8-Day North Ethiopia ( Culture, Scenic & Churches)

• You'll be collected from the airport.
• Accommodation before the tour starts can be arranged for an extra cost.

Addis – Mekelle – Danakil

After breakfast you will be picked up and depart from Mekele to the Danakil for 3 days. We drive from Mekelle to – Dodom, We start early drive to Dodom (at the base of Erta Ale). After you pass several small hamlets scattered here and there in this desert land, Dodom is about 9.5km from ErtaAle and it takes about 3 hrs. Trekking. Trek up to ErtaAle at 20:00 hours. Camels transport all the camping materials and some food (sleeping materials like light mattresses and mat and water) to the rim of the volcano, where we spend the night watching the dramatic action of the boiling lava. It is a shield volcano with a base diameter of 30 km and 1km square caldera at its summit. ErtaAle contains the world’s only permanent lava lake. ErtaAle is 613 meters, with a lava lake, one of only five in the world, at the summit. It is notable for being the longest existing lava lake, present since the early years of the twentieth century.

Main Destination:

Danakil Depression (Highlight)

Accommodation:

Budget camping

• Danakil Depression (Highlight)

Meals & Drinks:

• Lunch & dinner (Breakfast not included)
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Erta Ale – Hamad Ela

Waking up early ErtaAle -Dodom　Leave back to Dodom you will reach latest at 8.00 am at the camp, after breakfast time to relax. Then drive to Hamad Ela 100km, picnic lunch on the way on shed of palm tree, reach Hamad Ela 04:30, better village with a total population about 500 people. You will see lots of camel caravans and you will have the sun set look from the very shallow salt Lake Assale.

Main Destination:

Hamad Ela (Village)

Accommodation:

Budget camping

• Hamad Ela (Village)

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Hamad Ela - Dallol - Mekelle

Morning tour Drive to Ragad (Asebo), the place where the localities are mining salt. 1,200 km2 (460 sq mi) the Afar Depression is covered by salt, and you will Look the activity of breaking the salt from the ground, local people are cutting in to rectangular pieces and loading on camels. You drive ahead to Dallol and visit the difference landscape formed by volcanic activity; Dallol + Lake Assale + salt canon, camel caravans, follow up camel caravans and　Drive back to Hamad Ela for lunch and proceed Gheralta.

Main Destination:

Mekele (City)

Accommodation:

Gheralta Lodge

• Mid-range lodge located in Tigray

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Mekelle – Rock Hewn Churches of Tigray

Drive and Trek to Abune Yemata. Abune Yemata is 4 kms drive from Megab and a further 30 minutes' walk will bring you to the foot of the perpendicular rock mountains of Guh. The scenery is breath-taking and the mountains resemble pillars reaching to the sky. The challenging and the only way to the church is footholds and handgrips in the rock face. Just before the entrance to the church there is a narrow ledge carved in the cliff from which one can view a sheer drop of approximately 250m to 300m. Afternoon you will visit Mariam Korkoer and Daniel Koror churches and drive to Mekele for over night.

Main Destination:

Tigray

Accommodation:

Axum Hotel

• Mid-range hotel located in Addis (City)

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Mekelle – Lalibela

Morning after breakfast fly to Lalibela at 10 am before the flight you will visit Axum for 2 hours to see the obelisks, then fly to Labella, After arrival start your tour of the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, visiting the Northwestern Cluster of churches - Bet Medhane Alem, Bet Maryam, Bet Meskel, Bet Danaghel, Bet Mikael & Bet Golgotha (entry not permitted for women). After lunch, continue with the Southeastern Cluster of churches – Bet Gabriel-Rufael, Bet Merkorios, Bet Amanual, and Bet Abba Libanos. Finally, you will visit the most famous of all the churches – Bet Giyorgis, constructed in honor of the patron saint of Ethiopia – Saint George.

Main Destination:

Lalibela (Town)

Accommodation:

Cliff Edge Hotel

• Budget hotel located in Lalibela (Town)

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Lalibela – Gondar

After briefly settling in your hotel, explore the sites of Gondar, including a visit to the Royal Enclosure, with six castles and several other buildings. Additionally, visit Fasilidas’s Pool, still used for Timket celebrations today, Ras Gimb Palace Museum and the Debre Birhan Selassie church, with the most famous ceiling in Ethiopia.

Main Destination:

Gondar (City)

Accommodation:

Gondar Plaza Hotel

• Mid-range hotel located in Gondar (City)

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Gondar – Bahir Dar– Lake Tana

After breakfast you drive Gondar to Baheradr which is around 2 hours’ drive After arrival Take a boat trip on Lake Tana to visit a selection of the monasteries hidden on the islands and shores of this sacred lake. Visit the Zege Penninsula and the monasteries of Azuwa Maryam and Ura Kidane Mehret and the island monastery of Debre Maryam near the outlet of the Blue Nile River. In the afternoon, drive out to the Blue Nile Falls for a short hike in the area. Finish the day with the sunset over the lake.

Main Destination:

Bahir Dar (City)

Accommodation:

Delano Hotel

• Mid-range hotel located in Bahir Dar (City)

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Bahir Dar – Addis Ababa

After morning breakfast you will have time to explore Bahr Dar as you wait for your afternoon flight to Addis Ababa to catch up with your flight back home.

Main Destination:

Addis Ababa (City)

Accommodation:

No accommodation (End of tour)

Meals & Drinks:

• Breakfast & lunch (Dinner not included)
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

• Additional accommodation can be arranged for an extra cost.
• You'll be dropped off at the airport.