Arrive at the high-altitude lakes of Aaqoura — one of the most scenically rewarding and least-visited natural areas in northern Lebanon. Sitting at over 1,500 metres above sea level, the lakes are framed by cedar-forested mountain ridges and offer a landscape of extraordinary peace and beauty — turquoise water reflecting the surrounding peaks, with views stretching across the northern Lebanese highlands. A gentle walking trail follows the lakeshore, offering the best vantage points for photography and allowing you to fully absorb a landscape that few international visitors ever reach. In spring, when the surrounding slopes are green and the snowmelt feeds the lakes to their fullest, the scenery is at its most dramatic.

The highlight of the day — and one of the most dramatic natural sights in the Middle East. The Baatara Gorge Waterfall near Tannourine is a phenomenon found nowhere else on earth: a 255-metre waterfall that plunges sequentially through three natural limestone bridges, carved over millions of years by the flow of the Balaa river into the Jurassic limestone of the Lebanese mountains. Standing at the viewpoint above the gorge, looking down as the water disappears through bridge after bridge into the darkness below, is one of those rare travel moments that no photograph fully captures. In spring, when the winter snow melts and the falls are at their most powerful, the roar of the water and the spray rising from the gorge make it all the more spectacular. Your driver explains the geological story behind one of Lebanon's greatest natural wonders.

Lunch in Batroun — old town & waterfront Descend from the mountains to the Mediterranean coast and arrive in Batroun — one of the oldest Phoenician cities in the world, founded over 3,000 years ago and today one of Lebanon's most vibrant and charming coastal towns. By midday Batroun's waterfront restaurants, stone-paved old town, and lively seafront cafés are at their best — a complete contrast to the mountain wilderness of the morning. Enjoy a long, relaxed lunch of fresh Lebanese mezze and Mediterranean seafood, with the ancient Phoenician sea wall — a 3,000-year-old natural rock barrier still standing on the beach — just steps away. Batroun is also famous as the home of Lebanon's craft beer scene, the perfect accompaniment to a morning spent in the Lebanese highlands.