Kessab
A mountain town in pine forest north of Latakia. Where people go to escape the coastal heat, and a place set apart by its Armenian past.
- Opening hours
- Open settlement, all day
- Entry
- Free
- Duration
- 240 minutes
- Best time
- July–August, when the coast is hot
- Period
- —
- Address
- 60 km north of Latakia
The air changes as you climb from the coast. Kessab sits about eight hundred metres above sea level, inside pine forest, and even in mid-August it is noticeably cooler than Latakia. This is what a summer retreat means in Syria.
Getting there
About sixty kilometres north of Latakia, close to the Turkish border. The road turns inland and climbs off the coast road; an hour and a half by car.
What is there
The town itself is small. What matters is around it: pine forest, walking tracks, and the slopes running west down to the sea. Kessab was long a settlement with an Armenian population and its churches are still standing; the fabric of the town carries that past.
When to go
July and August — the point of the place becomes obvious when the coast is stifling. In spring the forest is green but the fog is frequent. In winter it snows and the road can close.
Tips
- An hour and a half from the coast; the road winds, be ready for car sickness
- Cool in the evenings even in summer — a light layer helps
- It snows in winter and the road can close; ask about the road before going then