Ethiopia Road Trip

Upon arrival, you will be transferred to accommodation in Axum from the airport. At the accommodation you will receive a briefing on culture, traditions and a narrative of the circuit of your route. You will also learn the Dos and Don’ts in Ethiopia. Overnight stay is in Axum.

We will explore Axum and learn about its culture, architecture and history. Axum is a World Heritage Site. The remnants of Axum's past are huge granite pillars, fallen some still perpendicular and the largest monolith in the world. Made of single blocks of granite, the tallest stood over 33 metres high – The biggest now sting is 23 metres high. Axum was the heart of Ethiopia when it was the most powerful between the Eastern Roman Empire and Persia. Even after its political collapse in the 10th century, Ethiopian emperors continued to be crowned in Axum.

At this time Arabian immigrants started arriving in the Ethiopian highlands, bringing with them their unique and diverse gods across the Red Sea. They brought along the tradition of colossal stone building that would profoundly influence the region’s architectural and religious beliefs.

Axum’s artistic heritage is the product of a series of transcontinental cultural exchanges as far as the late first millennium B.C.

Spend the day in Simien Mountains National Park, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve site with its scenic views wildlife in the late afternoon.

Views of the stunning mountain ranges at the scenic lodge with The Simien Mountains National Park in Northern Ethiopia is an exotic location. The natural beauty of this region has always enthralled visitors with awe.

With unique wildlife and breathtaking views on a landscape shaped by nature and agriculture, a good trek will be organized to get up and close with your surroundings. Settings of grasslands, isolated trees and the bizarre Giant Lobelia (Medicinal Plant), are found on the high plateau with gentle high ridges at altitudes above 3600m above sea level. You will also catch a glimpse of the red chested Gelada baboon.

We will drive to Gondar and enjoy an excursion in a rural Amhara community. This is a definite stop on Ethiopia's Historic Route and it is also called the 'Camelot' of Africa. Once glorious with Emperors, Kings Churches, Gondar is now a centre of learning for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

Gondar Castle is not a single castle, but it is the name given to an entire complex of 11 castles and palaces in the area. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The best of Gondar’s imperial structures is the two-storeyed palace built of roughly hewn brown basalt stones with mortar that hold the structure together. It is said to have been the work of an Indian architect with towers and battlemented parapets.

Gondar, when it was the Ethiopian capital, was home to a number of emperors, warlords, courtiers and kings in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It is easy to imagine the mystery and pageantry that took place back in time. Overnight stay is in Gondar.

It’s a morning drive to for Bahir Dar.

In Bahir Dar, we will take a couple of hours for a well-deserved rest, have lunch and you will be given an insight into our community outreach program. You can be a part of our efforts for community development while we will stay in Bahir Dar.

Bahir Dar sits on the Southern shore of Lake Tana, source of the Blue Nile. It is the largest lake in Ethiopia. With a relaxed air, a vast lake dotted with ancient island monasteries, Bahir Dar is a great place to refresh and recoup in Ethiopia. The picturesque town of Bahir Dar is the gateway to 37 ancient monasteries that dot the shores islands of Lake Tana. Appreciating natural and cultural importance in 2015, the Lake Tana region was nominated as a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.

We will take a stroll and explore this vibrant modern city with its unique culture and tradition, evolving over time.

Then join an evening cultural program with an introduction to Ethiopian dances and music. Overnight stay is at the Centre in Bahir Dar.

Let’s take a boat ride on Lake Tana & visit these mysterious churches on the islands.

There are thirty-seven Islands and Churches scattered on the Lake and some twenty of them shelter monasteries. It offers immense historical-cultural interest for a visitor to explore many other islands off the tourist map.

The monasteries house beautiful mural paintings, kings’ crosses, manuscripts, crowns clothes of former kings. You can also shop for unique handicrafts made by the communities on the islands..

There’s a calmness to the place and the museums at Azwa, Ura or Mehal Zege give an impression of just how far back Christianity goes.

Community Outreach

Interact with the youth from 6th to 8th Grades at a local school and engage in pointing out your country of origin on a world map with pointers for Geography. You can engage the students in a dialogue that will improve their English fluency. You may also assist in our Construction and Renovation efforts in Bahir Dar during the days.

Visit the local markets and pick up ingredients that you would like for lunch to get into an introduction to Ethiopian Cuisine while being a part of the traditional cooking lesson. After lunch, you will visit one of the most well-known waterfalls in Africa, the Blue Nile. It is the major tributary of the great Nile River, the longest river in the world. The Blue Nile River starts from Ethiopia's Lake Tana and joins the smaller tributary White Nile at Khartoum Sudan to form the Nile River.

It has been confirmed that the White Nile originates in East Africa's Lake Victoria and the Blue Nile starts out of Ethiopia's Lake Tana. Blue Nile Falls is the most dramatic spectacle that this whole ecosystem has to offer. It is Four hundred metres (1,312 feet) wide when in flood (which normally occurs in the rainy season) flows over a vertical drop of more than forty-five metres (150 feet).

The waterfall throws up a continuous spray of water droplets which drench onlookers up to a kilometre away, which normally occurs in September October, after the rainy season.

This misty water produces rainbows that shift shimmer across the gorge a perennial rainforest of lush green vegetation, much to the delight of the innumerable monkeys and multi-coloured birds that inhabit the gorge.

After lunch, we will explore Lalibela where you will witness the 11 interconnected churches, carved into the mountain by hand which is a feat of tremendous skill. Labella’s churches were dug straight into the ground, hewn out of solid rock.

Lalibela is best known for its Church of St. George which is shaped like a Greek Orthodox cross. These 11 medieval monolithic cave churches are situated in a mountainous region. Lalibela is an extremely important place with regard to Ethiopian Christianity until today it’s a site of pilgrimage and devotion.

Also close to a traditional village, you will find circular-shaped homes. It’s a small, rural village and an unassuming place set amidst a stunning high landscape. We will stay overnight in Lalibela.

Continue Exploring Lalibela.

Early flight back to Addis Ababa. You may freshen up in a transit room before we proceed to Omo Valley the same day.

Omo Valley

On the border of Ethiopia and Kenya is an ancient culture consisting of people who have been living very much as their ancestors did for centuries. In a part of the Great Rift Valley, you find the proud people of Omo Valley whom time seems to have forgotten. You will get exposed to an ancient culture, traditional lifestyles and heritage

Early transfer back to Addis Ababa and freshen up in a transit room.

Departure