Tours of Ethiopia including Lalibela, Bahirdar, Gondar, Semien Mountain, Harar, Danakil Depression – 14 Days

Day 1: Addis Ababa

Visit Trinity Cathedral, resting place of Emperor Haile Selassie. Tour the Museum, a great introduction to ethiopian culture and history. Make a short drive to Entoto hills for a view of the city and visit Maryam church. En-route, stop at Sheromeda Traditional cloth market. Visit the mercato or the sholla market, two of addis ababa’s main markets.
Overnight: New Day Hotel

Day 2: Addis Ababa – Bahirdar

Fly to bahir dar on ethiopian airlines. Take a boat tour on lake tans, the source of the blue nile, and tour ancient monasteries on the zege peninsula. We will visit two of the following monasteries: ura kidane mehiret, azwa maryam, mehal zege giorgis, and bete maryam. end the day with a sunset visit to bezawit hills overlooking the nile river.
Overnight: Naky Hotel

Day 3: Bahirdar – Gondar

Drive through the countryside to gondar. Tour the royal enclosure, a unseco world heritage site featuring five castles built by a succession of Ethiopian kings beginning in the early 17th century. Having survived several wars, including air raids during world war 2, the castles are a testament to the resilience of this once mighty empire. Visit the church of debre birhan selassie, famous for its religious art and especially its iconic ceiling depicting angels.
Overnight: Ag Hotel

Day 4: Gondar – Semien Mountain National Parks

Morning after breakfast drive to the jagged panorama of the simien mountains national park, famed for its exclusive landscape, afro-alpine vegetation and unique wildlife, where you may spot the endemic Wallia Ibex, gelada baboon troops, bushbuck, klipspringer. then drive back to gonder.
Overnight: Panaromic View Hotel

Day 5: Gondar – Lalibela

Fly to lalibela on ethiopian airlines. Tour the magnificent rock-hewn churches, a UNESCO world heritage site. This group of eleven monolithic churches were carved directly into the stone mountainside at least 800 years ago. This complex boasts the largest monolithic church in the world,
a maze of passageways and tunnels, intricately carved reliefs, and fabulous
examples of icon paintings. In the late afternoon, enjoy a traditional coffee
ceremony and learn the process for baking injera (a staple food for much of Ethiopia).
Overnight: Panaromic hotel

Day 6: Flight or drive 2 possibility , from lalibela drive to Afar, or fly Addis Ababa – Semer – Afdera – Volcano

On this day, the driver picks you up from Semera airport, then drives to Danakil depression. We start an early drive to lake Afdera(a salt lake that is located in the heart of Danakil Depressions. You will see the natural hot springs, and swimming is also possible if you are interested. We will take you to Dodom (at the base of Erta Ale). Leave after lunch, possibly at 13:30. We pass several small hamlets scatteredinthe desert. Dodom is about 9.5km from Ertaale and takes about an hour of trekking. We will have an early dinner, around 17:00. Using the Camel’s back; we transport all the camping materials like food, a sleeping mattress and a mat to the volcano’s rim, where we spend the night watching the dramatic action of the boiling lava. Danak il Depression (dallol and Erta Ale) ranks as one of Ethiopia’s most alluring and physically challenging natural attractions. It is a shield volcano with a base diameter of 30 km by a km 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.

Day 7: ErtaAle – HamadEla – Dallol

This day after an early breakfast, we will drive to HamadEla. You will see lots of camel caravans, and you will have the sunset look from the very shallow salt lake Assale. 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 at the activity of breaking the salt from the ground, local people are cutting into rectangular pieces and loading on camels. You drive ahead to Dallol and visit the different landscapes formed by volcanic activity; Dallol + Lake Assale + salt canon, camel caravans, follow up camel caravans, follow up camel caravans and drives to HamadEla.
Overnight: Camping

Day 8: HamadEla – Semera – Addis Ababa – Departure

On this day, you may have another chance to see the beauty of sunrise, and then after breakfast, we will drive to the town of Semera and fly to Addis Ababa.

Day 9: Addis Ababa – Harar (Diredwa) Fly drive to harar

Fly from Addis Ababa to Dire Dawa on Ethiopian Airlines. Continue by vehicle from Dire Dawa to Harar. Stroll through the 16th century walled city of Harar, the fourth most important city in the Islamic World. See the home of Arthur Rimbuad, renowned French poet who worked and lived in Harar as a “gun-runner” during the 19th century.
Overnight: Hotel

Day 10: Harar

Visit the colorful Islamic market. Tour the National and Harari museums and the house of Ras Mekonnen (father of Haile Selassie). In the evening see the “Hyena Man” feeding the hyenas that gather nightly outside the town.
Overnight: Hotel

Day 11: Harar – Addis Ababa

Morning visit to the colorful Islamic Market. Drive from Harar to Dire Dawa. Fly to Addis Ababa and visit the National Museum, home of the 3 million year old skeleton “Lucy”. Optional souvenir shopping. Enjoy a farewell dinner at a traditional Ethiopian restaurant featuring dancers and musicians representing some of the country’s many ethnic groups. Transfer to airport for late night departure or additional hotel night booked upon request.
Overnight: Hotel

Day 12: Fly from Addis to Jinka

Continue driving to Turmi for your introduction of Hamer people, walk through their garden and neighborhood.
Overnight: Turmi

Day 13: Visit Karo (Weekly tribal Market)

In the morning and then drive to Jinka where you can visit a museum that narrates Omo valley people and their settlements.
Overnight: Jinka

Day 14: Addis Abeba – Mago National Park

Visit the park and mursi people in early morning , Mursi ladies are one of the most recognizable women for their lip- plates inserting. After, walking around their village, drive back to Jinka for lunch and take the plane back to Addis Ababa. Late afternoon, free time for shopping or short walk in Addis before going to one of the known cultural Restaurant for live music and dance.