Best time to visit Lebanon

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Best time to visit Lebanon

Basking in a Mediterranean climate with 300 days of sunshine ever year, Lebanon is the only country in the Middle East that experiences four seasons.

Lebanon is nowhere near as arid as other Middle Eastern countries, with a quite moderate climate and four distinct seasons. Late spring, May and June, as well as the autumn months of October and November, are the best months for trekking in places such as the Kadisha Valley or Horsh Ehden and wine tasting in the Bekaa Valley. Summer temperatures can be oppressive on the coast where many cities are situated, up to around 25°C to 28°C in Beirut, whereas it’s substantially cooler at higher elevations. The best time to go to Lebanon is the spring and autumn, when it’s far milder, the scenery is at its most beautiful, and the archaeological sites are not at all busy.

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Beirut, Lebanon Weather Chart

MIN °C

MAX °C

RAIN (mm)

JAN

180

FEB

150

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

110

DEC

170

Things to do in Lebanon…

Lebanon is a world-class destination for cultural tourism, its historic and archaeological sites – several of them World Heritage Sites – reflecting the various empires it has formed part of through the centuries. There are Roman ruins here, those of Baalbek especially impressive; Crusader castles and medieval forts; Phoenician temples, ancient churches, mosques and monasteries and of course many of the coastal cities are built up around well-preserved old towns. The landscape to the north of Beirut is particularly attractive and not too strenuous terrain for trekking, with trails that lead you for hours through groves of cedar, mountain peaks to summit, deep river valleys and cliffs studded with caves. You might be accommodated in homestays or old shepherd huts, and see a side to Lebanon that is often missed, discovering everyday life in remote communities that encounter very few foreign visitors. We always encourage travellers to bring reusable water bottles and cloth bags on holiday so they can keep waste to a minimum – in Lebanon this is vital as, since 2015 when a major landfill site closed, the country has been enduring a waste crisis. It’s sadly not unusual to see rubbish piled up on the city streets or even burning, and some beaches suffer from garbage washing up after being dumped at sea. On the bright side, the ongoing problems are spurring a motivated and concerned citizenry to develop innovative solutions to tackle the problem.

Things not to do in Lebanon…

It would be a crying shame to visit Lebanon and be unadventurous with food. The Levantine-style cuisine here is just as wonderfully diverse as the culture, bearing Arabic, Mediterranean, French and Turkish influences among others. Sitting down to a feast of mezze rich in olive oil is bound to be one of the most memorable sensory experiences of your stay. Wine-tasting is also very enticing here, around the Bekaa Valley and Baalbek. Lebanon’s recent history has been one of turmoil, and it currently shelters thousands of Palestinian refugees and over a million from Syria. But despite years of conflict inside and outside its borders, Lebanon and its people remain open, warm and welcoming to visitors, so you should have no fears when travelling here. The civil war ended in 1991, the brief Lebanese-Israeli war ended in 2005, and Lebanon is now one of the safest countries in the Middle East. Itineraries on most Lebanon holidays focus on religious and cultural tourism, and trekking, but always start in the capital. It’s definitely worth adding on a few days either at the start or end of your trip so as not to miss exploring Beirut. This is genuinely one of the most exciting cities in the world, the soul of Lebanon with superb dining and nightlife scenes, a cosmopolitan and vibrant atmosphere, and many neighbourhoods each with their own distinct character.