Day 1

Sunday - Addis Ababa: On arrival in Addis Ababa you will be met by our local Agent and transferred to your Hotel. Rest & freshen up and after lunch you embark on a Guided City Tour, visiting Mount Entoto and its panoramic views of the "Brussels of Africa" and the National Archaeological Museum with its 3.5million-year old bones of "Lucy" and other historic exhibits. Return to the Jupiter International Hotel for overnight, B&B.

Day 2

Monday - Addis to Bahir Dar & Lake Tana: Today you depart Addis early and fly to Bahir Dar (+-1hr), an attractive town with well laid-out tree-lined avenues and the blue waters of Ethiopia's largest lake, Lake Tana, in the background. Relax for a few hours in the grounds of your Hotel or walk along the lake shore, before leaving by boat for the Zeghie Peninsula which is known for its 14th century, round grass roofed churches and their magnificent wall murals. Visit two churches, Betra Mariam and Ura Kidane Mehret, walking through dense forest with lots of bird life, before returning by boat to your Hotel. Bahir Dar has several clubs and bars where visitors can see traditional & modern Ethiopian music & dancing, and is also quite safe for wandering around at night. Overnight in the Kuriftu Lodge, Breakfast & Dinner.

Day 3

Tuesday - Bahir Dar: Early morning excursion to the Blue Nile Falls, some 30km from the town. A short walk brings you to the falls themselves, which are at their most spectacular during and after the rainy season (June to January). Here the Blue Nile, which contributes 85% of the main Nile flow, starts its long journey to the Mediterranean. Returning to Bahir Dar we explore the town, visiting the former palace of Emperor Haile Selassie at Bizeit and the local markets. Overnight in the Kuriftu Lodge, Breakfast & Dinner.

Day 4

Wednesday - Bahir Dar to Gondar: Depart Bahir Dar early and fly to Gondar (+-20min), where on arrival you depart straight for the Simien Mountains and Debark, a distance of about 100km, heading up through clouds and mist. Simien Mountain National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and presents perhaps the most dramatic scenery in Africa – great volcanic plugs, formed some 40 million years ago and eroded over the aeons into fantastic crags, pinnacles and flat topped mountains. The park is famous for its Afro-Alpine flora, meadows and grassland, spectacular endemic birds such as the Thick-billed Raven and Wattled Ibis and wildlife such as the Gelada or bleeding heart baboon, Walia Ibex and the Simien Wolf. Overnight in the Simien Lodge, which offers a good bar and restaurant and at 3600m is the highest Hotel in Africa. B&B.

Day 5

Thursday - Simien Mountains to Gondar: Return to Gondar and enjoy a Guided City Tour after lunch. Gondar was the imperial city from the 17th-19th centuries offers Royal Enclosures, churches and palaces. Overnight in the Goha Hotel, B&B.

Day 6

Friday - Gondar to Lalibela: Transfer to the airport for the flight to Lalibela (+-30min), enjoying a Guided City Tour afterwards. 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! Overnight in the Jerusalem Hotel, B&B.

Day 7

Saturday - Lalibela: After breakfast we set off on mule or foot to the church of Ashetun Mariam, a 4hr round trip. We pass small villages along the way and admire the views of the surrounding countryside from the top where the church is located. After lunch we set off by car to the cave church of Yemrehane Christos, built by the king of the same name. The church is constructed inside a cave and is the finest example of its kind in Ethiopia. Overnight in the Jerusalem Hotel, B&B.

Day 8

Sunday - Lalibela to Axum: Transfer to the Airport for the flight to Axum (+-40min). From around 200 BC to 700 AD, Axum was the seat of an Empire which extended across the Red Sea to Arabia, traded with India and China, minted its own coinage, had its own alphabet and notational system, constructed great engineering works and which was reckoned by the 4th century Persian historian Mani to be one of the four great powers of the ancient world alongside Rome, Persia and China.

We visit the stelae (the largest single pieces of stone erected anywhere in the world), the Axum Museum, Mariamtsion Church and the tombs of King Kalab & King Basem. Overnight in the Yeha Hotel, B&B

Day 9

Monday - Axum: We finish off any sites we might have missed the day before, and then set off on the 55km trip to Yeha, Ethiopia’s first city – settlement in the area dates back more than 2800 years. There are the remains of a temple dedicated to Ilmuqeh, the moon god, and next to the temple is the church of Abune Aftse, one of the “9 Saints” who did much to spread Christianity in Ethiopia.  The temple at Yeha is the oldest building in sub Saharan Africa. Overnight in the Yeha Hotel, B&B

Day 10

Tuesday - Axum to Addis Ababa: Transfer to the Airport for the return flight to Addis Ababa (+-1hr). You can spend the rest of the day souvenir shopping, visiting the Mercato, Africa’s biggest market, where you can buy everything from livestock to computers, and could also visit the Ethiopian Ethnographic Museum, housed in the former Genete Palace of Emperor Haile Selassie.  We will have a farewell dinner at the Crown Hotel, and see dancing from Ethiopia’s different regions. Overnight in the Jupiter International Hotel, B&B.

Day 11

Wednesday - Depart: Transfer to the airport for final departure at mid day and bid Ethiopia a sad fare-well !!