17-Day East Africa Heritage and Wildlife Safari from Addis Ababa

• Fly to Addis Ababa, where one of our staff will meet you at the airport on arrival. Then proceed to your hotel.

• After breakfast, start the city tour at Mount Entoto Minilik Palace, St. Mary Church, and the best viewpoint of Addis Ababa.
• Visit the National Museum, where we will meet "Lucy," her ancestor, and see other fossils.
• After lunch, continue touring the city from the historic Trinity Church, where the body of Haile Selassie was laid to rest.
• Proceed to the Bhata Church, where members of the royal family were laid to rest, including King Menelik II and his family, and the daughter of King Haile Selassie.

Overnight at the hotel.

• After breakfast, drive to the airport and fly to Bahir Dar, where one of our staff will meet you at Bahir Dar Airport.
• Proceed to the hotel for check-in, and then visit the monastery churches.

Overnight at the hotel.

• After breakfast, drive to the Blue Nile Falls to see Tis-Esat, then return to the city.
• In the afternoon, after lunch, continue to Gondar.

Overnight at the hotel.

• After breakfast, proceed for a full-day visit to the castle and churches in Gondar, which previously served as the capital of both the Ethiopian Empire and the subsequent Begemder Province.

Overnight at the hotel.

• After breakfast, fly to Axum, where one of our staff will meet you at Axum Airport.
• Then proceed to the hotel for check-in.
• Explore Axum, the center of the marine trading power known as the Aksumite Kingdom, which predated the earliest mentions in Roman-era writings.

Overnight at the hotel.

• After breakfast, drive to the airport to fly to Lalibela, where one of our staff will meet you at the airport.
• Then proceed to the hotel and check in.
• Visit the first group of churches. The 11 medieval monolithic cave churches of this 13th-century "New Jerusalem" are situated in a mountainous region near a traditional village with circular-shaped dwellings in the heart of Ethiopia. Lalibela is a high place of Ethiopian Christianity, pilgrimage, and devotion. In the north of the River Jordan, see Biete Medhani Alem (House of the Saviour of the World), Biete Mariam (House of Mary), Biete Maskal (House of the Cross), Biete Denagel (House of Virgins), and Biete Golgotha Mikael (House of Golgotha Mikael).

Overnight at the hotel.

• After breakfast, pay morning visits to the second group of churches located in the south of the river. See Biete Amanuel (House of Emmanuel), Biete Qeddus Mercoreus (House of St. Mercoreos), Biete Abba Libanos (House of Abbot Libanos), Biete Gabriel Raphael (House of Gabriel Raphael), and Biete Lehem (House of Holy Bread). The eleventh church, Biete Ghiorgis (House of St. George), is isolated from the others but connected by a system of trenches.
• Then fly back to Addis Ababa for your connecting flight to Kenya.

Overnight at the hotel in Nairobi.

• Pick up from your Nairobi hotel early in the morning at 7:00 am.
• Drive to Lake Nakuru and arrive in time for lunch. Check in at Lake Nakuru Lodge.
• In the afternoon, enjoy a game drive across the Pink Lake, often referred to by this name because of its great masses of flamingos, and look out for the famous white rhino and black rhino found in this park.

Dinner and overnight stay at Lake Nakuru Lodge, Flamingo Hill Tented Camp, or Saliva Lion Hill.

• Begin with an early morning breakfast. After breakfast, depart from Lake Nakuru for Masai Mara and arrive in time for lunch. Check in at the Masai Mara Spa Lodge and have lunch.
• Enjoy afternoon game drives through the park in search of lion, cheetah, elephant, and buffalo.
• Dinner and overnight stay at the Masai Mara Sopa Lodge, Simba Lodge, or Sentrim Luxury Tented Camp. The three days spent here will only scratch the surface of the wonders of the Mara.

Overnight at the lodge.

• Enjoy morning and afternoon game drives that will lead you to some of Africa's largest lion prides, herds of zebra, antelopes, buffaloes, wildebeest, giraffes, cheetahs, and hyenas.
• Relax at the lounge by the pool or bar, or enjoy a mid-day nap in between game drives.

Overnight at the camp/lodge.

• Begin with an early morning breakfast at your camp, then check out from the camp and park.
• Drive to Nairobi and arrive in time for lunch. Have lunch at Carnivore, and afterwards get dropped off at your respective hotel.

Overnight at the hotel.

• Fly to Tanzania today. Arrive at Kilimanjaro Airport, named after Mount Kilimanjaro and strategically located in northern Tanzania.
• On arrival, you will be met by our driver-guide and taken to your hotel in Arusha City, with a drive time of about 1 hour. Spend the rest of the day at leisure.

Overnight at the camp/lodge.

• Early in the morning after breakfast, leave the hotel and start the journey to Tarangire National Park. The drive takes about 1.5 hours. Typical animals in Tarangire include wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle, hartebeest, and eland.
• At lunchtime, relax by the Tarangire River and enjoy your lunch.
• Later, transfer to Lake Manyara for dinner and an overnight stay at the camp/lodge.

• Wake up for an early breakfast and begin a half-day game drive in the park. The highlights of Lake Manyara include a welcome by baboons and elephants as you enter the Manyara Park gate, as well as sightings of the renowned tree-climbing lions.
• In the afternoon, leave Manyara for Serengeti National Park.

Overnight at the camp/lodge.

• Wake up for breakfast, followed by a full-day game drive with a packed lunch. You will travel through the savannah, protruding rocks, bush streams, rivers, swamps, and areas rich in birds and animals, including the Big Five. The Big Five refers to the African lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and buffalo. Serengeti is also known for its "great migration" herds of wildebeest and zebra. The great migration refers to the time of year when wildebeest and zebra gather in great numbers and cross the Grumeti River while being followed by predators. If you are lucky, you will have a rare opportunity to witness these wonders of Africa, as well as spot endangered species such as the black rhino.

• After your full-day game drive, return to the hotel for dinner and an overnight stay.

• Transfer to the airport and depart for your home destination.