10 Day Lebanon Wine Tour
Day 1: Departure
Depart for your overnight flight to Beirut Lebanon. Meals will be served on board.
Day 2: Arrival
Arrive to Lebanon, meet and assist at the airport, transfer to Hotel for Dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Jeitta Grotto Harissa by Cable Car & Byblos
Starting the tour by the visit of Jeitta Grotto, its upper and lower galleries contain one of the world’s largest and beautiful collections of stalactites and stalagmites.
Proceed to Harissa by cable car to admire from the top of the Basilica the most beautiful bay in the Middle East: the bay of Jounieh.
After a relaxing lunch of traditional meze and tapas at a Lebanese restaurant in Byblos, head.
Visit of Byblos, one of the oldest Phoenician cities. known over the world as “the world’s oldest continually inhabited city”, archaeologists believe that the site has been occupied for 7 millennia’s and probably more. nowadays its charming Phoenician harbor and the rich archaeological and historical heritage make of Byblos the most enchanting place to visit in Lebanon. Dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Beiteddine Palace, Moussa Castle, Deir el Kamar & Beirut
Note: Time Permitting, visit Baskinta
The day starts with discovering the Chouf Mountains with the visit of Deir El Kamar, which translates literally as “monastery of the moon.” The Midan or fountain square is the focal point of the town where the majority of historic buildings are grouped around it: the Serail, Fakhreddine mosque and palace, the silk khan, and the church of Saydet et-Tallé. Proceed to visit Moussa Castle, fairy tale construction housing traditional scenery.
Continue to Beiteddine Palace built in the 19th century over a period of 30 years by Emir Bechir II Chehabi around a former Druze hermitage. Today the palace is considered as the great surviving achievement of the Lebanese architecture with a mix of Arab and Italian style.
After the lunch, drive back to Beirut the vibrant capital of Lebanon, considered once the Switzerland of the Middle East. Today Beirut is a thriving cosmopolitan capital with plenty of stylish, trendy and modern places to go. Visit of Rawsheh and Down Town for shopping. Dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Bekaa Valley Kozhaya Ceda, Becharre, Baalbeck
Cedars: The most venerable representatives of the Cedars of Lebanon, which once covered the country's mountains, are in the Besharre region in the North of Lebanon. Hundreds of trees stand on slopes 2,000 meters high in the shadow of the 3,088-meter peak of Qornet es- Sawda. From Lebanon's cedar forests, Solomon got the timber to build his temple and palace, while the Egyptians Pharaohs used the wood carve their sarcophagi and 'sunships'.
Besharreh: In the north, the picturesque gateway to the Cedars of Lebanon, is the birthplace of the famous Lebanese poet Gibran Khalil Gibran. Here one may visit the Gibran Museum and the many ancient churches and monastries.
Kozhaya is part of the Holy valley where Maronites used to during the Ottaman's period. Monastry of St-Antoine of Kozhaya is one of the numerous monasteries built in this valley. It is built partly inside in the mountain and party outside it. It is surrounded by a very beautiful panorama of forest and valley.
Baalbeck Heliopolis: the roman temples of Baalbeck, located in the Bekaa valley 85 kilometers away from Beirut. It makes up the largest and best preserved corpus of roman architecture left around. The acropolis occupies the top of an artificial hill built up of different layers of habitation. Kouroum nearby. Dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Bekaa Valley Wine Tour
Kefraya: Château Kefraya, whose majority of shares were bought by Druze politician Walid Jumblat from the De Bustros family in the late 1980s. The former winemaker, Yves Morard, has now set up Cave.
Musar: Chateau Musar is perhaps the best known in the West, it was a particular favourite of Auberon Waugh. Musar achieved international recognition at the Bristol Wine Fair of 1979 [12] and for a long time was the only Lebanese wine widely available in the United Kingdom. The second wine, 'Hochar', is made in a lighter style for earlier drinking. Chateau Musar is known for transporting the grapes across the Front line during the civil war.
Massaya: Run by Ramzi and Sami Ghosn, Massaya is a boutique winery that marked a turning point because of the financial involvement of French wine dynasties (Vieux Telegraphe and Cheval Blanc) and quick international market success. Indeed, the features on CNN, BBC, Travel Channel, TV5... and in the New York Times, Decanter... are bolstering Lebanon's leading position in the Ancient World Wine category. Beside the Gold Reserve, Massaya is reputed for its Vineyard restaurant and the hospitality of its tasting room. Dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Aitanite and Machghara
St. Tomas Wineries: There are several other significant wineries, including Domaine de Baal, Château Héritage, Château Faqra, Château Nakad in Jdita, Domaine des Tourelles (who make Brun arak), Château St Thomas, Château St Thomas, Cave Kouroum, Clos de Cana, Nabise Mont Liban, Château Qanafar, Château Khoury and Couvent St. Sauveur.
Aitanite is a village in Lebanon, in the West Beqaa region. Aitanit counted 880 residents (estimation). In the last municipal Lebanese elections of 2004, its accounted 3263 resgitered voters of which 1784 actual voters. However, if the total number of Aitanite citizens who have emigrated were to be added, then the figure would be nearer to around 20,000. Aitanite is a popular summer destination for many Lebanese living abroad whose families originated from this area.
Machghara is a small town in the Beka'a Valley of Lebanon,[1] situated in the Western Beqaa District and south of the Beqaa Governorate. It lies just to the northwest of Sohmor and southwest of Lake Qaraoun, south of Aitanit and north of Ain Et Tine. The Iskander Spring lies to the northeast of the village. Dinner and overnight.
Day 8: Bhandoun, Zahle, Ksara Anjar & Rashaya
Anjar is located in the Bekaa valley, 58 km away from Beirut. It was built by the Omayyad caliph al- Walid Ibn Abdel Malek in the early 8th century A.D. Inside the city’s strong fortifications are the remains of streets, three palaces, souks, two hammams and a Mosque.
Ksara: Built during the Roman period then covered by sand for centuries , the Ksara caves were found by mistakes in 1898 by the Jesuites who were looking for a wolf that was eating their chicken every night and was using the caves a refuge. It is now the refuge of the well-known Ksara wine where thousands of the old wine bottles are preserved. A tasting of the best wines is done during the visits. Dinner and overnight.
Day 9: Sido, Tyr & Maghdouche
Sidon: The third great Phoenician city-state, Sidon's origins are lost from memory. The name was mentioned in the texts for the first time in the 14th century B.C. in the 'Tell El Amara Letters'. But it was during the Persian era, between the end of the 6th century B.C. and the mid-4th century B.C. that the city experienced its golden age. Sidon was an open city with many cultural influences, including the Egyptian and the Greek.
Tyr: Although the earliest origins of Tyre are unknown, the testimonies of ancient historians and some archeological evidence suggest that it goes back to the start of the 3rd millennium B.C. Originally a mainland settlement with an island city a short distance offshore, it came of age in the 10th century B.C.
Maghdouché: The name, Maghdouché, originates from the Syriac word, which means "crop collectors." It is also derived from the Syriac word Kidsh and its derivatives (Kadisho, Kadishat, Makdosho). In Hebrew, it means "holy" or "saintly." Dinner and overnight.
Day 10: Departure-Arrival
After breakfast and in due time we will head to the airport for our flight back home. We will arrive on the same day.