Private Beiteddine, Barouk Cedars Hike & Deir el Qamar | Beirut

9:00 AM — Hotel pickup Your driver meets the group at your Beirut hotel and heads southeast into the Chouf Mountains. Beiteddine is about 45 minutes away — the scenery shifting from coast to pine-forested mountain ridges as you climb.

Beiteddine Palace — the presidential palace of Lebanon Built between 1788 and 1840 by Emir Bashir II — the ruler who unified Lebanon's mountain communities. Three interconnected courtyards with hand-cut geometric tilework and elaborately carved cedar-wood ceilings. Beneath the palace: Lebanon's finest collection of Byzantine mosaics in an underground museum that most visitors walk straight past. Today the official summer residence of the Lebanese President. Your driver covers the full story of Emir Bashir and the palace throughout the visit.

Barouk Cedars — Lebanon's largest nature reserve · open all year The Shouf Biosphere Reserve covers over 50,000 hectares of the Lebanese mountains — Lebanon's largest protected natural area and a UNESCO-recognised biosphere. The Barouk cedar grove at its heart protects ancient trees descended from the forests that once covered the entire Lebanese range — the same cedars that built Phoenician ships, furnished Solomon's Temple, and supplied Egyptian palaces. An easy one-hour hike through the marked trails — suitable for all fitness levels, open in every season, spectacular mountain scenery year-round. Unlike the cedar forests near Bcharre, this road stays open regardless of the season. Your driver covers the ecology and conservation story of Lebanon's most emblematic tree throughout.

Deir el Qamar — Lebanon's first capital Meaning "Monastery of the Moon" — a honey-stone Ottoman village that served as Lebanon's first capital under the Ma'an dynasty and remains one of the most perfectly preserved historic villages in the country. The cobblestone central square is framed by 17th and 18th-century mansions unchanged for centuries. Your driver covers the dynastic and political history of this remarkable village.

Fakhreddine Mosque & Saydet el Tallé Church The 17th-century mosque of Emir Fakhreddine II — the Druze ruler who built an empire from the Bekaa to the Sinai — and the hilltop Maronite church with panoramic Chouf valley views. A mosque and a church metres apart, four centuries of coexistence in a single hillside view.

Lunch in Deir el Qamar — optional Lebanese mountain mezze at a local restaurant — grilled meats, fresh bread, Chouf valley views. Optional and at your own expense. After a morning palace visit and a cedar hike, the argument for lunch makes itself.

Return to Beirut — approx. 5:30–6:30 PM Drop-off at your Beirut hotel. A presidential palace, Lebanon's largest cedar forest, and the count