Saints & Sinkholes | Long Weekend in Lebanon

Name: Saints & Sinkholes | Long Weekend in Lebanon
Start: 2026-03-12T19:00:00+04:00
End: 2026-03-16T03:00:00+04:00
Location: Dubai International Airport

Schedule

Thu, 12 Mar, 2026 at 07:00 pm to Mon, 16 Mar, 2026 at 03:00 am

UTC+04:00

Location

Dubai International Airport | Dubai, DU

Lebanon is that pocket-sized powerhouse that somehow fits 10,000 years of history, ski slopes, beach clubs, Roman mega-temples, and the world’s best mezze into an area smaller than Qatar. You can literally have breakfast by the Mediterranean, lunch in the mountains, and dinner in a rooftop bar that feels like Paris and Dubai had a baby. Buckle up – this place hits different.
They don’t call it the “Switzerland of the Middle East” for nothing: snow-capped peaks, ancient cedars older than Jesus, and valleys so deep monks built monasteries into the cliffs just to flex. The name “Lebanon” even comes from the ancient word for “white” – yeah, those snowy mountains have been the national brand since forever.
History? Phoenicians invented the alphabet here, Romans dropped the most over-the-top temples outside Italy, Crusaders built castles, Ottomans added souks and soap empires. Modern chapter got messy – civil war, heartbreak, rebuild, repeat – but Beirut rose from the ashes like the ultimate comeback kid and reclaimed its title: “Paris of the East 2.0”.
And the food? Mezze spreads so good you’ll forget calories exist. Labneh that slaps harder than your ex, grilled meats dripping with garlic sauce, and enough olive oil to keep the Mediterranean shiny.
Ready? Let’s roll.
Day 1 // Thursday :: Touchdown Beirut
Meet at DXB, hop on the direct FZ-159 to BEY. Land, breeze through arrivals, and get whisked to the hotel. Night owls? First taste of Beirut nightlife – the city that never sleeps (and probably invented after-parties).
Day 2 // Friday :: Crusader Castles, Soap Kings & Cliff Monks
Road-trip north to Tripoli, Lebanon’s underrated second city with serious old-school swagger.
Citadel of Raymond de Saint-Gilles – biggest Crusader fortress in the country, panoramic sea views included.
Get steamy (literally) at Hammam Ezzedine, a 14th-century bathhouse still looking fresh.
Dive into the souks: spices, vintage caftans, and soap so legendary it has its own palace (Khan Al Saboun – watch olive-oil soap being born).
Afternoon: Qadisha Valley – aka the “Holy Valley.” Think Lord of the Rings scenery with monasteries carved into cliffs like ancient Jedi temples. Easy to moderate hike past hermit caves and cedar groves, ending at Qozhaya Monastery (home to the Middle East’s first printing press, 17th-century flex). Overnight inside the monastery, we’re going full spiritual glow-up.
Day 3 // Saturday :: Waterfalls, Roman Megalomania & Wine O’Clock
Morning magic: Baatara Gorge Sinkhole – a 250 m sinkhole abyss with three natural bridges and a waterfall that drops through like nature’s own stunt show. National Geographic called it one of the world’s most beautiful sinkholes; we just take pics, don't judge.
Then: Baalbek (ancient Heliopolis). The Romans showed up and said “hold my wine” – built the largest temple in the entire empire. Six columns of Jupiter’s temple still stand 19 m tall, and the Temple of Bacchus is so perfectly preserved it looks Photoshopped. Bonus: the biggest stone block ever cut (1,650 tons!) still chilling in the nearby quarry like the ancients gave up mid-lift.
Evening: Château Ksara – Lebanon’s OG winery since 1857, run by Jesuits who discovered Roman caves and thought, “Wine cellar, obviously.” Tour the creepy-cool tunnels, taste the goods, realize Lebanon makes banger reds. Back to Beirut for the night.
Day 4 // Sunday :: Beirut, Baby!
Capital energy unlocked:
Downtown time travel: Phoenician ruins → Roman baths → Ottoman palaces → bullet-scarred “Holiday Inn” war relic (now iconic).
Gemmayze & Mar Mikhael – street art, indie cafés, bars in stairwells, the works.
Corniche stroll, mandatory Pigeon Rocks selfie, optional boat ride under the cliffs.
Sunset drinks somewhere rooftop, mezze coma, then “keshek el-fouqara” (poor man’s goodbye) as we head to the airport.
Four days. One tiny country. Lifetime memories.
Grade: Easy – available for everyone.
Activities: Cultural immersion, trekking, sightseeing.
Cost: 3190 AED excl. flights, until JAN 20th.
Accommodation & Meals: 4 star hotel & monastery stay - shared rooms, meals excluded.
Specifically Excluded: Visa expenses (if any), meals.
Visa:
Visa on arrival for most passports. See details here.
It is sole responsibility of participant to secure entry to country of destination.
See you in the cedars! 🇱🇧✨ x
Trekkup Crew
Whatsapp 050 4848238
Find all trekkups at linktr.ee/trekkup