Natural & Historical Itinerary
Natural & Historical Itinerary
Day 1: Addis-Gondar
A Short Morning Flight Takes You To Gondar And A Warm Welcome To The Old Mountain Capital Of Gondar, And Transfer To Your Hotel. Gondar Has A Rich History With Its Beautiful And Strategic Mountain Setting, The 17th-Century Capital Was Once The Crossroads Of Several Major Caravan Routes, And Was Also Occupied By The Italians During World War Ii. The Art Deco Buildings Surrounding The Royal Enclosure With Its Medieval Castles And Churches Are A Reminder Of This Heritage. This Afternoon, Explore Gondar’s Castles And The Church Of Debre Berhan Selassie With Its Iconic Ceiling Of Painted Angel.
Day 2: Gondar-Sankaber (3250 M)
Drive From Gondar Early In The Morning To Debark The Place Where The Park Head Quarter Is Situated Where We Need To Spend About One Hour To Do Entrance Fees And Pick The Scout Plus To Have Tea And Coffee Before Leaving To The Mountain, Then Keep On Driving To The Place Where Called Michibiny And Start The Introductory Walk To The First Camp Site Sankaber For About 3-4 Hours Along The Plateau Of The Mountain Far From The Edge Of The Mountain And Over Night At Sankaber. You Will Encounter Gelada Baboon Along This Hike.
Day 3: Sankaber-Gich (3600 M), 5-6 Hours
We Follow The Flattest And The Easiest Path To Gich With Scenic Views In Both Directions Of The Way Towards The Eastern And Western Directions Of The Path And This Path Reaches Us A River Called Jin Bahir Where We Can Have The Day Lunch. After Lunch We Walk Through The Fields Of Barley Before We Arrive At The Idyllic Village Of Gich. Here We Can Enjoy A Traditional Coffee Ceremony In One Of The Huts And Learn More About Local Farm Life. From Gich Village It Is A Short Walk To Gich Camp Which Is A Good Area To Look For Lammergeyer And Thick-Billed Raven.
Day 4: Gich (3600 M), 5-6 Hours
Walk To The Three Marvelous Views Namely Imet-Gogo, Seha And Kedadit. In This Day The First View Point Imet-Gogo /3926m/ Is The Best Spectacular And Observation Points Of The Simien Mountains Which At Least All The Visitors Should Not Advice To Miss In The Simien Mountains. After Spending Most Time Around There, Walk Back To The Camp Through The Second Viewpoints Of The Area Seha /3785m/ And Have A Lunch At The Camp. In The Late Afternoon Walk To Kedadit /3765m/ For Some Reasons Like The Place Is The Best Point To Watch Sunset And Then Back To The Camp For Dinner.
♦Day 5: Gich-Chennek (3600m), 6-7 Hrs
From Gich Camp We Initially Start Through Downhill Walk To The Jin Bahir Valley. Then, The Character Of The Trek Is A Little Uphill Through The Dense Erica Arboria Forest And The Fields Of Giant Lobelia Plant. This Day Of The Trek Is Generally Through The Fields Of Two Dominant Plants (Erica Arboria And Giant Lobelia) Throughout The Wide Plateau With Grassy And Comfortable Path.
Day 6: Chennek-Buwahit-Chennek, 5-6 Hrs
On This Day The Character Of The Trek Is More Uphill And Downhill. It Is A Bit Tough While Climbing Up And Easier While Descend Back But It Is Totally Far From Sheer Cliffs. On This Trip, From The Top Of Mt. Buwahit (4430m), We Will Have The Opportunities To See The Highest Mountain Peak In The Entire Country Called Ras-Dejen (4543m) As Well As The Decent Views Of Mt. Buwahit Itself. It Takes An Approximate Time Of 5-6 Hrs To Cover Both Ways And The Second Night At Chennek.
Day 7: Chennek-Gondar
This Is The Last Day Of The Trek And Until The Jeep Comes To Pick Us We Still Have A Chance To Walk Around And Relax, Then Once The Car Comes We Drive Back To Gondar For About 5 Hrs And The Night In Gondar.
Noticeable: The Trek Itinerary Is Still Flexible And It Is Easier In Theory Than Practical In Such A Way That Includes The Best And Scenic Parts Of The Simien Mountains. The Other Thing Is, There Will Be A Riding Horse That Will Accompany You In The Whole Trip To Ensure The Safety Of The Trek.
Day 8: Gondar-Lalibela
Fly To The Unesco World Heritage Site Of Lalibela – The Jerusalem Of Ethiopia, And Africa’s Own ‘Petra’. In A Fitting Finale To Your Ethiopian Adventure, Explore The Monolithic Red-Hued Churches Incredibly Carved Into The Rock. Your Guide Will Lead You Through The Network Of Crevices And Tunnels Linking Each Of The Churches. The Churches Are Still In Use Today.
Day 9: Lalibela
Today Your Guide Takes You To The Eastern Group Of Rock Hewn Churches: Smaller In Size, These Are No Less Impressive, With Intricate Carvings And Many Dark Tunnels To Explore! Travel Further Afield To The Nakutelab Rock-Hewn Church, Built Into The Side Of A Hill In A Natural Cave. The Afternoon Culminates In A Visit To A Private Home To Participate In An Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony.
