7-Day Ethiopia Heritage Tour with Lake Tana and Lalibela

• Start your trip with a visit to the National Museum, which exhibits numerous antiquities, historical relics, archaeological, and paleontological objects, including the 3.5 million-year-old skeleton of Lucy.

• Continue to one of the finest Ethiopian Orthodox churches, St. George Cathedral, which contains several interesting modern paintings and mosaics.

• Stop by Mercato, the biggest open market of its kind in Africa, and enjoy the panoramic views of Mount Entoto.

• After checking into your hotel in Bahir Dar, venture out by boat on Lake Tana and its islands with your Ethiopian guide. There are 37 islands on Lake Tana, and 30 of them have churches and monasteries of considerable historical and cultural interest.

• Marvel at the beauty of the monastery churches of Ura Kidane Mihiret and Azwa Mariam. Ura Kidane Mihiret is the best known of the monasteries and has an important collection of religious icons from the 16th to 18th centuries A.D. Azwa Mariam is known for its paintings.

• In the afternoon, drive to the Blue Nile Falls, known locally as Tissisat, meaning "smoking water." The water plunges for 45 m (148 ft), giving rise to steam clouds and rainbows.

• Climb down to the base of the falls for an up-close look, then ascend the other side. The round trip will take about 1 hour of walking.

• Cross the Blue Nile by boat to return to the point of departure.

Overnight in hotel.

• In the morning, enjoy a hearty breakfast and visit Fasilidas' Palace, probably the most impressive of all the castles found in the area and the oldest one.

• Continue to the Bath of Fasiledes and Quskuam Church.

• In the afternoon, visit the Church of Debre Berham Selassie. Debre Berham Selassie is rumoured to have once been the proposed final resting place of the Ark of the Covenant.

• Traverse the local markets of Gondar.

• Head off towards the Simien Mountains.

• About 3 km outside Gondar, stop to visit the village of the Ethiopian Falasha, the Jewish community.

• Continue to Simien Mountains National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You will most certainly encounter troops of the endemic gelada baboons. The gelada baboon, found only in Ethiopia, is often referred to as the bleeding heart baboon or the lion monkey because its shaggy coat resembles that of a lion.

• Enjoy a good breakfast and dedicate your morning to visiting the first group of churches in Lalibela. It contains 11 monolithic churches that were built in the 12th century and carved out of pink granite rock, and they have been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

• Visit Bet Medihanialem. It is supported by 72 pillars and houses the 7 kg gold Lalibela Cross. Go through a tunnel from Bet Medihanialem to Bet Mariam, where there is a pillar that is said to be the one Jesus Christ leaned against when he appeared in a vision to King Lalibela.

• Visit Bet Danaghel, a chapel built in honour of martyred nuns.

• Proceed to Bet Golgotha and Bet Mikael, the twin churches. Many believe that a visit to Bet Golgotha alone can guarantee your place in heaven. The twin churches also contain many important religious items and some of the best examples of early religious art in the country.

• The next holy stop is Bet Giyorgis, one of the more recent churches and the best preserved.

• In the afternoon, visit the Eastern Rock Churches. Bet Amanuel is one of the most beautifully carved churches in Ethiopia in the Aksumite style.

• Check out Bet Merkorios, which has a wonderful painting of the Three Wise Men dating back to the 15th century A.D.

• Stop to see Bet Abba Libanos and Bet Gebrieal-Rafael, which might once have been the home of the royal family before becoming a church.

• Marvel at the granite monoliths dating from pre-Christian times, decorated with symbolic engravings. In ancient times, there were seven stelae, and now one of them is in Rome. Mussolini brought it there during Italy's occupation of Ethiopia.

• Stop by the Church of Santa Maria of Zion, which contains the crowns of Ethiopian kings and other treasures.

• Fly back to Addis Ababa.