8-Day Cultural Tour of Ethiopia with Lalibela and Lake Tana

Meet at Bole International Airport and be escorted to your hotel, where you will have time to settle in.

Fly from Bole Airport on a one-hour flight to Bahir Dar.

Go on a scenic drive to the Blue Nile Falls, about 35 km south of Bahir Dar. Explore typical tukuls, round huts whose walls are made of cow dung, grass, and clay, with pointed roofs formed from strong grass. The falls best live up to their reputation from September to December, after the heavy rains have swollen the lake and river.

Visit Bezawit Palace and the town's local market.

After breakfast, your Ethiopian tourist guide will take you on a boat trip to the monasteries of Lake Tana. On these islands, you will see old and interesting paintings, along with artifacts that once belonged to kings and queens.

Arrive at Kebran Gabriel Island, which takes about 40 minutes by boat from Bahir Dar, and continue to the Zeghie Peninsula, about 1 1/2 hours by boat from Bahir Dar.

Visit Ura Kidane Mehret, a 17th-century monastery church, to see its vivid recent paintings.

Travel to the largest island, Dek Island, which takes about 3 1/2 hours from Bahir Dar, to explore several churches and the semi-mummified remains of King Fasiledes and his infant son in an open sepulchre.

Visit Daga Island and its monastery of Daga Estifanos at the top, where no females are allowed near.

Besides leisure time at the monasteries, you will have a late afternoon drive to the old city of Gondar.

Enjoy a leisurely morning, giving you time for shopping.

Go on an afternoon city tour that includes the Castle compound, built by Emperor Fasiledes, and Debre Birhan Selassie Church. Explore its wonderful ceiling painting depicting 144 angels, along with stories from the Old and New Testaments.

Finally, visit the bath of King Fasilides, the pool where the people of Gondar celebrate the Ethiopian Epiphany.

Fly to Aksum and check in to your hotel.

Visit the famous Obelisk of Aksum and the tomb of King Remhai, which was meant to mark the graves of different noble persons of the Axumite period.

Marvel at the Archaeological Museum of Aksum and see different pottery, stone altars, rings, parchments, and other tombs of kings.

See the Church of St. Mary of Zion and the Ark of the Covenant with your Ethiopian tour guide.

In the afternoon, visit the bath and palace of the Queen of Sheba, and finally the tombs of King Kaleb and Gebre Meskel.

Board a 30-minute flight to Lalibela.

Pay a visit to the first group of rock-hewn churches, which comprises seven churches such as Biete Medhane Alem, Bete Maryam, Biete Meskel, Biete Denagel, Debre Sina-Mikael, Biete Golgota-Selassié, and the Selassie Chapel. These groups of churches are mostly excavated from below the ground and are surrounded by courtyards and trenches so that they mimic normal buildings. Several of these churches are monoliths.

Travel by car or mule to Asheton Maryam Monastery and the cave church of Naktala.

In the afternoon, visit the second group of churches in Lalibela, which consists of five churches: Biete Emmanuel, Biete Qeddus Mercoreus, Biete Abba Libanos, Bette Lehem, and Biete Gebrial-Rufael. A thirteenth church, St. George, stands apart from the two main clusters.

After breakfast, your driver will transfer you to the airport for your return flight to Addis Ababa.

Pay a visit to the Entoto Mountains, the National Museum of Ethiopia, and Trinity Church.

If time permits, visit Merkato, the biggest open-air market in Africa, and enjoy some shopping.