Day 10: Lalibela-Addis
The End Of The Visit Will Be Flight Back To Our Capital Town Addis.
Services To Be Provided
For Historic /Town/ Part
♦ Air Transportation (3 Domestic Flights), 1. Addis-Gondar
♦ Accommodation With Breakfast
♦ Guiding Services
For The Trek
♦ Transportation In And Out
♦ Food And Mineral Water
♦ Cook With Its Complete Gear
♦ Guide (English Speaking)
♦ Park Ranger Which Is Compulsory
♦ Park Entrance And Camping Fees
♦ Camping Equipment Such As Tent, Mattress And Sleeping Bags, But It Is Highly Recommended If You Can Bring Your Own Sleeping Bag For Some Reasons.
♦ Mule And Muleteers For Loading And Unloading Stuffs And Luggage From One Camp To Another
♦ One Riding Horse
Day 1: Arrive in Addis Ababa, city tour of Addis:
On arrival in Addis Ababa you will be met by our representatives and transferred to Ghion Hotel. In the afternoon, city tour of Addis Ababa. O/n Ghion Hotel
Day 2: Fly Bahir Dar. Morning, Blue Nile Falls afternoon Boat trip
After breakfast fly to Bahar Dar. After check into the Hotel and refreshment, we take a boat trip on Lake Tana to visit ancient monasteries. We will visit two of the most accessible and representative of the monasteries, still serving their original function, Ura Kidane Mehret, and Azwa Maryam. In the afternoon we pay a visit to the impressive Blue Nile Falls, locally known as Tis Isat or ‘Smoke of Fire’. Overnight Tana Hotel
Day 3: Drive Gondar Tour of Gondar
We experience typically in an Ethiopian African landscape as we drive from Bahir Dar to Gondar- 180 kms over wide grazing land, hilly mountains with numerous farmlands. The rest of the day visit attractions in Gondar. The attractions that we visit in Gondar includes: Castles of Gondar- are included in the World Heritage List. the royal Fasiledes Bath and the Church of Debre Berhan Selassie with its unique murals. Overnight Goha Hotel
Day 4: Fly Lalibela
We take a short flight to Lalibela then drive 23kms to the town where all the 11 monolithic Rock Hewn Churches of Lalibela are situated. Today we visit the first group of six churches lie in rock cradles one behind the other: Bet Golgotha, Bet Mika’el, Bet Maryam, Bet Meskel, Bet Danaghel and Bet Medhane Alem. Bet Medhane Alem, the largest one, is built like a Greek Temple and its stone floor is so polished by the countless numbers of visitors that it reflects shafts of light from apertures in the walls high above. In a corner are three empty graves symbolically dug for biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Overnight Roha or Jerusalem hotel
Day 5: In Lalibela
After breakfast a mule ride to the 13thc rock hewn monastery of Asheten Mariam. The church is situated on atop a mountain at an altitude of 3150 metres. This will take about 4 hours. We return back to the town for lunch.In the afternoon, visit of the other groups of Rock churches of Lalibela Bet Giyorgis, possibly the most elegant of all the Lalibela churches, lies somewhat isolated in the southwest part of the village on a sloping rock terrace. It can only be reached through a tunnel. The group of four, south of the Jordan River, comprise of Bet Emanuel, Bet Mercurios, Bet Abba Libanos and Bet Gabriel-Rufa’el. Bet Emanuel’s elaborate exterior is much praised by art historians. Overnight Roha or Jerusalem hotel
Day 6: Fly Axum
After breakfast fly to Axum. The ancient city of Aksum is found close to Ethiopia’s northern border. It marks the location of the heart of ancient Ethiopia, when the Kingdom of Aksum was the most powerful state between the Eastern Roman Empire and Persia.After check in to Remehay hotel, sightseeing tour of Axum that includes: St. Mary church where the original Arc of the covenant housed in, Archeological Museum, Stelaes, tombs, and palace. Overnight Remehay Hotel
Day 7: Fly to Addis Ababa
After breakfast you will check in to the Airport for your flight to Addis Ababa. In the Evening a fare well diner party in one of the Traditional Ethiopian restaurant with dances from the different ethnic Groups. Then after transfer out to the airport for departure back to home.
Gondar is famous for its many medieval castles and the design and decoration of its churches. The earliest of the castles was created by Fasilidas himself and is still in such an excellent state of repair that it is possible to climb its stats all the way to the roof, which commands a breathtaking view over much of the city.
748 kilometres from Addis Ababa is the graceful city of Gondar, founded by Emperor Fasilidas in 1635. The city was Ethiopia’s capital until the reign of the would-be reforming Emperor Tewodros II, also known as Theodore. During its long years as a capital city, the settlement emerged as one of the largest and most popular cities in the realm. It was a great centre of commerce, trading with the rich lands south of the Blue Nile, as well as with Sudan to the west, and the Red Sea port of Massawa to the north-east. Besides the famous palaces, visitors can inspect the so-called “Bathing Palace of Emperor Fasilidas” which is used for the annual Timket or Epiphany celebrations, and the abbey of the redoubtable eighteenth century Empress Menteweb at Qwesquam, in the mountains just outside
Gondar.
