Routes
Tested itineraries, from half a day to a full week.
172 Routes
A day in the northern massif: Harim, Qalb Lozeh and Saint Simeon
The second day in the Dead Cities runs through the northern massif: a castle over the plain, the earliest known Romanesque front, and four basilicas round a pillar.
10 hours · 146 km · 3 stops · Moderate
The mountain road from Latakia to Kessab, and down to a black-sand bay
A 129-kilometre loop out of Latakia: up to pine forest at 800 metres, then down to a dark-sand bay on the north coast. Three stops, a day built for summer.
9 hours · 129 km · 3 stops · Easy
From Homs to Hama: a day up the Orontes valley
140 kilometres from Homs to Hama and four stops: a castle mound inside the city, a lake behind an ancient dam, a rock ridge over the river, and the wheels.
9 hours · 140 km · 4 stops · Easy
A day in Aleppo: six stops from the citadel to Jdeideh
Both ends of the old city in one day: the citadel, the soap khan, the covered souq, the clock tower and the square of Jdeideh. 2700 metres, hour by hour.
8 hours · 2.7 km · 6 stops · Moderate
Half a day in Aleppo: three gates along the wall
2500 metres outside the walls of Aleppo in four stops: the clock tower square, the west and south gates, and a Mamluk mosque beyond the line. Hour by hour.
4 hours · 2.5 km · 4 stops · Easy
A day northwest of Aleppo: Saint Simeon, Deir Semaan and Ain Dara
111 kilometres by car and three stops: four basilicas around a pillar, the pilgrim town below the hill, and an Iron Age temple above the Afrin valley.
9 hours · 111 km · 3 stops · Moderate
Down the Euphrates to Mari
A 125-kilometre day along the river that starts at the museum and ends at Dura-Europos and Mari. The order matters: the display case first, then the mound.
10 hours · 125 km · 3 stops · Moderate
Two UNESCO sites in one day: Damascus and Bosra
Two of the six UNESCO sites in Syria fit into the same day: the Umayyad Mosque in the morning, Bosra in the afternoon. 271 kilometres, five hours of driving.
12 hours · 271 km · 3 stops · Easy
One day from Daraa to Izra
An early Islamic mosque in the old town, a dead railway junction at its edge, and a church of 515 forty kilometres north. One day by car, three stops.
6 hours · 84 km · 3 stops · Easy
All six UNESCO sites in Syria: a 7-day route
Damascus, Bosra, Palmyra, Krak, the Dead Cities and Aleppo on one itinerary. 987 kilometres in 7 days, with distances, timing and the best hour at each.
56 hours · 987 km · 6 stops · Hard
Three castles from Tartus: a day at Yahmour, Safita and Husn Suleiman
Three stops from Tartus in one day, 101 kilometres: the Red Castle out on the plain, the white tower of Safita, and the sanctuary up at Husn Suleiman.
7 hours · 101.5 km · 3 stops · Moderate
Half a day in Palmyra: walking the ruins
Half a day in Palmyra on foot, 800 metres and three stops: the courtyard of the Temple of Bel, the Roman theatre, and the colonnade out to the tetrapylon.
4 hours · 0.8 km · 3 stops · Easy
