Trekking Lebanon One Week – year 2007

Day 1 = Arrival Beirut

Meet and assist at Beirut airport and transfer to hotel. Dinner and overnight

Day 2 = Beirut – Byblos – Ehden – Bcharreh

Breakfast and departure to visit the city center of Beirut, the Reconstruction project of Solidere, and the National Museum. (one hour walking in the city center).

Afterwards proceed to Byblos and visit the Citadel, the St John Church and the Old Port (one hour walking on site). Continue to Ehden and visit the Natural reserve, for a 1 hour of moderate walk at an altitude of 1650m/1850m for 4km to discover this nature reserve, which is located on the north-western face of Mount Mekmel. The place is considered as the unique existing true forest in the Middle East with its preserved ecosystem of wild life: Cedars forests, pine trees and oak trees, endemic wild plants, etc…Back to Bcharri for dinner overnight.

Day 3 = The Qadisha Valley

Classifed as world Heritage site by the UNESCO, this valley is located in the heart of Northern Lebanon at the foot of Mount Mekmel. The region offers to hikers a superb rocky landscape. These rocks house a great number of natural cavities and grottoes that were occupied by people from different communities who took refuge in these caves, building chapels, monasteries and hermitages.

Possibility of meeting local people still living in the valley and cultivating their terraces. Mountain techniques (ropes, harnesses, etc) are used to reach some sites. Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Bcharreh.

Altitude 1300 m/ 900 m of effective 4 hours walk for 12 km.

Day 4 = Bcharreh – Baalbeck

Breakfast and departure to the Beqaa Valley. (in Winter time we come back through the coastal road, and in Summer time we go through the Cedars Road). Arrival in Baalbeck.

Trek for 2 hours of easy walking to discover the most gigantic and the greatest Roman temples in the world. Dinner and overnight in Baalbeck.

Day 5 = Nature reserve of Mount Barouk and Chouf Mountains

Drive to the Chouf Moutains to discover Barouk Nature Reserve to enjoy Beauty and fresh air of the most preserved region in Lebanon. The reserve includes 200 species of birds, 19 of which are considered endangered worldwide, and 26 species of wild mammals, 19 of which are considered endangered locally and 6 appear in the IUCN red list of threatened species.

These species are all protected and their hunting is prohibited. As far as flora is concerned, 524 species of plant have so far been unidentified, 32 of them bearing a specifically Lebanese designation such as the Lebanon crane bill, the Lebanon barberry, the Lebanon cheese rennet and so on. They include 16 species of tree in addition to the Lebanese cedar; 6 of these are currently considered to be endangered locally. Botanists have discovered 30 indigenous species of plants, which are to be found in Lebanon only.

Altitude 1600-1900 m, easy level, 4 hours trekking.

Proceed to visit the Palace of Emir Bechir in Beiteddine, then Deir El Kamar, which is the best-preserved old Lebanese town, a town that was once the residence of the governors of Lebanon in the 16^th-18^th centuries. Dinner and overnight at the hotel in the Chouf.

Day 6 = Trekking the Phoenician History = Tyre & Sidon

Tyre is often mentioned in the Bible, and its glory spread far beyond its border. Along with Byblos and Sidon, it has given the historians the chance to outline back the Phoenician history. The island city with its 2 harbors offers a special ambiance for the walker to wander, and probably be invited to a cup of tea or to simply chat with the anglers or the famous boat manufacturers by the Northern port.

Leave Tyre, and drive to sister town Sidon, also one of the most important Phoenician cities of the Mediterranean coast. You’ll go visit the renovated khans – understand soap making – the Sea Castle, and the old souks, where you’ll probably encounter , learn more about the country from the locals themselves. Return to Beirut. Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Beirut.

Effective walk : 4 hours easy

Day 7 = Beirut departure

Breakfast and transfer to Beirut airport for departure.

Price per person in sharing double room on Half Board basis in US Dollars

Hotels proposed:

The price includes:

• Meet and assist at Beirut airport on arrival and departure

• Transportation by Micro Bus for 6-10 pax, or Big Bus (30 seaters) for 15 to 25 pax, during the Trekking tour

• Permanent guide for the Trekking tour according to nationality of the group

• Entrance fees in Lebanon to the sites mentioned in the program

• Hotel accommodation in sharing double room on Half Board basis for 6 nights during the tour in Lebanon at the above mentioned hotels

• One free tour leader in sharing twin rooms for 15 paying pax and over

• 10% VAT on Lebanon services only effective 1^st February 2002.

This price does not include:

• Visa to Lebanon $ 17 per person for one Entry. $ 34 per person for double entry

• Lunches during the tour

• Drinks with the dinners

• Extras and personal expenses

• Tips to the guide and driver

Validity: this offer is valid for the year 2007 at the hotels mentioned above.

Low & High Season APPLICABLE FOR HOTEL BEIRUT ONLY