Day 01: Arrive Addis Ababa: Arrival in Addis Ababa, transfer, hotel accommodation. After lunch city tour.
Day 02: Addis Ababa – Arba Minch: Early morning departure to Arba Minch. Stop at Dorze village, The Dorze are a small ethnic group inhabiting the Gamo Gofa Zone (formerly part of the Semien (North) Omo Zone) of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region in Ethiopia. . Before arriving to Arba Minch we visit Chenca, a tribal village home to the Dorze, who are known for their rich embroideries and houses covered with banana leaves.
Day 3: Arba minch – Konso: when arriving in Arba minich we visit Chamo lake by boat, which is a lake in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region of southern Ethiopia. Located in the Main Ethiopian Rift, it is at an elevation of 1,110 meters. The Chamo lake is just to the south of Lake Abaya and the city of Arba Minch, east of the Guge Mountains, and west of the Amaro Mountains. at the end of the day we will arrive in Konso.
Day 4 Konso-Jinka: Drive to Konso’s tribe territory. They are farmers, famous for soil terracing. In the neighborhood of Konso we can visit Gesergio, known as “New York”. According to the tradition some holy drums were stolen a long time ago in a village nearby and buried at Gesergio. The owners of these drums asked God for help and God came to the Earth and dug them out on his own. Because of the excavation the soil pinnacles look like New York’s skyscrapers. If it is market day, visit to the Konso open market. Dinner and overnight at hotel after we arrive in Jinka
Day 5: Jinka : here we will visit the Mursi tribe. The mursi people are well known for their lip-plates, large pottery or wooden discs in the lower lips, worn by girls and women from the age of 15. The lip-plates are a sign of social or economic importance in some tribes, and they also symbolize social maturity. dinner and overnight camping
Day 6: Jinka – Turmi: we start to travel from Jinka to Turmi. even though the travel seems long on our way to Turmi we will stop by to view some of greatest landscapes, “key afer gebeya” which is a trading center that is used by Varity of tribes. Then at the end of the day we will be arriving in Turmi for dinner and overnight at lodge.
Day 7: Turmi : first thing in the morning we will go to Dassanech tribe via boat. The Dassanech are a semi-nomadic population who mainly live near the Delta of the Omo River, near Lake Turkana, on the border with Kenya; this is a semi-arid area where temperatures are among the highest in the entire African continent. After visiting the Dassanech tribe in the morning we will go to the hamer tribe in the afternoon which are known for their unique custom of “bull jumping,” which initiates a boy into manhood. First, female relatives dance and invite whipping from men who have recently been initiated; this shows their support of the initiate, and their scars give them a say on who they marry. then dinner and overnight hotel stay will be conducted in Yabello.
Day 8: Yabello: in the morning we first visit one of unique salt lake or saline lake which is landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts. the local calls it “yechew bet” which is translated to “salt house”, then in the afternoon we will visit the Borena Tribe which are known for their historic gadaa political system which can be seen us the old way of democratic system. They also share their name with a city in France. not only that, but they are also well known for their friendliness with guests. dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 9: Yirigalem: here we will visit yirigalem which is pronounced Irgalem. which is located 260 kilometers south of Addis Ababa and 40 kilometers south of Awasa in the Sidama Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region. The town has an elevation of 1776 meters. in yirigalem we will visit hot springs that will calm your mind and soul. not only that, but we will also visit some of largest coffee farms that you could imagine since the town is known for it’s coffee production. dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 10: Hawassa: which is also known as awassa is a city in the Great Rift Valley of central Ethiopia. here we will visit the fish markets of the town and have a boat trip to see some hippos in the town well known lake. dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 11: Addis Ababa: on the next morning we start our route to Addis Ababa by car, on our way to there we will visit variety of landscapes and towns that are surrounded by lakes. on the afternoon we will arrive at Addis Ababa and we will visit the city for the remaining day. dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 12: Bahir Dar: in the morning we will catch a flight to Bahir Dar. which is a city that is the leading tourist destinations in Ethiopia, with a variety of attractions in the nearby Lake Tana and Blue Nile river. The city is known for its wide avenues lined with palm trees and a variety of colorful flowers. we will visit the monasteries on lake Tana which is approximately 84 kilometers (52 miles) long and 66 kilometers (41 miles) wide, with a maximum depth of 15 meters (49 feet). after visiting the monasteries on lake Tana we will visit the magnificent Blue Nile Falls which is situated on the upper course of the river, about 30 kilometers downstream from the town of Bahir Dar and Lake Tana. The falls are one of Ethiopia’s best-known tourist attractions. dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 13: Gondar: