Ethiopian History and Culture Tour 18 Days & 17 Nights

Daily itinerary

Day 1. Arrival and Addis Ababa city tour.

Be welcomed at the airport and transfer to your hotel. Addis Ababa is the third largest city in Africa with an estimated population of five million and the third highest capital in the world. Addis is a colorful and vibrant city regarded by many as ‘The African diplomatic capital’. The city tour of Addis includes among others, museums – the national and the ethnographic; market – Merkato (the largest open air market). Churches – St George Cathedral also housing a museum of various religious icons. Wander around Merkato, one of the largest outdoor markets on the continent.

Day 2 – 3. Visit Bahirdar, Lake Tana monasteries, Blue Nile falls.

An hour flight to Bahirdar town, as pleasant as you’ll find for relaxing and viewing the lake, and the weather is probably the best in Ethiopia. You will have a boat trip on Lake Tana to the island monasteries where you can experience a great calmness. You will visit Azwa, Ura or Mehal Zege; Kibran Gabriel; Entos Eyesus and will get an impression of just how far back Christianity goes in this region.  Among others Ura-Kidane Mihret is the largest and most impressive monastery on the peninsula, situated near one of the prettiest and most secluded inlets in the area. Mango Park at Lake Tana the best place to view pelicans and enjoy sitting by the shores.

Day 4. Drive to Gonder visit the royal castles.

A three hour drive to visit Ethiopian medieval capital Gonder that contained large royal enclosure containing castles, palaces, houses and outbuildings among them Fasiladas’s palace is the oldest and perhaps most impressive. You will visit the various ruined buildings including the remains of a bathing pool, a chancellery and a library of Fasiladas’s son. There are also peaceful, and shady spots just to relax and watch the world go by. Next continue to Birhan Selassie one of the country’s famous churches hosting beautiful 17 century paintings.

Day 5. Drive to Simien Mountains (2hrs drive)– Sankaber (3300 mt.).

Drive to the first camp (Sankaber) via Debark (the small town) situated at an altitude of 3250 meters on an impressive viewpoint between the northern escarpment and the southern Wazla. Before you arrive at the camping site, you have about 2hrs walk. On the western escarpments you will encounter troops of the endemic Gelada baboons (found only in Ethiopia). They are often referred to as the bleeding heart baboon or the lion monkey.

Day 6. Simien Mountains – Chenek (3600mt.) – Gonder.

Drive towards where just before arriving, you will encounter the Kurbet Metaya viewpoint at 4070 meters – this viewpoint is actually a gap in the precipitous cliff – which reveals impressive views of the steep mountain faces to the west and the lowlands areas to the left. The tightly clustered houses (tukuls) that form the village of Dihwara, tucked below a cliff, are also visible from this viewpoint. Chenek campsite is spectacularly located in a beautiful valley at the foot of the Bwahit Peak. Strategically placed benches allow for the opportunity to take in the expansive views back toward Imet Gogo, especially beautiful in both the dawn & dusk light then back to Gonder to catch the next day flight.

Day 7 – 8. Fly to Lalibela.

Visit Lalibela where you will get an impression of landing in a kingdom at least seven centuries behind your own. Alvares, the early 16th century Portuguese writer, described them as ‘edifices, the like of which and so many cannot be found anywhere else in the world.’ In Lalibela you will marvel and be immensely impressed by the remarkable rock hewn, monolithic, semi monolithic and cave churches built at least seven centuries ago. After check in, you will visit the northern clusters known as the earthly Jerusalem; Bete Medhani Alem, Bete Mariam, Bete Meskel, Bete Denagil, Bete Golgotha /Michael.

Excursion visits to Yemrehanna Krestos ancient church found at 42 km from Lalibela town. You will feel the atmosphere deep within yourself as its name implies “let Christ guide us the way”. After you back to the town, you can visit the remaining churches if you missed yesterday; churches that are also known as  the heavenly Jerusalem; Bete Gebriel and Rufael, Bete Mercurious, Bete Amanuel and Bete Aba Libanos, and at last Bete Giorgis.

