Morning, drive to the National Museum of Ethiopia for visiting the long-age history of Ethiopia and the oldest human ancestor, Lucy. Set within Haile Selassie’s former palace and surrounded by the beautiful gardens and fountains of Addis Ababa University’s main campus is the enthralling Ethnological Museum. Even if you’re not normally a museum fan, this one is worth a bit of your time – it’s easily one of the finest museums in Africa. Before lunch, drive to Holy Trinity Cathedral Church which has a unique architectural style.
Immediately after a relaxed lunch, drive up to the Entoto Mountains, the best location to observe the panoramic view of the capital. It is also a historical place where Menelik II resided and built his palace. It is notable as the location of a number of celebrated churches, including Saint Raguel and Saint Mary (Maryam Church). The return drive will be via Piazza with en-route visit to St. George Church and Menelik II Square towards the largest open-air market, Merkato.
Today, you will have your domestic flight to Gondar. Depart Gondar, and drive to Sankaber via Debark where the park’s entrance fee is paid, and obligatory staff are met. You will be dropped off at Buyit Ras for a 3-4 hours hike to Sankaber by which you will pass close to the escarpment edge. Nearing Sankaber, you will have beautiful views on both sides of the escarpment ridge and where you will likely see the endemic Gelada baboons.
A further 24km takes you to the Chennek campsite, passing through the Kurbet Metaya viewpoint (500m before the campsite). Once you pass Kurbet Metaya keep your eyes peeled for the Walia ibex. Continue 2km to one of the highest peaks in the Simien Massif: Mount Bwahit at 4,200m. Drive along the foothills through a valley crossed by wild streams. The road then descends from the plateau passing through spectacular scenery. Look for the Walia ibex and Ethiopian wolf.
After lunch we will visit Gondar, the first capital city with the reign of Fasilides. In Gonder, there are a dozen castles built by various emperors over the course of 236 years. The city seems more of European than African origin. In the afternoon, we visit Fasilades Palace, probably the most impressive of all the castles found in the area and the oldest one! We continue going to the Church of Debre Berhan Selassie (Light of the Trinity). The interior is decorated with beautiful frescos, cherubs and paintings. Debre Berhan Selassie is rumored to once have been the proposed final resting-place of the Ark of the Covenant of the Ethiopian Empire, which began in 1632.
The flight departs at 10:00 and takes approximately 30 minutes. The small town in the Lasta Mountains is world-famous for its unique rock churches chiseled into the red, soft tuff rock. The city is named after King Lalibela, who built numerous religious buildings here. The Rock-Hewn Ethiopian orthodox Christian churches of Lalibela, are one of the eighth wonders of the world. It’s a collection of churches, some connected by fascinating internal channels, with hermit holes where people lived and died. The connecting walls are full of religious symbols. The city contains 11 monolithic churches that were built in the 12th century, some of which are beautifully painted inside. Visit the 1st and 2nd groups of the rock-hewn churches today.
Today, you leave Lalibela and have a drive to Yemrehanna Kristos for another ancient rock-hewn church known as Yimrhane Kristos. The drive to Yemrehanna will also give you the opportunity to view the rural countryside and villages of the Ethiopian highlands. Visit Yemrehanna Kristos, which is one of Ethiopia’s best-preserved late-Aksumite buildings; few people reward themselves with a visit. And a reward it is. The church is different because it’s built rather than excavated. Seeing the stepped exterior facade, created from alternating wood and stone layers, you’ll understand why so many of Lalibela rock-hewn churches look like they do. And knowing that Yemrehanna Kristos may predate Lalibela’s churches by up to 80 years, you have before you a virtual blueprint of greatness.
Afternoon, drive back to Lalibela for lunch and you will proceed to visit the remaining groups of the church. Finally, you will visit the most famous of all the churches – Bet Giyorgis, constructed in honor of the patron saint of Ethiopia – Saint George.
Morning, Transfer to Lalibela Airport for your return flight to Addis Ababa. Then, proceed driving to Lake Langano, where we will spend the night. you will chill out and relax by the lake. Swimming and kayaking on the lake are some of the possible activities that you can partake in.
