Day 1: Addis Ababa
Meals: (D)
Upon arrival to Addis Ababa, Meet at the airport and get transfer to your hotel. After taking rest we start to discover the City of Addis Ababa. Addis Ababa in Amharic means "new flower". Founded in 1886 by Menelik II, and situated between 2,500 m (8202 ft) and (3,000 m/9842 ft above sea level) at Entoto Mountain chain, making it the third highest capital in the world. Addis Ababa is a pleasant city with wide avenues of jacaranda trees, historical land marks, interesting museums and one of the largest open-air markets in Africa, known as the "Merkato". We will visit the National Museum, the Ethnological Museum, situated in the former palace of Haile Selassie and Holy Trinity Cathedral. Drive to the Entoto Mountains and take a walk for paranomic view of the City.
Day 2: Fly to Bahir Dar (560 km/350 miles)
Meals: (B, L, D)
Today after breakfast transfer to the airstrip and fly to Bahir Dar other pleasant city located at 1,800 meters above sea level on the shores of Lake Tana, the largest lake in Ethiopia. Up on arrival drive to your hotel and check in. After taking rest we will have a city tour and visit the local market. In the afternoon we will enjoy a boat trip over Lake Tana, there are 37 islands on Lake Tana and 30 of them have churches and monasteries of considerable historical and cultural interests. We will have boat trip to explore some of the islands. Ura Kidanemihiret is one of the most famous monasteries and has important collections of religious icons from the 16th to 18th centuries and superbly painted.
Day 3: Bahir Dar - Gondar (180km/112.5 miles)
Meals: (B, L, D)
Early morning breakfast and drive to Gondar. Gondar was one of the first capital cities of the Ethiopian empire, which began in 1632 with the reign of Fasilidas. In the city, there are dozen castles built by various emperors over the course of 236 years. The city seems more European than African and also has Islamic influences. In the morning we visit the royal enclosure and Fasilidas bath. In the afternoon we visit the church of Debre Berhan Selassie (Light of the Trinity), which is located at the summit of a hill and surrounded by fortified walls. The interior is decorated with beautiful frescos.
Day 4: Fly Gondar - Lalibe La (310km/194 miles)
Meals: (B, L, D)
Breakfast at your hotel and transfer to the airstrip for your flight to LalibelLa. Lalibella is located at 2,600 meters above the sea level. It is named after King Lalibela who constructed the 11 rock-hewn churches in the town. The day is dedicated to visit those 11 monolithic churches that were built in the twelfth century and are carved out of the pink granite rock. They have been classified as one of the wonders of the world. Each church has a unique architectural style; all are superbly carved and most of them are decorated with well-preserved paintings. The entire city may be described as a sculpture dedicated to the glory of God. At the morning we visit the first group of the church starting from Bet Medhane Alem, one of the largest monolithic rock hewn churches.
Bet Maryam, is thought to have been the first church built in Lalibela features elaborate carvings. In the afternoon we visit the second group of the churches. We also attend coffee ceremony in local family home.
Day 5: Fly Lalibel La - Axum (480km/300 miles)
Meals: (B, L, D)
After taking breakfast be transferred to the airport for your flight to Axum. Axum is the "last of the great civilizations of antiquity to be revealed to modern knowledge" and is listed as World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. Axum is believed to date back over 2000 years and the tradition has it that it was once the capital city of the much disputed Queen of Sheba. While going to the Stele Park, make a stop at the so-called Queen of Sheba’s Bath, a reservoir hewn out of massive rock, used by locals for water supply. Check out the Stele Park, where you can find giant Stele carved out of a single piece of granite, each resembles a tall, slender, multi storey house in the architectural style of the Axumite houses. There are two churches of great interest in Axum one old and one new churches of saint Mary of Zion where the original ark of the covenant is placed then precede your tour to the archeological Museum which houses several stones bearing sabean and Geez inscriptions, as well as many other artifacts. More visit to the tombs of Kaleb and his son Gebre Meskal set on a hill, Ezana’s inscription and if time allows us drive out of town to visit Queen of Sheba’s palace.
Day 6: Fly Axum - Addis Ababa
Meals: (B, L, D)
Today after breakfast we fly back to Addis Ababa. The afternoon is free with optional visit of some parts of Addis Ababa. In the evening enjoy a traditional farewell dinner with Ethiopian cultural music and dancing presentations and transfer to the airport for your flight back home.
