Why this ride
From En Nâqoûra it runs 92 km to En Nâqoûra; allow about 1 h 33 of riding. The stops in between: Tyre, Qalaat Deir Kifa and back through Tyre.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Qalaat Chama’ and Qalaat Deir Kifa
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 92 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 33
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Qalaat Chama’
Before anything else: this is one of the most sensitive places on any of these routes. Qalaat Chama, or Shamaa castle, stands on a hilltop in southern Lebanon, a few kilometres north of the border with Israel and inland from Naqoura, in an area that has seen repeated conflict, including heavy fighting in recent years, and that many governments advise against visiting under any circumstances. Damage to historic sites in the area has been reported, and conditions may have changed. Do not go without checking current official travel advice, and if in doubt, do not go at all.
Read the complete Qalaat Chama’ write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Qalaat Chama’ is where the day begins. Next is Tyre.
2. Tyre
Tyre was already ancient when Alexander the Great arrived in 332 before Christ. Then it was an island city just off the coast of what is now southern Lebanon, famously rich and famously stubborn, and when its citizens refused to open their gates, Alexander built a causeway out to the island and besieged it for months. Sand piled up against that causeway over the centuries, and the island became the peninsula you see today, with the modern city of Tyre spreading across it and the old harbour still busy with fishing boats.
Read the complete Tyre write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tyre comes up about 20 km into the recorded legs. Next is Qalaat Deir Kifa.
3. Qalaat Deir Kifa
Southern Lebanon has a castle on almost every second hilltop, and Qalaat Deir Kifa is one of the less-known ones, a ruined fortification above the village of Deir Kifa in the rolling hills of Jabal Amel, between the Litani river and the coast at Tyre. Like many sites in this landscape, it has been built on, fought over and reused across several eras, and today what remains is stone walls, scattered blocks and a view across a countryside of olive groves, tobacco terraces and stony ridges.
Read the complete Qalaat Deir Kifa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 47 km into the recorded legs you reach Qalaat Deir Kifa. Next is back through Tyre.
4. back through Tyre
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tyre write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Tyre, late in the day. Next is Qalaat Chama’.
5. Qalaat Chama’
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Qalaat Chama’ write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Qalaat Chama’. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Qalaat Chama’ to Tyre
Qalaat Chama’ → Tyre is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tyre to Qalaat Deir Kifa
Tyre → Qalaat Deir Kifa is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Qalaat Deir Kifa to back through Tyre
Qalaat Deir Kifa → back through Tyre is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Tyre to Qalaat Chama’
back through Tyre → Qalaat Chama’ is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Tyre and Qalaat Tibnin · 104 km
- Persian Quarter and Anjar · 376 km