7-Day Ethiopia Rift Valley Tour with Addis Ababa and Arba Minch

• You will be picked up by your Ethiopian guide from your hotel in Addis Ababa or Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.

• Take part in a typical Ethiopian coffee ceremony and enjoy a scenic drive along the main streets of Addis Ababa.

• Visit the Merkato, the biggest outdoor market in Africa, followed by a tour of the spice market and the basket market.

• After lunch at a traditional Ethiopian restaurant, drive to Mount Entoto to enjoy great views of the city. At Mount Entoto, visit the oldest palace and the 140-year-old church in Addis Ababa, famous for its original hand-painted wall paintings.

• Visit the Holy Trinity Cathedral, one of the most important religious sites in Addis Ababa and the burial place of Ethiopia's last emperor, Emperor Haile Selassie I.

• Visit the National Museum of Ethiopia to see the fossil remains of Lucy, the oldest hominid, approximately 3.25 million years old.

• Drive along the main streets of Addis Ababa to see the city's historical monuments and famous places such as the headquarters of the African Union, Meskel Square, and the headquarters of the UN Economic Commission for Africa.

Stay the night at a hotel of your choice.

• Drive 180 km south of Addis in the Ethiopian part of the Great East African Rift Valley via the town of Butajira.

• Visit the interesting and still active rock-cut church of Adadi Mariam, which was hand-cut from a single piece of rock in the 13th century AD by King Lalibela.

• Next, drive to the Stele of Teya, a cemetery where about 40 huge blocks are decorated with carvings and were erected in honour of local warriors in the 14th century AD.

• Attend a food preparation class at Tiya to learn how the locals make bread and porridge from Enset, or the False Banana tree.

• Walk along the shores of Lake Ziway in the Rift Valley to see some lowland water birds.

Stay the night at Haile Resort Hotel.

• Revel in the beautiful sunrise view from the lake and have breakfast. Take an hour-long boat ride on Lake Ziway to see families of hippos and visit Birds' Island, the breeding ground of birds such as Marabou Stork, Spoon-billed Stork, Sacred Ibis, and others.

• Have lunch at Lake Langano, the only lake in the Ethiopian Rift suitable for swimming, as it is Bilharzia.

• After lunch, drive 100 km south to Awassa. Along the way, enjoy a game drive in Abiyatta-Shalla Lakes National Park to see ostriches, Grant's gazelles, warthogs, and the great views of Lakes Abiyatta and Shalla.

• Enjoy the great sunset over Lake Awassa in the evening and walk along the shores.

Stay the night at Lewi Resort Hotel.

• Start your day by visiting the fish market of Lake Awassa in the morning. It is a popular place where locals gather to have breakfast of freshly caught raw and fried fish, and where you may also see the rare black-and-white Colobus monkey.

• Drive 275 km farther south in the Rift Valley to Arba Minch, visiting the villages of the Alaba people along the way. The Alaba people are famous for their huge huts, beautifully decorated with paintings inside and out.

• Late in the afternoon, enjoy the great views of the Rift Valley Lakes of Chamo and Abaya from the comfort of your hotel.

Stay the night at the Paradise Lodge.

• Take an early morning drive to Chencha to meet the Dorze people before heading to Arba Minch. The Dorze are famous for their typical huts made by weaving branches of bamboo trees, which measure up to 12 m when newly built. Over time, these huts can become as short as 2 metres as termites eat the bottom, and locals adjust the height of the gates accordingly.

• Have lunch at Arba Minch and enjoy a boat ride on Lake Chamo in the Rift Valley to see big African crocodiles, families of hippos, and various lowland water birds.

Stay the night at Paradise Lodge.

• Head back north to Lake Langano, one of the most famous weekend resorts for residents of Addis Ababa.

• Indulge in swimming, birdwatching, water sports, horse riding, and enjoy the beautiful sunset over the lake with your loved ones.

Stay the night at Sabana Lodge.

• Enjoy some free time in the morning, then drive 200 km back to Addis with a stop at one of the crater lakes of Bishoftu.

• At Bishoftu (Debre Zeit), you will also have a food preparation class to learn how Ethiopians prepare Enjera, the country's national bread. Enjera is made from tiny grains called teff, a gluten-free grain rich in iron, carbohydrates, calcium, and more.

• At the end of the day, you will be taken to some of the best traditional Ethiopian restaurants in Addis Ababa, where you can taste a variety of delicious Ethiopian meals and enjoy live dance shows.