Notre Dame de Qannoubine (or Kannoubine) is the spiritual heart of the Maronite Church. From the late fifteenth century until 1823 it was the seat of the Maronite patriarchs, and twenty-four of them are buried here. The monastery is cut directly into the cliff and built out of it, an organic-looking warren of chapels, cells and terraces.
It sits about an hour's walk down the valley from Bcharre. The path is steep but well marked, and the church inside has a few good frescoes and the cave-tomb of Patriarch Joseph Tyan. A handful of nuns still live there. Bring water — there is nowhere to buy any until you climb back out.