon, bordering the fertile plain of the Bekaa at an altitude of 1150 m. The city of Baalbek reached its apogee during Roman times. Its colossal constructions built over a period of more than two centuries, make it one of the most famous sanctuaries of the Roman world and a model of Imperial Roman architecture. Pilgrims thronged to the sanctuary to venerate the three deities, known under the name of the Romanized Triad of Heliopolis, an essentially Phoenician cult (Jupiter, Venus and Bacchus).
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Baalbek Roman Ruins, Baalbeck Lebanon
Baalbeck roman ruins, Lebanon’s greatest Roman treasure, can be counted among the wonders of the ancient world. The largest and most noble Roman temples ever built, they are also among the best preserved.
One of the most iconic landmarks in Lebanon, the Roman Ruins in Baalbek are a must for any tourist. Originally a site of Phoenician worship, the temples were taken over by the Romans after their colonization. What was once the home of Astarte became the home of Venus, the Goddess of Love. The same site also endured the Christian and Islamic eras to become what it is today. Walk the historical steps as you marvel Baalbek’s towering structures.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Temple of Jupiter, 2643+MGG, Baalbek, Lebanon
The Temple of Jupiter is a colossal Roman temple, the largest of the Roman world, situated at the Baalbek complex in Heliopolis. The temple served as an oracle and was dedicated to Jupiter Heliopolitanus.
It is not known who designed the temple, nor exactly when it was constructed. Work probably began around 16 BC and was nearly complete by about ad 60. It is situated at the western end of the Great Court of Roman Heliopolis, on a broad platform of stone raised another 7 m (23 ft) above the huge stones of the foundation, three of which are among the heaviest blocks ever used in a construction.
It was the biggest temple dedicated to Jupiter in all the Roman empire. The columns were 30 meters high with a diameter of nearly 2.5 meters: the biggest in the classical world. It took three centuries to create this colossal temple complex.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Temple of Bacchus (Roman god of wine), Baalbek, Lebanon
The Temple of Bacchus is part of the Baalbek temple complex located in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. The temple complex is considered an outstanding archaeological and artistic site of Imperial Roman Architecture and was inscribed as an UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984. The Temple of Bacchus is one of the best preserved and grandest Roman temple ruins; its age is unknown, but Its fine ornamentation can be dated to the second century CE.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Temple of Venus, 2644+9GR, Baalbek, Lebanon
The Temple of Venus was built in the third century. Built on a horseshoe-shaped platform, it consists of a circular shrine with a square entrance that is almost as big. The outer façade of the shrine is graced by five niches, which means that there is not a single square wall. In the niches are representations of doves and shells, which has been taken as evidence that the shrine was dedicated to Venus.
Duration: 30 minutes
Pass By: Sayyida Khawla Shrine, Baalbeck Lebanon
The Mosque of sayeda Khawla in Baalbek, Lebanon is erected on the site where Sayyida Khawla, the daughter of Imam al-Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, is believed to have been buried. People of Baalbek believe that when the caravan of captives of Karbala passed Baalbek, The daughter of Imam al-Hussein, called Khawla passed away and was buried there.
Stop At: Stone of the Pregnant Woman, Lebanon
The Stone of the Pregnant Woman is a worked Roman monolith in Baalbek, Lebanon. Together with another ancient stone block nearby, it is among the largest monoliths ever quarried. The two building blocks were presumably intended for the nearby Roman temple complex, and are characterized by a monolithic gigantism that was unparalleled in antiquity.
Duration: 15 minutes