Day 9. Fly to Axum and visit royal castles

Less than an hour flight to visit the ancient civilization that once existed on earth 2000 years ago. The Aksumite kingdom numbered among the greatest civilizations of the ancient world Aksum’s astonishing Stelae are striking for their huge size. You will visit Tombs of kings dating from the 3rd century, St Mary of Zion church said to contain the famous Ark of the Covenant, and the Park of Stelae.

Day 10 – 11. Drive to Gheralta & visit Tigray churches.

You will have an expedition of the most holy ancient sites of Tigray churches that are mostly carved into cliff faces or from rocky outcrops. There are over 120 ancient rock churches scattered throughout the region. Tigray’s rock churches date from between the 6^th and 14^th centuries (some possibly date back to the 4^th century when Christianity arrived). Legend has it that the phenomenal architecture construction of the churches was beyond the power of man, and that angels sent by God assisted in bringing about this wonders.

Day 12. Drive to Mekele to fly to Addis.

Drive to Mekele where on your way back you will visit churches such as Abreha-we-Atsbeha then continue your way to Mekele where you will take the evening flightback to Addis.

Day 13. Fly to Arbaminch.

Fly to Arbaminch then visit the Dorze people and villages comprised of several huts of varying sizes, one for the parents and small children, another for the first married, one as a cookhouse. It’s a pleasant environment which feels very genuine and might be fun to stay if one was young and into strong drink, quat and native experiences. Join a young woman as she demonstrates the stripping of the banana leaf to make the ‘bread’, the greenish mush is wrapped in leaves before being buried. Some that she had dug up after its fermentation period, by now creamy colored and smelling slightly sour, was chopped and moulded on a board prior to its cooking on an open fire in a metal skillet. After about eight minutes cooking the bread is eaten either with honey or red hot chilli paste. Then back to your hotel at Arbaminch for your overnight stay.

Day 14. Drive to Jinka.

In the morning, take a boat trip on Lake Chamo to visit the crocodiles and the hippo pods. Drive to Jinka the base visit the Mursi tribes. In the afternoon, you can visit Ari village interesting people who are more than happy to show you their village and way of life.

Day 15. Visit Mursi village.

In the morning, drive to Mago national park to visit the Mursi tribes, people known for their lower lip and earlobe plates. A small tribe numbering 5000 to 8000, Mursi are people based on the Omo River having a remarkable characteristic of the lip plate tradition. A young woman’s lower lip and ears are pierced and enlarged by inserting even bigger clay discs that eventually may be more than 12cm in diameter.

In the afternoon visit the South Omo Museum & Research Center which gives you deeper insights into the local cultures and traditional practices. Afternoon drive to Turmi the main town of the Hamer people. En route visit the colorful markets depending on the day. At Hamer, if you if there is jumping of the Bulls traditional Hamer passage rite that will be visited.

Day 16. Visit Karo village.

Visit the Karo village where people reside in conical huts. Karos have an important ceremony (pilla) or jumping of the group of oxen to mark the passage of adolescence to adulthood. Karos are distinguished by their symbolic and ornamental expressions of body paintings and face decorations. Then after concluding your Karo trip, you will drive back to Turmi where you will visit a local market.

Day 17. Drive to Arbaminch en route Konso village.

Enroute visit a colorful market Alduba then towards Konso. Konso is inhabited by people who speak one of the eastern Cushitic languages of Ethiopia. Agriculture is the basis of Konso’s economic activity.

The people of Konso are admired for their amazing stone terracing and soil conservation tradition. The people of Konso are well known for various kinds of handcrafts. The basic ones are smith, weaving, pottery and tanning. The stone walled village /qorima, paleta/ the Konso built their traditional villages in the point of their homeland.

Visit the terraces, landscape, traditional walled villages and other social values and traditional leadership, waka etc all are cultural materials contributed to the importance of the Konso area as an important cultural landscape meriting a place on world heritage list. Then back to Arbaminch

Day 18. Fly back to Addis, then fare well dinner.

Relax in the morning at the lodge from the balcony enjoy viewing a beautiful scenery of Lake Abaya and Chamo and the forest which surrounds the lakes.  Then transfer to the airport for afternoon flight back to Addis. In Addis a fare well dinner awaits you at a cultural restaurant where you can enjoy delicious cuisine accompanied by traditional music. Then transfer to the airport for your departure flight back home.