On your arrival at Bole International Airport, you will clear immigration and proceed to baggage claim, After collecting your checked bags, you will clear customs and pass through the arrivals hall, where you will be met by our representative, who will assist you with your transfer to your hotel for an overnight stay.

Fly from Addis to Lalibela and visit the incredible rock-hewn churches of Lalibela and the Ethiopian coffee ceremony in the villages of Lalibela.

The magnificent Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela: incorporate BeteGiorgis, Bete Medahne Alem, Bete Meskel, Bete Mariam, BeteDenagel, Bet Golegota, and Debresina, Bete Gebriel-Rafael, Betemerkorewos, Bethlehem, Bete Emanuel, and Bete Aba Libanos.) At the end of the 12th and beginning of the 13th centuries, King Lalibela of the Zaghwe dynasty built a series of rock-hewn churches—the New Jerusalem, as he called it—now rightly acknowledged to be one of the wonders of the world.

There are 11 churches in the town named after him, with others in the surrounding countryside. All are still in use today. (The churches are divided into two groups, the division being the River Yordanos or River Jordan.). It is estimated that the churches took 24 years to construct.

In the morning, after breakfast, you will drive to Bahir Dar via Debre Tabor. Afternoon you will have a boat ride to Zege Peninsula.

On arrival, you’ll take a boat across Lake Tana to the Zege Peninsula. Lake Tana has a surface area of 2,156 km2 and is the largest lake in Ethiopia. The lake is dotted with islands, many of which shelter isolated monasteries containing the remains of ancient Ethiopian emperors and treasures of the Ethiopian Church. One of these is the 14th-century monastery of UraKidane Mihret, which is the most famous of the Zege Peninsula monasteries, with very beautiful painted maqdas and a priceless collection of crosses and crowns.

After breakfast, continue north to Gondar. The four-hour drive will take you through rural villages, offering wonderful insight into the Amhara culture. 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 Fasilidass Pool, still used for Timket celebrations today, Ras Gimb Palace Museum and the Debre Birhan Selassie church, with the most famous ceiling in Ethiopia. Overnight in Gondar (hotel).

In the morning, you will be transferred to the airport for your flight back to Addis. After you check in to your hotel you will start your short city from Entoto Mountain, the previous capital of Ethiopia; from here, you’ll have panoramic views of the city, fresh air, and the lovely scents of the eucalyptus forests.

Proceed down to Addis Ababa via Shiro Meda, the city’s largest market for traditional clothes. Continue your visit to the National Museum, where Ethiopia’s oldest resident, Lucy, is housed. Discovered by paleoanthropologist Donald Johnson in 1974, Lucy’s skeleton is dated to about 3.2 million years ago.

Close to the National Museum is the Selassie (Trinity) church, one of the most important churches of Addis Ababa and the final resting place of Haile Selassie, to whom there is a dedicated museum on site. Also buried here is Sylvia Pankhurst, famed British suffragette, and a number of warriors who fought to free Ethiopia first from Italian colonists and later from the repressive communist Derg regime.

Two hours prior to your departure, you will be transferred to the airport for your flight home.