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GENERAL INFORMATION
Spaces Available: All space available!
Tour Size: 8 participants and 1 Finot Tour Ethiopia tour guide
Tour Guide:
Transportation: Surface Drive
Start Location: Addis Ababa
End Location: Addis Ababa
Type of Tour: History, Nature and Culture
Day 1: Arrival in Addis Ababa and sightseeing
Up on your arrival at Bole International Airport and you will clear immigration and proceed to baggage claim, after collecting your checked bags, clear customs and pass through the arrival hall where you will be met by FINOT TOUR ETHIOPIA representative, who will assist you with your transfer to your hotel.
After a break in the afternoon, you will enjoy a half day guided tour of the Ethnological Museum, with its artifacts and displays of the cultures and handicrafts of Ethiopia’s many ethnic groups. At the famous National Museum, with its cultural and archaeological relics, you will visit the famous “Lucy,” a 3.2 million-year-old female hominid who was discovered in Ethiopia’s Awash Valley in 1974. The open-air market of Addis, the Marcato, is the largest on the continent, and you will take a drive through it. Time permitting; you may also visit Ba’ata Church, also known as Menelik’s Mausoleum, one of the oldest of the churches in Addis Ababa, built in 1911 and the Emperor house with beautiful paintings and the royal tombs of past emperors, including Emperor Haileselassie.
Meals: it depends on your arrival
Transportation: 4x4 Air-conditioned vehicles
Accommodation: Overnight stay in Jupiter International hotel or similar
Day 2: Drive Addis Ababa - Bahir Dar,
After an early breakfast you will leave Addis Ababa for a long drive to the north. The journey leads you through the rolling hills of the Ethiopian Highlands where a lot of agricultural activities is taking place. You will visit the natural beauty of the Blue Nile Gorge on the way. Just before sunset you will arrive in Bahirdar.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Transportation: 4x4 Air-conditioned vehicles
Accommodation: Overnight stay in Jacaranda hotel or similar.
Day 3: Sightseeing Bahirdar
After breakfast you will take a half day boat ride on Lake Tana to the Zege peninsula. Lake Tana has a surface area of 2,282 square miles and it is the largest lake in Ethiopia. The lake is dotted with islands, many of which shelter isolated monasteries containing the remains of ancient Ethiopian emperors and treasures of the Ethiopian Church. One of these is the 14th century Monastery of Ura Kidane Mihret which is the most famous of the Zege peninsula monasteries with a very beautiful painted ‘maqdas’ and priceless collection of crosses as well as crowns. We later will be back to the city for lunch and after lunch we will drive some 45 minute on a bumpy road to the village of Tis Isat to see the Blue Nile Falls. The Blue Nile Falls are a waterfall on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia (Which is attractive on the rainy season). They are known as Tis Issat in Amharic, when translated, means "smoking water" They are situated on the upper course of the river. However please be informed that the construction of a new hydroelectric dam that has diverted much of the water and the water level of the falls could be very minimal.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Transportation: 4x4 Air-conditioned vehicles
Accommodation: Overnight stay in Jacaranda hotel or similar.
Day 4: Drive Bahir Dar – Awara Amba – Gondar
You will have breakfast at your hotel and before your drive to Gondar. En route you will drive to the village of Awra-Amba, which is located off the Woreta - Woldia 'China-Road'. Visit this unique settlement that is considered to be a prime model for self-help and above all gender equality. Women have equal rights as men and there is no distinction in divisions of labor. Men cook, women plow, and religion have no place. They believe in hard work and being good to people. Continue driving to Gondar, a town founded in 1636 by the great Emperor Fassiledes and often called the “Camelot of Africa.” Set in a landscape of incomparable beauty, it was the Royal Capital of Ethiopia until 1868. You will visit the Castles and Churches built by Emperor and his descendant (termed by UNESCO as one of the World’s heritages). After lunch you will proceed to the fascinating Debre Birhan Selassie Church. The church’s walls and ceilings are decorated with scenes of Biblical lore and medieval history. The church is a rich showcase of the religious art of the Gonderine period and its ceiling of painted angels is only one of its kinds.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Transportation: 4x4 Air-conditioned vehicles
Accommodation: Overnight stay in Florida International hotel or Similar.
Day 5. : Drive to Buhit-ras – Sanqaber
Drive to Buhit-ras and from there trek to Sanqa-ber (3 - 4 hours), observing the magnificent scenery en route. Here you will be able to encounter birds and probably some game like the endemic Gelada Baboon.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Transportation: 4x4 Air-conditioned vehicles
Accommodation: Overnight stay in Sona hotel.
Day 6 : Drive Simien Mountain National park – Axum
After an early breakfast you will drive to Axum through the adventurous road of Limalimo and Tekeze desert.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Transportation: 4x4 Air-conditioned vehicles
Accommodation: Overnight stay in Consular International hotel or Similar.
Day 7: sightseeing in Axum
On this day you will have city tour that includes the Steele Park. These famed granite obelisks are relics of this time and have gained UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
The tallest, the Great Stele, has fallen and broken into six massive pieces, but when standing was 33 meters (108 feet) tall and weighed about five hundred tons. The tallest obelisk still standing at Axum today is about 23 meters (75 feet) tall, still an impressive sight!
