| Ethiopia Travel & Tour Information
12
Days & 11 Nights Historical Tour
Brief Description:
The 12 day historical tour to the northern part of
ethiopia
includes driving to Bahir Dar from Addis (450 KMs) which goes
through the breath taking scenery of
North Ethiopia
. The road travel from Bahir Dar to
Gondar
also passes through the semine mountains which also give a chance
to see the Chelada Baboon. The standing steale of
Axum
, historic towns of Mekele and Adigrat are also included in the
program. The historic tour also includes a visit to Lalibella’s
12 rock hewn churches. On our way back to Addis we will also visit
Kombolcha town and other small towns on our way.
Itinerary
Day
1: Upon arrival in
Addis Ababa
,
Ethiopia
, You will be greeted with the traditional Ethiopian hospitality
at the airport and transferred to the hotel. (Depending on your
arrival time we can arrange afternoon or after hour city tour)
Day 2: Early morning breakfast and transfer to the
Bole
International
Airport
and fly 50 minutes to Bahir Dar. Bahir Dar is the capital of the
Amhara
National
Regional
State
. Upon arrival transfer to Tana Hotel, lakeside hotels near the
market place of Bahir Dar. In the afternoon we will visit the city
of
Bahir Dar
.
Visitors
should expect to see
·
Colorful market with easy access to buy traditional baskets,
pottery, hand made woven clothes, capes, scarves and etc
·
The Woito village where the local people make the papyrus boat
·
The
Mount
Bezawit
where Emperor Haile Selassie’s palace of is gracefully situated.
It also provides a magnificent scenery
Dinner
and overnight in Tana with a pleasant garden and a
Lakeside
view of Tana.
Day 3: Early morning a boat trip will be arranged to
Ethiopia
's largest
Lake
called Tana known for its middle age island monasteries. Lake Tana
is the source of the longest river in Africa, the
Blue Nile
and home for 37 islands. We will have the opportunity to visit the
Zege peninsula for its famous 14th century monasteries of Ura
Kidanemihret, Azewa Mariam and the island monastery of Kibran
Gebriel (where only men are allowed) for their wonderful 16th
century mural paintings, crowns, crosses and many old church
treasures. Afterwards we will arrive at Gorgora and meet the
drivers there to drive to Gondar which is 66 Km only an hour and
half driving. Dinner and overnight stay in Gondar
Day 4: Gondar: They say “you have only to stroll through the
banqueting halls and gaze down from the balconies of the many
castles and palaces here to imagine the intrigue and pageantry
that took place back in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,
when Gondar, then the Ethiopian capital, was home to a number of
emperors and warlords, courtiers and kings. After early breakfast
we will start our visit to these palaces, residences and baths of
Fasilidas.
Gondar
is also the site of numerous fine churches, a number of which have
survived to this day. Late in the afternoon, we will have the
opportunity to visit the church of Debre Berham Selassie,
translated to mean “Light of the Trinity”, which is located at
the summit of a hill and surrounded by fortified walls. Dinner and
overnight stay are in a hotel with a splendid panoramic garden.
Day 5: Drive from
Gondar
to
Axum
: - The road passes over mountain regions of wild beauty, running
alongside the National Park of the Simien massif. In the park,
many of the mountain peaks exceed 4,000m; the highest is Ras
Dejen, at 4,543 meters above sea level. These mountains consist of
volcanic masses that have been eroded away by centuries of rain.
Today they have amethyst-colored peaks and deep gullies, which
have been further deepened by rivers. The crevices play host to
the Waliya, the ibex of the
Simien
Mountains
. We arrive in
Axum
in the evening, with dinner and overnight stay in a hotel.
Day 6: Axum: Ethiopian legends first recorded in the
fourteenth-century Kebre Nagast (Book of Kings) make
Axum
the capital of the Queen of Sheba in the tenth century BC. Rising
to importance around the time of the Christ, Axum was the capital
far-reaching Axumite kingdom, dominated the vital crossroads of
Africa and
Asia
for almost a thousand years. After settling ourselves in one of
the comfortable hotels in Axum, Yeha Hotel, we will start our
visit to the famous historical sites of Axum such as the
Archeological museum, the Zion Cathedral where the original Arc of
the covenant is said to be found, the stele park where the
magnificent single block of stones standing since the 3rd century.
