• Beirut - 9:00 AM — Departure from Beirut
  Your private English-speaking driver will pick you up from your hotel in Beirut and take you southeast into the Chouf Mountains. The journey ascends steeply from the coastal city through pine-covered ridges towards the historic heart of the Druze mountain region.
• Beiteddine Palace - Arrive at one of the Arab world’s most magnificent palaces, constructed between 1788 and 1840 by Emir Bashir II, the influential leader who unified Lebanon under a single authority for the first time in centuries. The palace complex is a stunning example of Lebanese craftsmanship, featuring three grand courtyards linked by vaulted arches and adorned with intricate geometric tilework, carved cedar-wood ceilings, and elaborately painted reception rooms. Beneath the palace, an underground museum houses Lebanon’s finest collection of Byzantine mosaics, recovered from archaeological sites across the country. Today, Beiteddine serves as the summer residence of the Lebanese President and hosts the internationally renowned Beiteddine Art Festival each July and August. Your driver will bring to life the full story of Emir Bashir and the palace’s remarkable history.
• Moussa Castle - Just minutes from Beiteddine is one of Lebanon’s most extraordinary and unique attractions — a full-scale medieval castle built entirely by one man over six decades. The story begins in the 1940s when a young Lebanese schoolboy named Moussa Maamari wrote a love letter to a girl in his class. His teacher read it aloud and mocked him, saying a boy like him would never amount to anything, let alone live in a castle. Moussa spent the next sixty years proving him wrong. Working largely alone, he quarried stone, mixed mortar, and built his castle by hand — room by room, tower by tower — filling it with hundreds of life-size wax figures depicting scenes from Lebanese history, village life, Druze traditions, and Ottoman-era battles. The result is unlike any museum or attraction in Lebanon — part medieval fortress, part wax museum, part testament to one man’s extraordinary determination. A story and a place that visitors never forget.
• Deir el Qamar - Drive to Deir el Qamar — one of the best-preserved Ottoman-era villages in Lebanon and the country’s first capital under the Ma’an dynasty. The central square is framed by honey-stone mansions dating to the 17th and 18th centuries — including the Fakhreddine Palace, the Chehab Palace, and the grand Serail — all within steps of each other. The village’s remarkable coexistence of faiths is evident in its architecture: a Druze mosque, a Maronite church, and a Catholic chapel all sharing the same square in a country where such proximity is both unusual and deeply meaningful.
• Fakhreddine’s Mosque - Visit the 17th-century mosque built by the legendary Druze emir Fakhreddine II — one of the founding fathers of modern Lebanon — a rare example of a historic mosque open to respectful visitors in a mixed-faith Lebanese village.
• Saydet El Talle Church - End your time in Deir el Qamar at this hilltop Maronite church with sweeping views over the village rooftops and the Chouf valleys below — one of the most peaceful and scenic viewpoints in the entire Chouf Mountains.
• Deir el Qamar - Lunch in Deir el Qamar — optional
  Enjoy a relaxed lunch at one of Deir el Qamar’s traditional mountain restaurants — hearty Lebanese mezze served in stone-vaulted dining rooms or on terraces overlooking the Chouf valleys. A perfect mountain pause before the drive back to Beirut.
• Beirut - Return to Beirut — approx. 5:00–6:00 PM
  Scenic mountain drive back to Beirut with drop-off at your hotel — completing a full day through the architectural grandeur, human determination, and living history of Lebanon’s Chouf Mountains.

• Private transportation
• English Speaking Driver
• In-vehicle air conditioning
• Hotel Pick-up & Drop-off

• Lunch in Deir el Qamar (optional — at own expense)
• Gratuities (optional)

The Chouf Mountains are home to three of Lebanon’s most captivating and diverse attractions: a magnificent 19th-century palace, a castle constructed by a single individual over sixty years as a childhood dream, and a flawlessly preserved Ottoman village that once served as Lebanon’s capital.

Beiteddine Palace stands as one of the world’s finest examples of Arab architecture, featuring grand courtyards, intricate tilework, cedar-wood ceilings, and an underground Byzantine mosaic museum. Nearby, Moussa Castle offers a completely different experience—a full-scale medieval fortress meticulously hand-built stone by stone over six decades by a dedicated Lebanese man, showcasing hundreds of life-size wax figures illustrating Lebanese history and daily life. Deir el Qamar, Lebanon’s first capital, is a charming honey-stone village where a 17th-century mosque, a church, and a grand palace all share the same cobblestone square.

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.