Day One: Arrival in Addis Ababa
Upon your arrival, the guide from Afrikan Wildlife Safaris will welcome you and transfer you to the hotel for the overnight. Depending on time of your arrival, you may go for the city tour and visit the Trinity Cathedral and the National Museum, which houses Lucy, the 3 million-year-old hominid fossil discovered in 1974. Dinner and overnight at olden Tulip Addis Ababa Hotel.
Day Two: Melka Kunture and Tiya
This morning, we will visit the archaeological site of Melka Kunture and the Tiya Stelae Field. Melka Kunture is a place most associated with our early human ancestors and boasts a continuous record of archaeological artefacts spanning more than 1.5m years. And Tiya, the most important of an astonishing concentration of 160 archaeological sites, is the UNESCO-listed home to 36 megaliths. The majority are carved with enigmatic symbols – 12th century remnants of an ancient Ethiopian culture which remains largely a mystery.
Day Four: Bahir Dar – Blue Nile Falls
Today, you will be transferred to the airport and fly to the city of Bahir Dar and go to the Avanti Blue Nile Hotel. In the afternoon, we enjoy an excursion to the breathtaking Blue Nile Falls, considered one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Africa. Impressive at any time of year, but particularly in full summer flood, the falls are 400m wide and 45m high.
Day Five: Lake Tana
After the breakfast, we will go by boat on Lake Tana and visit the monasteries of the Zege Peninsula. We will walk through local villages and coffee plantations to get to Ura Kidane Meret, a circular monastery housing ,an important collection of crosses and crowns dating back to the 16th century. Its colourful maqdas tell the stories of Ethiopian saints. Thewe will also visit Azwa Maryam, a small and pleasant monastery set in gardens. Then later return to Bahir Dar via the market and appreciate fine views from Bezawit Palace.
Day Six: Simien Mountains National Park
On this morning, we will drive through rural villages and highland to the Simien Mountains. This national park occupies an area of 70 square miles at altitudes between 1,900m and 4,430m and boasts three distinct botanical zones with varied flora. Take a walk in search of the Gelada, also known as the ‘bleeding heart monkey’ for their extraordinary chest markings, or simply relax in surroundings of natural splendour. Dinner and overnight at the Simien Lodge or Limalimo Lodge.
Day Seven: Gondar
Enjoy a healthy breakfast and later we drive to Gondar, pass by Kossoye, where we enjoy an Ethiopian coffee ceremony. Dinner and overnight at Goha Hotel.
Day Eight: Gondar
This will be an exciting day of exploring Gondar. Gondar is known for its 17th century castles and palaces. We will visit the palaces of Emperor Fasilidas, built of solid basalt stones. The library of Emperor Yohannes I, the House of Song, the banquet hall of Emperor Bakaffa and the Church of Debre Birhan Selassie, the bathhouse of King Fasiledes.
Day Nine: Axum
We will have breakfast and then fly to Axum. We will visit the Archaeological Museum and the Cathedral of St Mary of Zion, built on the oldest Christian site in Africa, with a guarded chapel said to house the Ark of the Covenant and an onsite museum of precious relics. Also explore Axum’s Stelae Field of ancient monuments, including the 25m Rome Stela, along with millennia-old royal tombs and the reputed residence of the Queen of Sheba. Dinner and overnight at Sabean International Hotel
Day Ten: Lalibela
This morning, we will fly from Axum to Lalibela. One of the most important religious and historical sites not just of Africa, but of the entire Christian world with more than 200 monumental churches in the area. We will visit the finest churches including Bete Madhane Alem, the largest monolithic church in the world, and Bete Maryam, the oldest Lalibela church, with early frescoes and carvings adorning its ceiling, upper walls, arches and capitals. Dinner and overnight at Maribela Hotel or Mountain View Lodge.
Day Eleven: Lalibela
Today, we visit the group of rock-cut churches said to represent King Lalibela’s ‘heavenly Jerusalem on earth’. These include the majestic cross-shaped Bete Giorgis (Church of St George), perhaps the most perfect and beautiful of them all. If everyone is fine with it, we will visit an Ethiopian family in Lalibela to enjoy some home cooked delicacies.
Day Twelve: Addis Ababa
We will fly from Lalibela to Addis Ababa. Then go and explore Merkato, the largest open-air market in Africa. Dinner and overnight at the Golden Tulip.
Day Thirteen: Fly Out
After your breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport depending on your flight time.
Trip Includes
Accomodation as per the itinerary
All meals as per the itinerary
Included excursions and visits
City tours of Addis Ababa, Gondar and Axum (including Stelae Field)
Tiya Stelle, Melka Kunture and Gurage Village
Blue Nile Falls
Boat trip on Lake Tana
Island Monasteries of Lake Tana
Walking tour in the Simien Mountains
Lalibela churches and coffee ceremony
Merkato Market
Guides/ drivers
All airport picks and drops