4-Day Harar and Awash National Park Tour from Addis Ababa

• Arrive at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, meet your Ethiopian tour guide, and drive 225 km east of Addis Ababa to Awash National Park via the town of Adama (Nazareth).

• Your first stop will be at one of the five crater lakes of Bishoftu (Debre Zeit).

• Continue on the new Express Road to Awash National Park, with a few stops at viewpoints to enjoy the great scenery of the Ethiopian section of the Great East African Rift Valley. You will also visit the extinct volcano called Fentale.

• Reach Awash National Park and stop at a viewpoint to see the Awash River Valley and the beautiful waterfall, best viewed from June to November, before checking in at the lodge.

Overnight stay at Awash Falls Lodge.

• Have an early breakfast, then head out for a game drive in Awash National Park to spot kudus, gazelles, beisa oryx, and warthogs. Awash National Park is also one of the best bird-watching spots in Ethiopia.

• You may also get a chance to spot a few crocodiles in the Awash River.

• Drive 300 km to Harar, crossing the Chercher Mountains, which are extensions of the Simien Mountains.

• Stop at a village of the Hararghe Oromo people for lunch along the way.

• After arriving in Harar, drive to one of the city gates in the evening to visit the 'Hyena Man', who feeds wild hyenas with his own hand and mouth.

Overnight stay at Ras Hotel.

• Enjoy a full-day sightseeing tour of Harar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating back to the 16th century AD, which once served as the country's medieval Muslim capital.

• Visit the different walls and gates of Harar, which mark and identify the city's peculiarity.

• Check out the local market, attended by the tribal people of Amhara, Oromo, and Adere (Harari).

• Travel to the House of Arthur Rimbaud, the famous French poet who lived in Harar in the late 19th century AD.

Overnight stay at Ras Hotel.

• Wake up early in the morning to visit a small-scale coffee processing industry. Harar is also best known for its locally brewed, tasty coffee.

• Attend a typical Ethiopian coffee ceremony and try some local varieties, considered among the best in the country.

• Explore some of the oldest mosques and shrines of Harar.

• Drive 50 km from Harar to Dire Dawa.

• Stop at the town of Aweday to visit the largest Chat market in Ethiopia on the way. Chat is an important perennial crop, and its leaves are chewed for a stimulating effect.

• Visit the colourful spice market and the old train station in Dire Dawa, founded by the French in the 1900s.

• Arrive in Addis Ababa to catch your flight back home.