Later the day we will have an opportunity to visit the ruin palace
and Bath of Queen Sheba. Dinner and overnight stay at hotel.
Day
7:
Axum
/ Adigrat / Mekelle. By way of a beautiful panoramic road, we
arrive to Yeha, where we visit the
Temple
of the Moon (dating from pre-Christian times). A little further
along the road we find the monastery of Debre Damo, the oldest
church in
Ethiopia
. Only men are allowed visit the church and it is necessary to
climb up to it with the aid of a rope. After lunch, we drive to
Mekelle, in this region; from the 8th to the 15th century,
hundreds of rock-hewn churches were carved and constructed out of
one rock. Many of the churches are carved directly into the cliff
walls of the ‘Ambas’: typical Ethiopian mountains with flat
tops and almost vertical sides. En route, we visit the Abrha
Atsbha and the Wukro churches. Dinner and overnight in a hotel in
Mekele.
Day 8: Mekele – Lalibela (314 km).
The whole
day is required to cover this distance. The unpaved road climbs
several times to heights of about 3,000 metres and descends into
valleys where powerful rivers run. The landscape is dry, but
visually splendid. For a considerable stretch, the winding road
follows the spectacular canyon of the river Tekeze, one of the
principal rivers of
Ethiopia
. Just before Lalibela is the beautiful rock hewn
church
of
Genete Mariam
. Afterwards we arrive to Lalibela in the evening; dinner and
overnight in a hotel.
Day 9: Lalibela is the 8th wonder of the world. 13 rock-hewn
churches cut out of a solid red volcanic rock, some completely
hidden in deep trenches, while others stand in open quarried caves
and a complex series of tunnels and narrow passageways connecting
the churches, Lalibela indeed offers a great opportunity for any
traveler. After an early breakfast we will start our visit with
the first churches. Afternoon will be for the second group of
churches and a tour to the city of Lalibela itself. Dinner and
overnight stay at hotel; in the evening you may also attend a show
featuring traditional dance
Day 10: Lalibela – Kombolcha (375 km). The road runs through
villages, cultivated plains and small passes. Here, we are close
to the land occupied by the Afar shepherds, a Semi-nomadic people
who live mainly in the deserts of
Danakil
depression. We encounter them on the road with their caravans of
camels. Dinner and overnight in a hotel in Kombolcha.
Day
11: Kombolcha –
Addis Ababa
. The road crosses the Ethiopian plateau, with its vast expanses
of cultivated fields. In Senbete, on Sundays, there is an
interesting market where the Afar, Oromo and Amhara peoples meet.
We arrive in
Addis Ababa
in the evening. We stay overnight in the same hotel as before and
have dinner in one of the many restaurants of the capital.
Day 12:
Addis Ababa
is located at 2,500 meters above sea level at the footstep of the
highest parts of series of Mountain chain. Addis is also the seat
of African Union (AU) and many International offices and over 100
Embassies. It enjoys an excellent climate all year round; with an
average temperature of 16°C.
Addis Ababa
is a pleasant city with wide avenues of jacarandas, interesting
museums and one of the largest open-air markets in
Africa
, known as the Merkato. After early breakfast we will visit the
National
Museum
(a multi-collections representing
Ethiopia
's past and present image). Among the famous exhibits, the 3.5
million year old skeleton of 'Lucy' is worth visiting. We will
also visit the Ethiopian Studies Institute Ethnological museum for
it’s extraordinarily collection of the priceless and varied
ethnic medley. Then we continue driving up to the mount (over 3000
meters) Entoto, the first seat of Emperor Menelik II before he
established
Addis Ababa
as the capital of
Ethiopia
in 1886. Visitors will also have the opportunity to visit Trinity
Cathedral and Merkato. Along our way we will have the chance to
see avenues, squares, obelisks and many places of interests and
shopping. Early evening, we will have a coffee ceremony to show
our appreciation for touring with us, Fest Ethiopia Travel &
Tour. Late at night transfer to the
Bole
International
Airport
and depart for home.
|
|
Rena,
Oded, Uri & Ariella from Israel
I
will never forget Lalibela and the people we met there ...the sweet
children that adopted us and followed us all around.
We arrived in Lalibela on a Saturday and saw the long March to the
Market and it was so beautiful and also sad because we understood
how far the people had to work and carry. learn
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