You will continue the city tour, visiting St. Mary's Church and the Sanctuary Chapel which is the repository of the Ark of the Covenant; the Coronation Yard; King Ezana's Park; and the "Queen of Sheba" ruins, once a massive palace with finely mortared stonewalls deep foundations, and its own impressive drainage system, believed to be the oldest building in Axum.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Transportation: 4x4 Air-conditioned vehicles
Accommodation: Overnight stay in Consular International hotel or Similar.
Day 8: Drive Axum – Gheralta
This day you will drive to Gheralta. On the way you will have an Excursion to Yeha. Yeha is famous for its huge and remarkable temple. According to the 19th century German scholar Heinrich Miiller, the temple is thought to date back to about seven or eight hundred years before the birth of Christ. The temple is believed to be the oldest standing building in the country. Beside the remarkable temple, a church dedicated to Abba Aftse stands. Abba Aftse was one of the famous nine saints who came to Ethiopia in the 6th century from the east Roman Empire to teach the Gospel. The church, sharing the same compound with the temple is rectangular in shape.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Transportation: 4x4 Air-conditioned vehicles
Accommodation: Overnight stay in Gheralta lodge or Agoro Lodge
Day 9: Drive Gheralta - Mekele
On this day you will have a drive to Mekele and en route we will visit Medhane Alem Adi Kesho. The size and complex architecture makes the church impressive. The exterior is cut free from the rock behind with four columns in front and two large doors and it is covered in painting. We will continue to Mikael Milhazengi a church dedicated to Saint Mikael. The isolated round hill out of which the church is carved lies 2760m above sea level. There are a number of graves and old indigenous trees and bushes inside the churchyard. The most remarkable feature of the church is its beautifully decorated dome.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Transportation: 4x4 Air-conditioned vehicles
Accommodation: Overnight stay in Axum hotel or Similar.
Day 10: Mekele – Lalibela
After breakfast, you will be driven to Lalibela (470 Km from Mekele) through the Ambalage Chain of Mountains. The whole day is required to cover this distance. We will have a lunch stop at Woldiya before heading to Lalibela. Your arrival in Lalibela will be late in the afternoon. You will check into a hotel, have dinner and spend the night there.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Transportation: 4x4 Air-conditioned vehicles
Accommodation: Overnight stay in Mountain View hotel or Similar
Day 11: Sightseeing in Lalibela
On this day you will have a visit in rock hewn churches of Labella. Lalibela is the jewel in the crown of Ethiopia, the most famous churches and the scene of so many major religious ceremonies. The churches are carved below ground level and ringed by trenches and courtyards and are arguably Ethiopian's top most attraction. They are connected to each other by a tangled maze of tunnels and passages. Among the churches you will visit are Bete Emanuel a 36-foot-high monolith considered by art historians to be the finest and most precisely worked church in Lalibela, possibly because it was the private church of the royal family, Bete Markorios a cave church originally used for secular purposes and thought to be around 1,400 years old and Bete Giorgis the most majestic and best preserved of all Lalibela's churches.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Transportation: 4x4 Air-conditioned vehicles
Accommodation: Overnight stay in Mountain View hotel or Similar
Day 12: Excursion to Yemrehan Kirstos
In the morning drive to the Church of Yemrehan Kirstos. Lying 42KM northeast of Lalibela, it is an exquisite Church, a masterpiece of Axumite wood and stone construction and renowned for its interior decoration, return back to Lalibela.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Transportation: 4x4 Air-conditioned vehicles
Accommodation: Overnight stay in Mountain View hotel or Similar.
Day 13: Drive Lalibela - Kombolcha
After a remarkable visit to Lalibela you will be on road again to return back to Addis via Kombolcha. It is a full day drive to Kombolcha through mountainous area with wonderful vistas. You will have a brief stop at Hike Estifanos the monastery. (12th century)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Transportation: 4x4 Air-conditioned vehicles
Accommodation: Overnight stay in Sunny Side hotel or similar
Day 14: Drive Kombolcha - ADDIS ABABA
Early in the morning you will move from kombolcha to Addis Ababa (375 km). The road crosses several scenic spots “Window of king Menelik II” - Tarma Ber (three tunnels built during the Italian occupation). On this day three hours prior from your departure, you will be transferred to the Bole international airport for your flight back to home.
Price includes:
Meet and greet at airport
All accommodation based on twin room occupancy
Meals in Addis, on bed & breakfast basis
Meals out of Addis, on full board basis
All entrance fees at sites, churches, parks and villages.
All transfers and visits in Addis Ababa using mini-bus according to the itinerary.
All Ground transportation including insurance, fuel and all costs of the driver.
Guide service.
Local Guide and scout fees in parks and villages
Boat trip on Lake Tana to visit two monasteries and churches on the islands of Lake Tana
Farewell dinner in Addis to enjoy traditional Ethiopian food & Music; transfer & guide
A traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony at a convenient time in the program
Government taxes
Price doesn’t include
International flights
Domestic Flights
Lunch and Dinner in Addis Ababa
Any kind of drinks including local non-alcoholic beverage and alcoholic drinks