Itinerary

Day 1

Depart from the USA onboard Ethiopian Airlines or other Airlines. We enjoy dinner, breakfast and lunch on board.

Day 2 –Addis Ababa

Arrive in Addis Ababa, the capital city, early in the morning/evening. We take a brief ride to our hotel and enjoy a welcome ceremony. A city tour may be arranged for morning flight arrivals in the afternoon. Overnight at selected Hotel.

Day 3 – Addis Ababa

Get ready for the grand city tour of Addis Ababa, as we visit The National Museum, the up to Entoto hills to get the panoramic view of the city. Then on to St. Mary’s Church and Museum, a century-old Church. After lunch, we visit the ‘Mercato’ – the biggest open air market in the African continent. Dinner and Overnight at select Hotel.

Day 4 – Addis Ababa/Bahir Dar

Up and away as we take an hour flight to Bahir Dar. After check-in at the Tana Hotel, we drive to Tisissat to take in the spectacular water fall, known as the ‘‘smoke of the Nile”. Enjoy a breathtaking walk as we explore all the scenic vantage points along the way to the base of the fall as we take a short boat trip across the Blue Nile River before heading back to Bahir Dar for late lunch. Time for an afternoon drive to the port of Bahir Dar to boat across Lake Tana and visit the Church of UraKidanemihret and Mehal Zege Georgis. Dinner and Overnight at Tana Hotel.

Day 5 – Bahir Dar/Gonder

We fly to Gonder, the 17th Century capital of Ethiopia. We begin our visit at the castle compound (UNESCO WHS), view the King Fasiledes Bath, then to the Goha Hotel for lunch. We enjoy afternoon visits of the Debre Birhan Selassie (the light of Trinity Church) to adorned with magnificent murals, the Qusqam Church and Mentwab Palace. Dinner & Overnight at Goha Hotel.

Day 6 – Gonder/Lalibella

Short flight to Lalibella and transfer to Roha Hotel. We start with a tour of the cluster of the first group church, churches including the famous church of St. George - carved like a cross out of the red balsa rock. Lunch at the hotel, and then tour the second cluster of the amazing rock hewn churches and other UNESCO World Heritage sites – that will surly amaze us. Dinner and overnight at Yemerha Hotel.

Day 7 – Lalibella/Axum

We fly to Axum, a town steeped in more than 2,500 years of history. From the palace and tomb of King Kaleb (6th century AD), we will visit the extraordinarily Stella’s Field (WHS site) and Tomb of King Remhay (1st to 4th Century AD) followed by the trip to the Church of St Mary of Tsion (17th century AD as the present church) - the home of the Ark of the Covenant. Our tour continues out of town for a walk up to see rock-carved-lion and the palace from where the Stella were hewn- some still lie there, half finished. Dinner on your own and Overnight Yeha Hotel.

Day 8 - Axum/Addis Ababa

We return by air late morning to Addis Ababa for a late lunch and enjoy the rest of the afternoon at leisure. We meet in the lobby for our farewell dinner, where you will enjoy traditional Ethiopian musical performance. Overnight Hotel.

Day 9 – Addis Ababa

We take a day excursion to theAdadi Mariam for a visit of the Extraordinary Church, the semi rock hewn church which goes back to the time of the churches of Lalibella. On the way back, we visit the MELAKA KUNTIRE, the reserved place for early human achievement. We return to Addis around lunchtime and enjoy our afternoon at leisure. Overnight at hotel.

Day 10 - Addis Ababa/USA

Enjoy a full day at leisure for shopping or relaxing as we prepare for our late night flight home.