here we will go to Gondor which was the capital of Ethiopia from 1632 to 1855, and it has the remains of castles and palaces constructed by a series of emperors from Fasilides (reigned 1632–67) to Iyasu II (1730–55). The ruins of these structures stand within a walled imperial enclosure. in Gondor we will visit variety of castles that was build when Gondor was a capital city of Ethiopia, then we will also visit the Bath of Fasilides which is only filled once a year and plays a huge role in the spiritual lives of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians in the celebration of Epiphany on 19th January every year. since the Baths are enclosed by a rock wall with towered gates, a walk around this wall will present many photographic opportunities. after that we will visit the well known church of Debre Birhan Selassie which is a small church located in the heart of Gondar, Ethiopia. The original church was was built by Emperor Eyasu II, grandson of the great Emperor Fasilides, in the 17th century. The present day church was rebuilt in the 1880s following damage by marauding Sudanese Dervishes. dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 14: Simien Mountains National Park (Sankaber): here we will drive to Simien Mountains National Park from Gondor then we will have up to 4 – 5 hours of picnic in the Simien mountain national park so that we are able to admire and really grasp what Simien mountain national park like variety of landscapes and variety of birds and animals. the picnic will completed when we arrive at Sankaber which is home to the Geladas locally they are called “Chilada”. The gelada, sometimes called the bleeding-heart monkey or the gelada “baboon”, is a species of Old World monkey found only in the Ethiopian Highlands, with large populations in the Simien Mountains. Geladas are actually not baboons but the only living members of the genus Theropithecus. dinner and overnight camping.
Day 15: Simien Mountains National Park (Chenek): here we will also have a 6 up to 7 hours of picnic further deep into Simien mountain national park admiring the nature of it all and the picnic will be over when we arrive at Chenek which is home to the Walia ibex. the Walia ibex is an endangered species of ibex. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of the Alpine ibex. the Walia ibex only can be found in Ethiopia, Simien mountain national park. dinner and overnight camping.
Day 16: road to Axum: here will drive from Simien mountain park back to Debarik and then will start our road to Axum. on our way there variety of landscapes like the unique chain mountains. and at the end of the day we will arrive at Axum. dinner and overnight in hotel.
Day 17: Axum: here first we will visit the magnificent the obelisk of Axum which were built in 3rd century. the longest one that is still standing is 24-metre-tall phonolite stele/obelisk, weighing 160 tones, in the city of Axum in Ethiopia. It is ornamented with two false doors at the base and features decorations resembling windows on all sides. then we will visit the bath of queen Sheba. It’s also known as Mai Shum, which translates to ‘Chief’s Water’. It’s used for Timkat celebrations which is celebrated on 19th January every year. then we will visit the relics and remaining of queen Sheba’s palace. after that we will visit the tomb of king Kaleb and the tomb of king Gebire Meskel and at the end of the day we will visit the church of our lady Mary of zion which locally known as Axum Tsion Mariam. it is an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Ethiopia. It is claimed to contain the Ark of the Covenant. dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 18: road to Hawzen: here we will drive to start to move from Axum to Hawzen. on our way to Hawzen there are a lot of things to be seen like the Yeha temple which is the oldest standing structure in Ethiopia, the Temple of Yeha, is located in Yeha. This is a tower built in the Sabaean style, and dated through comparison with ancient structures in South Arabia to around 700 BC. not only that but we will also view the Gheralta Mountains once part of the ancient Kingdom of Aksum, the dramatic cliffs, peaks, gorges and flat-topped mountain plateaus (known locally as Ambas) of the Gheralta mountain chain shelter some of Ethiopia’s most remote and astounding rock-cut churches and cave monasteries. and at the end of the day we will arrive in Hawzen. dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 19: Hawzen: here we will visit Mariam rock hewn and Daniel rock hewn Churches. The two rock churches are believed to be built around the 13th century which are carved deep into the rocky mountains of Gerealta. on our way to these churches will see breath taking view of landscapes. after visiting these churches we will drive to Mekelle and at the end of the day we will arrive in Mekelle. dinner and overnight in hotel.
Day 20: Mekelle: here will get a ticket to fly to Addis Ababa and we will visit the city until our flight departure time. then when our departure time is due we fly to Addis Ababa via airplane. we will arrive in Addis Ababa with in an hour of our departure. dinner and overnight in hotel.
Day 21: Addis Ababa: here since it will be the last day of the tour we will visit variety of market places in Addis Ababa and we will shop your desired item in order for you to remember your trip in Ethiopia and at the end of the day we will prepare farewell program. when your departure time is due we will provide transportation to the airport.
