25 Days Tour of Ethiopia

Overview

This is a fine example of combining some of our suggested itineraries with the Best of Ethiopia tour. It is actually a combination of 14 days to the north and 14 days to the south, complemented by a visit to Harar and Awash National Park in the east. What more do you want?

Day 1 Arrival – Addis Abeba

We will meet you at the airport and take you to your hotel for check-in. The First day we spent in the fascinating capital of the country: Addis Ababa. Depending on your time of arrival we take you on a half-day or full-day city tour visiting some sites of your choice like the Ethnographic Museum, National Museum, Trinity Cathedral, Merkato (the largest market of Africa), or the Entoto Hills just outside Addis Ababa.
O/N Tirago Hotel

Day 2 Addis Ababa – Bahir Dar 553 km/ 7 hrs.

After an early breakfast, we leave Addis Ababa for a long drive to the north. The journey leads us through the rolling hills of the Ethiopian Highlands were a lot of agricultural activity is taking place. We will enjoy the natural beauty of the Blue Nile Gorge on the way. Just before sunset, we arrive in Bahir Dar.
O/N Jacaranda hotel

Day 3 visit Bahir Dar

Inside Ura Kidane Mihret today we have a full-day boat trip on Lake Tana to explore some of the beautiful churches. Before we are heading to the churches the boat takes us to the source of the Blue Nile where we find many water birds and maybe a hippo. It is about one hour by boat to reach Zeghie Peninsula where we visit the most famous church Ura Kidane Mehret. We enjoy a walk on the forested peninsula to the other churches and might meet monkeys and beautiful birds on the way.
On the other side of the peninsula, the boat is waiting and takes us to Kibran Gabriel Island (unfortunately women are not allowed) and finally back to Bahir Dar late afternoon. At the end of the day, we enjoy the panoramic view and the sunset from Bezawit Hill.
O/N jacaranda hotel

Day 4 Bahir Dar – Gondar 174 km/ 3 hrs.

The Blue Nile Falls near Bahir Dar After an early breakfast we drive for about one hour to reach the small Village of Tissisat. Here we enjoy a lovely walk in the cooler morning hours. We cross the Nile by the 17th-century Portuguese Bridge and continue the walk to the falls, meeting local people on the way.
After admiring the falls we cross the Nile by small boat to find our car waiting for us. We are heading back to Bahir Dar for lunch and proceed to our next destination Gondar.
O/N AG hotel

Day 5 Gondar – Simian Mountains 122 km/ 3 hrs

The castle of Fassiladas We will spend the morning visiting the highlights of Gondar: the Royal Enclosure, Fassiladas Bath, and Debre Birhan Selassie, the church with angel faces painted on the ceiling. After Lunch, we proceed towards Simian Mountains encountering spectacular scenery on the way as good preparation for tomorrow. We enjoy the sunset at our destination the Simian Lodge.
O/N Comp site

Day 6 Simian Mountains

A Gelada baboon this is a full day visit to enjoy the natural beauty of the Simian Mountains. There are several opportunities to explore the park, on foot or by car. Depending on your interest and fitness we choose where to go. It is almost guaranteed you see the gelada baboon. The Walia ibex and Ethiopian Wolf are much more difficult to find. O/N comp site
Day 7 Simian Mountains – Gonder, on this day visit Simian and process back to Gonder.
O/N AG hotel

Day 8 Gonder – Lalibela / 6 hrs

After breakfast drive to Lalibela and visit Lalibela church the 12th-century rock-hewn churches are the legacy of king Lalibela. It is said his visit to Jerusalem inspired him to build the 11 churches. A full day is necessary to get a good impression of these truly amazing places of worship. There are quite a few options to spend the rest of our time. For example a visit to the Yemrehane Kristos Church or a hike to the Asheten Maryam church. On Saturday there is the weekly market in town.
O/N Jerusalem hotel

Day 9 Lalibela – Harare (by plane to Dire Dawa) 75 km/ 2 hrs

After a remarkable visit, we leave Lalibela behind. Today we have two domestic flights to reach Harare. A Transfer will take us to the airport, as our driver left already 2 days ago to be on time in Harare. A 45 minutes flight takes us to Addis Ababa and later that day a one-hour flight takes us to Dire Dawa where Our driver is waiting for us to take us to Harare. This 55 km journey will take close to 1:30hrs. In Harare We check-in in at our hotel.
O/N Harare Ras hotel

Day 10 Visit Harare

The interior of a Harare house the walled city of Harare is a fascinating town to explore. We take you around through the maze-like layout of this 4th holiest town of Islam. There are many mosques and Shrines to discover and it is a lively town too. The Harare market is famous. In the evening we are going to see the Hyena man, feeding the hyena by hand. Do you dare to give it a try? O/N Harare Ras hotel

Day 11 Harare – Awash NP, 315 km/ 7 hrs.

First, we are traveling through a mountainous and fertile area famous for its coffee and qat and later this day we reach the plains of the Rift Valley and Awash National Park. Late afternoon we go out for our first game dive in debark.
O/N Doha lodge

Day 12 Awash NP

The Awash Falls is a day to explore Awash National Park. Game drives and walks are available to Encounter the wildlife and enjoy the scenery. You are likely to see beisa oryx, kudu, defassa waterbuck, Summering’s gazelle, warthog, and baboon. A park is also a great place for birdwatchers.
O/N Doha lodge

Day 13 Awash NP – Langano, 268 km / 4 hrs.

