Ethiopia Historical Site/Northern Ethiopia

On arrival in Addis Ababa, you will be met at the airport and transferred to the hotel. Addis was founded in 1886 by Menelik II, and situated at an elevation of around 2438m which makes the third highest capital city in the world. You will start site-seeing by National museum which houses some of the country’s historic treasures; the Ethnographic Museum and the church of the Holy Trinity, Ethiopia’s main cathedral and home to the remains of the last emperor, Haile Selassie.

National museum which houses some of the country’s historic treasures. The collection of fossils and bones of early hominids discovered in Ethiopia include the 3.5 million-year-old remains of ‘Lucy’, the oldest hominid ever found.

The church of the Holy Trinity, Ethiopia’s main cathedral and home to the remains of the last emperor, Haile Selassie.

Early in the morning you will fly to Bahir dar. you take a boat trip on the lake Tana to learn the secrets held by the monasteries and churches on the islands. We will visit Ura Kidane Mihret church on Zeghie peninsula. In the afternoon we will visit Tississat Falls, Amharic for ‘water that smokes’ located about 32km south of Bahar Dar.

In the afternoon we will visit Tis Abay Falls, Amharic for ‘water that smokes’ located about 32km south of Bahar Dar. Due to a nearby hydro electrical power scheme, the waterfalls can no longer be guaranteed to be in full force.

This morning you drive for the 3 to 4 hour (185km) north to Gondar, the former capital of Ethiopia. Gondar has now become one of Ethiopia’s largest and most impressive cities, with its walled Royal Enclosure. Gondar’s most famous monuments are its exceptionally well preserved 17th-century castles.

This afternoon we’ll also make a visit to the Debre Birhan Selassie church (Light of Trinity) with its sensational angelic ceiling and mural.

After breakfast, you drive to Debark on the edge of the Simien Mountains. In the late morning, you will drive up into the mountains for some spectacular views of this unique ecosystem. We take an optional 1.5hr walk, mostly flat or downhill, and hope to see the endemic Gelada baboons, Klipspringers, Lammergeyer vultures, and bushbuck.

After morning breakfast, continue on the rugged road for a full day’s drive to the ancient city of Axum via the lowlands of the Simien Mountains and Tekeze River gorge.

Axum is the seat of the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Axum, which was once one of the most powerful in the ancient world. Located at the center of the trading routes between the Mediterranean and India, and the great port of Adulis on the Red Sea, it was economically, politically and technically advanced and at times had control over both sides of the Red Sea. Axum is also the origin of Christianity in Ethiopia and believed to be the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant. you will visit the famous monolithic stelae of Axum, the tallest one still standing reaches over 21 meters and the greatest one of them all, once 34 meters high now lies toppled on the ground. However, it is still the largest monolith ever erected by man.

Axum is also the origin of Christianity in Ethiopia and believed to be the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant. The old church of St Mary of Zion was the first church to be built in Sub-Saharan Africa around 330AD. Its ruins can be seen in the precinct of the church compound.

in the morning you will fly to Lalibela, in the afternoon you will start visiting the first cluster of Lalibela’s rock-hewn churches. Lalibela, the ‘New Jerusalem’, thought to have been constructed some 800 years ago by King Lalibela. Although churches carved in rock are found in other parts of the world, those found in Ethiopia are particularly interesting.

In the afternoon you will visit the remaining rock-hewn churches of Lalibela that include the churches of Bete Gabriel and Rafael, Mercurous, Emanuel and Abba Libanos. Bete Emanuel is the best in this group and exceptionally carved with unique Axumite building features,

This day you will fly back to Addis Ababa, In the evening you will have a farewell dinner party in one of the best traditional restaurants with traditional Music and live dances over the stage from different ethnic groups of the country. Then, evening transfer to the Airport for your departure to your Home.