Private Anjar, Baalbek & Ksara Winery Tour | Bekaa Valley

9:00 AM — Pickup from your Beirut hotel Your friendly driver meets you at your hotel and heads east on the Damascus highway — climbing through the Lebanese mountains as the beautiful Bekaa Valley opens dramatically below. First stop is Anjar, about an hour away.

Anjar — a beautifully preserved Umayyad city Arrive at one of Lebanon's most fascinating and most undervisited archaeological sites — the Umayyad ruins of Anjar, the only surviving example of a complete Umayyad palatial city in the entire Levant. Built in the early 8th century by Caliph Walid I — the same visionary ruler who commissioned the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem — the city was abandoned just decades after its construction and never rebuilt, leaving it wonderfully preserved. Colonnaded streets dividing the city into four quarters, a grand palace with over 40 towers, a mosque and bathhouses — all still standing in the middle of the Bekaa plain. A genuinely impressive and surprisingly accessible site that your driver brings to life with ease.

Stone of the Pregnant Woman — an awe-inspiring introduction Before the temples, stop at the ancient Roman quarry to see the Stone of the Pregnant Woman — a single limestone block 21 metres long and weighing an estimated 1,000 tonnes, still lying exactly where it was cut 2,000 years ago. One of the most extraordinary sights in Lebanon and a wonderful way to prepare your imagination for the temple complex just minutes ahead.

Baalbek Temple Complex — a UNESCO World Heritage wonder Enter one of the most awe-inspiring archaeological sites in the entire world — the Baalbek temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where the scale of Roman ambition and engineering is genuinely breathtaking. The Temple of Jupiter stands on Trilithon stones each weighing over 800 tonnes — the largest dressed stones ever used in human construction. The Temple of Bacchus, larger than the Parthenon in Athens and almost entirely intact after two thousand years, is widely considered the best-preserved Roman temple in the world. The circular Temple of Venus completes a complex that has astonished visitors for centuries. Your driver shares the full extraordinary story of Baalbek — from Phoenician sacred site to Roman sanctuary — in a clear and engaging way that makes the whole experience even more memorable.

Lunch in Zahle — Lebanon's food capital A highly recommended optional lunch stop in Zahle — Lebanon's most celebrated food and wine destination, known as the Bride of the Bekaa. The famous restaurant terraces along the Bardawni River serve some of the finest Lebanese mezze in the country in a wonderfully relaxed and scenic setting. A thoroughly enjoyable and well-deserved break between the temples and the winery.

Chateau Ksara — Roman cave cellars & Lebanese wine End the day on a wonderfully different note at Chateau Ksara — Lebanon's oldest winery, founded by Jesuit monks in 1857. The highlight of the visit is the extraordinary Roman cave cellar system stretching 2 kilometres beneath the winery — ancient tunnels discovered by the Jesuits in the 19th century, where wine ages at a naturally constant temperature year-round. Walking through these ancient caves is a genuinely magical experience that visitors of all ages find completely memorable — part archaeology, part wine discovery, entirely Lebanese. The tasting that follows showcases Ksara's iconic Cabernet-Syrah blends, crisp Blanc de Blancs, and beloved Sunset Rosé — a delightful and relaxing close to a wonderful day in the Bekaa.

Return to Beirut — approx. 5:30–6:30 PM Your driver brings you comfortably back to Beirut with drop-off at your hotel — completing a truly wonderful full day through two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, a hidden Umayyad city, and Lebanon's oldest wine caves.