Excursions

A one day trip that covers the following two locations:

1. Jeita Grotto was lately nominated for the New 7 Wonders of Nature. Few grottos in the world match the astounding wealth of Jeita. The caverns in Jeita Grotto are on two levels. The lower galleries, discovered in 1836 and opened to the public in 1958, are visited by boat. An effective new lighting system illuminates the caverns allowing the visitor to glimpse the uppermost roofs. The upper galleries, opened in January 1969, can be seen on foot through a 120 meter-long concrete tunnel. This section shows that the entire cave system was like before geological conditions displaced the subterranean river to its present level, and is a delight to see.


2. Byblos or Jbeil is considered as one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Its archaeological excavations, going back to 7000 years, make it one of the important sites in the country. In the 3rd millennium BC, the city owed its prosperity to trade in Cedar Wood. And it is from late 1st millennium Byblos that we get the linear Phoenician alphabet that became the basis of our modern alphabet. The fact of this Phoenician invention is reflected in the Greek name “Byblos”, which originally meant “papyrus” and by extension, “book”.