Day One: Arrival in Addis Ababa
Upon your arrival at the airport, the guide from Afrikan Wildlife Safaris will pick you up and then transfer you to the hotel for the overnight. If you arrive early, you can go for the city tour and visit the National Archaeological Museum to meet Lucy—the 3.5 million-year-old ancestor of humanity. Dinner and overnight at the Golden Tulip Hotel.
Day Two: Lalibela
After your breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport and fly to Lalibela. then visit the monastery of Na’akuto La’ab Church built by King Lalibela’s nephew and successor Na’akuto La’ab then in the evening attend a service at the carved church of Bete Maryam – the House of virgin St. Mary. Dinner and overnight at Tukul Village Hotel.
Day Three: Lalibela
This morning, you will visit the local bars and Tej ‘Amharic for honey wine’ houses while enjoying the distinctive dancing style of the region, and in the afternoon, go for the walk with your guide to the cave church of Yemrehanna Kristos, built by the king of the same name before the reign of King Lalibela. In the evening, go for the traditional evening coffee ceremony.
Day Four: Lalibela
This morning, you will explore more churches of Lalibela., the largest which is built like a Greek temple to one that can only be reached through a dark, narrow tunnel and more elaborate exteriors and symbolic graves.
Day Five: Axum
Have your breakfast and transfer to the airstrip to fly to Axum. The go for the afternoon tour of Axum including the Obelisk of Axum – the largest single piece of stone erected anywhere. You will also visit the tombs and castles of kings, Axum Museum, and Mariam Tsion Church, built on the site of Ethiopia’s first church. The Ethiopian Orthodox Christians believe that a chapel within the church compound houses the Ark of the Covenant. Dinner and overnight at Sabean International Hotel
Day Six: Gondar
On this day, you will fly to Gondar. Then later visit the Royal Enclosure of Fasil Gibbi, which encompasses the castles of various Gondarene emperors including the Fasiladas Palace and the Quskuam Church. You will also explore the bath of King Fasilides where the Timkat or Epiphany festival is celebrated in Gondar. The Debre Berhane Selassie church. Dinner and overnight at Mayleko Lodge.
Day Seven: Bahir Dar
After breakfast, drive to Bahir Dar. Then gof for the boat on Lake Tana and source of the Blue Nile. Visit the Zeghie Peninsula, known for its 14th century, round, grass-roofed churches and their magnificent wall murals, the Azoa Mariam and Ura Kidane Mehret churches. Tour around the city of Bahir Dar including the Bazawit Hill Top which offers a spectacular view of the surrounding, the city, the islands of Lake Tana and the Blue Nile leaving the lake. Here you will visit the Blue Nile Falls, known locally as Tissiat – which means ‘Smoking Water’. Dinner and overnight at Kuriftu Resort & Spa
Day Eight: Arba Minch
Take your morning flight to Arba Minch. Go for the boat on lake Abaya which is the second largest lake in Ethiopia and is joined to Lake Chamo by a natural bridge locally known as “the Bridge of God’’. This afternoon you can enjoy a boat trip on Lake Chamo to view hippos and crocodiles from a very close range. Dinner and overnight at lovely Paradise Lodge.
Day Nine: Turmi
After your breakfast, you will head to Turmi via Konso & Weito. You will go through the Konso village whose people are known for their terraced hillsides, fine woven materials, and the carved totems decorated on their graves. Then proceed to the rustic Erbore village in south Omo where several tribal boundaries converge. Dinner and overnight at Buska Lodge.
Day Ten: Bumi and Karo Tribe
This will be another exciting day, you will cross the Omo River and go to spend some time with the Bumi tribe. The Bumis are specialized crocodile hunters, using harpoons from a dugout canoe. The later, cross again the Omo River and drive to the village of Kolcho to meet the Karo tribes who are considered the masters of body painting. Drive back to Turmi. Dinner and overnight at Buska Lodge.
Day Eleven: Jinka and Omo Valley
Drive to Benna village and spend some time with the Beshada people known for their clay and impressive headdresses. Then proceed to Jinka and visit the South Omo Research Center, Yetnebersh village and the Ari tribe. Dinner and overnight at Eco Omo, another eco-friendly lodge on the border of the Neri River.
Day Twelve: Arba Minch
Have an early morning breakfast and drive through the Mago National Park with its dense acacia forests and open savanna. The park hosts 100 mammal species and 300 bird species. You can also visit a Mursi village where the tribe and their decorative lip plates have become a cultural symbol of the Lower Omo Valley. Dinner and overnight at Paradise Lodge.
Day Thirteen: Dorze Village then Fly to Addis Ababa
This another beautiful day, you will visit the Dorze village at Chencha known as cotton weavers whose tall beehive-shaped dwellings are among the most distinctive traditional structures to be seen in Africa. The you will fly to Addis Ababa. Dinner and overnight at the Golden Tulip Hotel.
Day Fourteen: Ethnographic Museum and Traditional Dance
This morning, you will explore the Ethnographic Museum, visit the Holy Trinity Cathedral which is renowned for its stunning stain-glassed windows. Have dinner at a cultural restaurant accompanied by traditional Ethiopian music and dance. Dinner and overnight at the Golden Tulip Hotel.
Day Fifteen: Fly back home
After your breakfast, depending on your flight time, you will be transferred to the airport to catch your flight back home.