Qadisha means holy in Aramaic, and the valley has earned it. Cut 500 m deep into the northern mountains below Bsharri, it has sheltered hermits, monks and persecuted Christian communities since at least the fourth century, and is a UNESCO World Heritage site together with the cedar grove above it.
The monasteries
Deir Qannoubine, built into the cliff and dating in its present form to the sixteenth century, was the seat of the Maronite patriarchs for four hundred years and contains frescoes and the mummified remains of a patriarch. Mar Elisha, higher up, was the cradle of the Lebanese Maronite Order and clings to the rock face above the trail. Deir Mar Antonios Qozhaya houses one of the earliest printing presses in the Middle East, brought here in 1585. Several hermitages are still occupied by individual monks.
Walking
The valley floor is followed by a trail from Bsharri down to the river and along it, and the standard walk from Bsharri to Deir Qannoubine and back takes four to five hours with a descent and climb of about 500 m. Shorter options start from Hadchit or Diman. The path is unshaded in places and rough underfoot; sturdy shoes matter.
Bsharri
The town on the rim is the birthplace of Khalil Gibran, author of The Prophet, and the Gibran Museum occupies a former monastery carved into the rock where he is buried, holding several hundred of his paintings and his personal effects. It is a better museum than the gift-shop reputation of the book suggests.
The Maronites
The valley is central to Maronite identity: a church in communion with Rome but with its own Syriac liturgy, whose community took refuge in these mountains from the seventh century onwards. Understanding that history explains a good deal about modern Lebanese politics.
Practicalities
Bsharri is about three hours from Beirut by road and the drive up from the coast is spectacular. Spring and autumn are best; the valley floor is hot in summer and the roads above can be closed by snow between December and March. Guides can be arranged in Bsharri and are worth taking for the monastery interiors, which are not always open.
The scale of it
The valley is about 35 km long and drops from 1500 m at Bsharri to sea level at Tripoli, where the Qadisha river reaches the Mediterranean. Terraced fields, mulberry trees left from the silk industry and small chapels are scattered along it, and the villages on both rims are connected only by long detours, which is why the valley kept its isolation for so long.