Qadisha, one of the deepest and most beautiful valleys in Lebanon, is indeed a world apart. At the bottom of this wild, steep-sided gorge runs the Qadisha River, whose source is in the Qadisha Grotto at the foot of the Cedars. Above the valley and famous Cedar grove towers Qornet Es-Saouda, Lebanon's highest peak.

The Qadisha Valley begins at Bcharré village, which marks the start of a deep geological fault whose extending valleys reach out of sight. All the accumulated water from these smaller valleys flows into the Qadisha River, which runs through the valley towards Tripoli and the sea. At Tripoli, the name of this river changes to the Abou Ali River. The name Abou Ali is related to the name Fakhr el Mulk Abi Ali Ibn Ammar, who was the last Emir of Tripoli during the Fatimid period at the dawn of the Crusades.

The Qadisha Valley houses some of the most important early Christian monastic settlements in the world. Rock-cut chapels, grottoes, and hermitages, many painted with frescoes dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries, are tucked into the steep walls. Among the notable monasteries located in the valley are the Monastery of Mar Antonios Qozhaya, the Monastery of Saydet Haouqa, the Monastery of Qannoubine, and the Monastery of Mar Elisha.

From the prehistoric periods to the Roman era, people lived in the caves and rock shelters scattered all over the Qadisha Valley. At the dawn of the Christian era, when the new Christian religion was introduced into the valley, these caves and rock shelters were transformed into chapels, hermitages, and monasteries. Generations of monks, hermits, and ascetics found asylum here.

These religious men belonged to various confessions that grew out of controversies over the nature of Christ during the early Christian era. Among them were the Nestorians, the Monopysites, the Chalcedonians, and the Monothelites. The Nestorians believed that Christ had a human nature until his baptism in the Jordan River, thus refusing the attribute of Mary as the “Mother of God” and only accepting her attribute as the “Mother of Christ.” The Monopysites, or Jacobites, believed that Christ has a unique nature in which the divine almost prevails over the human. The Chalcedonians believed that Christ incorporates two natures, the divine and the human, and consequently Mary can be considered the “Mother of God.” Others, called Monothelites, believed that Christ has only one will, which is the Divine Will. These different communities were always arguing and fighting about the meaning of religious terminologies, which differed according to each group's language.

In addition to the Christians, Muslim Sufis also lived in the Qadisha Valley. According to Ibn Joubeir, an Andalusian traveler who visited the area during the 12th century A.D., the Christians of the mountains provided food and provisions to the Muslims who chose to isolate themselves from the world in the valley. At that time, the valley used to echo the prayers of its inhabitants, each one in his own language: Greek, Arabic, Syriac, and Ethiopian.

Visiting the Valley

At the town of Tourza the Qadisha Valley divides into two branches, each named after a monastery: the Wadi Qozhaya branch leads to Ehden and the Wadi Qannoubine branch leads to the Cedars. A path runs along the bottom of the Qadisha Valley through an area called Bain an-Nahrain (“Between the Two Rivers”), where Wadi Qozhaya meets Wadi Qannoubine. From here, trails lead to various sites inside the valley. You can also start from the top of the valley and take one of the numerous paths to the bottom.

Visiting all the sites in the Qadisha Valley may take several days. This brochure invites you to spend one day visiting the major sites in the valley and its immediate surroundings.

You can drive a car from Tourza to Haouqa via Ehden, then on to the Monastery of Mar Antonios Qozhaya (A). After visiting the monastery, drive back to Haouqa and park your car near the village church. A trail begins at Haouqa, leading down to the medieval Monastery and Oratory of Saydet Haouqa (B), then to the Church of Saint Marina (C), and the Monastery of Qannoubine (D).

After visiting the Monastery of Qannoubine, you can stop at a small restaurant situated at the bottom of the valley to the right side of the trail. Ask there for a taxi to drive you back to Haouqa. On the way up, you can visit the Monastery of Mar Elisha (E), the Museum of Gibran Khalil Gibran and the Oratory of Saydet el-Derr (F) in Bcharré, and the village of Hadchit.