With a last-game drive, we leave the park behind for our next destination. En route, we stop at Lake Ziway for some bird watching. If you want we have the afternoon at leisure. However, we would like to take
You to Shala-Abiata National Park. These twin lakes offer great scenery and abundant birdlife. Overgrazing by cattle seriously damaged the area and few larger mammals are found nowadays, but it is still worth visiting.
O/N Hara Langano lodge

Day 14 Langano – Arba Minch, 306 km / 6 hrs

We leave our resort at the lake not too late to have some time available to visit Senkele Game Sanctuary en route. Here we have a good chance to see the endemic Swayne hartebeest and other savanna Animals.
O/N paradise lodge

Day 15 Arba Minch (visit Dorze and Nech Sar NP)

Boat trip on Lake ChamoIn about one hour we travel the 28 km from Arba Minch at an altitude of 1400m to the highland village of Dorze at 2600 m enjoying beautiful vistas over Lake Abaya and Lake Chamo on the way. We visit the Dorze people in their famous beehive-like huts and see the preparation of their staple food made of false bananas. Of course, we try their food. After a relaxing lunch, we depart for a boat trip on Lake Chamo and have a good chance to come up close with most probably the biggest crocodiles you have ever seen. Many (water) birds and Hippopotamus are also easily found.
O/N Paradise Lodge

Day 16 Arba Minch – Jinka, 241 km/ 4:30 hrs.

Today we travel further south and traverse the areas where Konso, Tsamay , Banna and Ari people are living. We visit the Thursday market of Key Afar, one of the biggest in the region. Banna, Ari and Tsamay people travel from far to attend the market. A wide selection of goods and (fresh) produce is sold here and there is a cattle market. After visiting the market we proceed to Jinka.
O/N Jinka lodge

Day 17 Jinka (visit Mursi and Ari people)

Mursi mother with child Today we explore more of the area around Jinka. In the morning we travel into the Mago National Park on our way to probably the most well-known people of the Omo Valley: the Mursi expect much game on this brief visit to the park. After about a 2 hour drive we reach one of the villages where the Mursi people are living.
We are heading back to Jinka for lunch and in the Afternoon we visit the Ari people. A big contrast with the morning, Ari people adopted a more lifestyle and live on small compounds where they grow a selection of crops.
O/N Jinka lodge

Day 18 Jinka – Turmi 125 km/ 2: 30 hrs

This morning we first visit the museum at the South Omo Research Centre. Then we proceed to Dimeka Where Saturday is market day. As at the other markets, it gets going from the end of the morning. At the market, we find mainly Hamer people but also Karo, Bashada, and Banna travel here. After visiting the market we proceed to Turmi. During our stay in Turmi, we might be lucky to witness an Evangadi dance or maybe even a Bull-jumping ceremony. O/N Turmi lodge

Day 19 Turmi (visit Dassenech and Hamer people)

A Dassenech elder with a clay cap. In the morning we drive 72 km/ 1,5 hrs. to Omorate on the east bank of the Omo River. This is the area where the Dassenech people are living and we are going to cross the Omo River by local canoe to visit one of their villages. In the afternoon we have another chance to experience the Evangadi dance or the Bull jumping ceremony.
O/N Turmi Lodge

Day 20 Turmi – Yabello, 296 km / 5:30 hrs.

A Konso village before we depart for Yabello we enjoy a walk around Turmi to explore the area on foot. When there is no water running in the Keske River (most of the time) we follow the riverbed and find almost certain the black and white Colubus monkey and many birds. After the walk, we start driving and we visit an Arbore village on the way. After lunch, we visit the Konso people with their maze-like villages and terraces for agriculture.
They are also well known for their Waga stelae, grave markers for the brave and important men of this people. The cultural landscape of Konso is the youngest World Heritage Site in Ethiopia.
O/N Yabello hotel

Day 21 Yabello (visit singing and El Sod)

Singing well of Borena people we are now in the heartland of the Borena people. Pastoralists who travel Around with their camels and cattle. They are living in semi-arid savanna and with their & quot; singing wells & quot they provide water for de animals and themselves when water elsewhere is absent. You might be lucky to witness the chain of people bringing the water up, meanwhile singing to keep the spirits up. The Crater of El Sod with a salt lake at the bottom offers great scenery and a challenging walk down (and up again) to see the harvesting process of the salt.
O/N Aregash lodge

Day 22 Yabello – Yirgalem, 262 km/ 5 hrs.

Today we leave the semi-arid savanna and enter the green and fertile hills where a lot of the famous Ethiopian coffee is grown. We stay at the Aregash Lodge in Yirgalem situated at a coffee plantation. The Lodge is a fine example of an eco-lodge. The huts are built in the same style as the surrounding Sidamo People. Delicious organic, homegrown, food is served in the restaurant. It is a great place for a relaxing afternoon although short walks are available.
O/N Aregash lodge

Day 23 Yirgalem – Goba 274 km / 5 hrs.

The fish market in Hawassa On our way to the Bale Mountains we pass Hawassa where we visit the Fish market. The headquarters of the Park is situated in Dinsho and after finalizing the formalities there we enjoy a beautiful walk in the surrounding area. Here we have a very good chance to see the endemic mountain Nyala and Menelik bushbuck. After the walk, we proceed to Goba.
O/N Wabe sheblla hotel

Day 24 Goba (visit Bale Mountains NP)

The whole day is spent exploring the Bale Mountains. This is going to be a day of extraordinary scenery and of course, we continue our search for endemic species of which many are found in this area. Among them are the Ethiopian wolf and many birds.
O/N Bale mountain lodge

Day 25 Goba – Addis Ababa, 414 km/ 8 hrs

We are leaving the mountainous area behind and travel down to the bottom of the Rift Valley again by a Different, very scenic road, via Asela. The last day of your unforgettable visit to Ethiopia brings us back to Addis Ababa. A hotel room for day use is available in Addis. We say goodbye to dear friends with a visit to a cultural restaurant, enjoying the great Ethiopian food together with traditional music and dance from all over this fascinating country. After dinner we take you to the airport for your flight back home.
End of the Tours