We drive to Dinsho, which is the gateway to the fabled Bale Mountains, which reach an altitude of around 4 500 meters (more than 14 000 feet). Here we spend two days birding varied habitats for such sought-after species as Abyssinian Owl, Cape (Mackinder’s) Eagle-Owl (the most massive of three subspecies), African Wood Owl, Wattled Ibis, Chestnut-naped Francolin, Moorland Francolin, Wattled Crane, Red-billed Chough, White-backed Black Tit, Abyssinian Catbird, African Emerald Cuckoo, Abyssinian Crimsonwing, and, with luck, Golden Eagle, as well as a long list of other birds. Interesting mammals here are mountain nyala, klipspringer, Menelik’s bushbuck, Bohor reedbuck, and others. The days in this area are also a botanical treat, with vegetation ranging from Hagenia-dominated forest to giant Erica woods to high-altitude moorlands, sometimes with fabulous giant lobelias. In the adjacent Harenna Forest, it might be possible to spot some star birds like Brown Parisoma, Ayers’s Hawk-Eagle, African Emerald Cuckoo, Abyssinian Ground Thrush, Cinnamon Bracken Warbler, Rüppell’s Robin-Chat, White-browed Robin-Chat, Abyssinian Crimsonwing, and Slender-billed Starling, or even a flock of migrating European Bee-eaters.
In the morning, you will have breakfast and drive to the Sanetti Plateau (altitude of 4000 meters, with Afro-alpine Moorland, beautiful wild alpine scenery). Driving further, stands of Hypericum trees host the endemic griseiventris subspecies of Brown Parisoma. Moorland and Chestnut-naped Francolins and Cinnamon Bracken Warbler frequent dense shrubbery, and Ethiopian Cisticola prefer the more open areas. Then we will be driving on Africa’s highest road, passing close to the summit of Ethiopia’s second-highest mountain. Here on the Sanetti Plateau, an island of tundra in the tropics, the habitat is classified as “Afro-alpine moorland”, characterized by a fascinating range of unique plants, including giant lobelias, which tower like monolithic giants over the rich tussock grasslands, and extensive cushions of yellow everlasting flowers. The grasslands are estimated to support incredible biomass of 8,800 pounds of rodents per hectare. This attracts a rich array of raptors, and we should see Steppe and Golden Eagles, Augur Buzzard, and the elegant Pallid Harrier circling over this verdant floral sea. They share this abundant food source with the plateau’s most celebrated resident, the Ethiopian wolf, crowned with the unenviable title of “the world’s rarest canid.” Watching these vibrantly colored animals, most closely related to the European Timber Wolf, exhibiting their hunting prowess while bouncing on giant mole-rats (another endemic to the Sanetti Plateau) is surely among Africa’s greatest wildlife experiences. The plateau also holds the only Afrotropical breeding populations of Ruddy Shelduck, Golden Eagle, and Red-billed Chough. We may also search for Black Stork, Wattled Ibis, Rouget’s Rail (particularly common and confiding here), the endemic Blue-winged Goose, Spot-breasted Lapwing, Wattled Crane, Thekla Lark, migratory flocks of Red-throated Pipit, Abyssinian Longclaw, Red-breasted Wheatear, the dumpy Moorland Chat, and flocks of the endemic Black-headed Siskins. Then, continue to the south of the Park lies a 1200m (3700 ft) escarpment, below which is one of the largest and most extensive forests remaining in Ethiopia, the Harenna Forest. The slope of the southern escarpment falls rapidly from the tree line at 3200m to around 2000m within a distance of only 8 km, producing a rapid and spectacular change in landscape, habitat, and species composition. The Bale Mountain Lodge is located beside a clear mountain stream, within a natural forest clearing beneath the escarpment, and enjoys breathtaking views of the mountains and the surrounding forest. Here rare Bale Monkeys inhabit the trees and the birdlife is spectacular. Wild coffee is harvested to the south of the lodge and delicious Bale honey is obtained by the local people from hives placed high within the canopy. Here is also found 3% of Africa’s remaining bamboo forest. Harenna is truly a magical place in which to relax or explore.
Drive back to Addis Ababa via Lake Koka and Lake Ziway. You go shopping in Addis Ababa. Then you will go to the Yod Abyssinia Traditional restaurant for a farewell dinner party. From the restaurant, you will go to the airport and the tour ends.
