Qadisha Valley

A deep gorge cut through the Lebanon Mountains near the town of Bcharre, regarded as one of the oldest continuously inhabited Christian monastic landscapes in the world. Monasteries, hermitages, and chapels are built into the rock faces of the cliff walls at various heights, some accessible only by narrow paths cut into the stone. The valley floor follows the Qadisha River through dense vegetation in striking contrast to the bare limestone above. The Forest of the Cedars of God (Horsh Arz el-Rab) at the valley's upper end preserves one of the last remaining stands of the cedars referenced in ancient Mesopotamian texts and biblical literature.