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Ethiopian Timket Festival and Historical Route, 10 days
Tour includes Meet and greet at airport All accommodation based on twin room occupancy Meals indicatedEntrance fees to sitesAll transfers Domestic FlightsAll Ground transportation English speaking Tour Guide Farewell dinner in Addis to enjoy traditional Ethiopian food & Music Tour Does not include International flights (Flight from Washington Dulles is $1440, USD) Visa Fees Meals not indicated Tips & Gratuities |
| Call (800) 747-8728 for more information or to book today! Mention code 8369878 | | Palace Travel Inc | | | | Day | Destination | Description | | Day 1 | Addis Ababa | On arrival in Addis Ababa, you will be met, assisted and transferred to your hotel. Meal(s) Included: No Overnight at Ghion Hotel or Similar | | Day 2 | Addis Ababa | After breakfast, your guide and driver will take you on a city tour. The first stop is scenic Mount Entoto. At 2500 m, Addis Ababa is the third highest capital in the world and Entoto is several hundred metres higher. Within Entoto's old Imperial Compound, you will visit the churches of Mariam and the Archangel Raguel. Afterwards, stop at the National Archaeological Museum where exhibits include the 3.5 million-year-old bones of "Lucy". Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner Overnight at Ghion Hotel or Similar | | Day 3 | Bahar Dar | An hour's flight takes you to Bahar Dar, an attractive town with tree-lined avenues and the deep blue Lake Tana in the background. Lake Tana is Ethiopia's largest lake and is dotted with islands. Many of these islands are the sites of churches and monasteries. After lunch, depart by boat to the Zeghe Peninsula, known for its 14th century, round, grass-roofed churches with their magnificent wall murals. You will visit two, Betra Mariam and Ura Kidane Mehret, walking through dense forest with prolific bird life. Bahar Dar has several clubs and bars where you can enjoy both traditional and modern Ethiopian music and dancing. Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Overnight at Tana Hotel or Similar | | Day 4 | Gondar | Transfer to the airport for the 25 minutes flight to Gondar. Gondar was the imperial capital from the 17th to the mid-19th century. Visitors come to see the Imperial Compound, with the enchanting "Fasalidas" castles still in good condition. There is also the bath of King Fasilides. Here, at Timket (Ethiopian Epiphany), a nearby river is diverted to fill an area the size of a small swimming pool and worshippers plunge into the cold water in a re-enactment of the baptism of Christ in the River Jordan. Although many of Gondar's churches were destroyed in the Mahdist invasion from Sudan in the 1880s, one fine example, Debre Berhan Selassie, survives. According to the legend, a swarm of bees diverted the invaders. The walls and ceiling are covered with vivid murals: the angels' faces on the ceiling have become a common motif in Ethiopian design. The tour ends with a visit to the ruined palace of Queen Mentowab and the church of Qusquam. The Mini Fogera is worth visiting in the evening for Asmari music and Ethiopian food. Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Overnight at Hotel Goha or Similar | | Day 5 | Gondar | A full day excursion into the awe-inspiring Simyen Mountains. In the early morning, depart for Debark, about 100 km north, through clouds and mist. From Debark, where your game scout joins you, drive up to Sankaber Camp. The Simyen Mountains National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and contains some of the most dramatic scenery in Africa - great volcanic plugs, formed some 40 million years ago and eroded over the eons into fantastic crags, pinnacles and flat topped mountains. The "chess pieces of the gods", as one writer described them, tower over precipitous gorges, river valleys and plains stretching all the way to Eritrea. There are many peaks over 4000 metres. At 4620 m, Ras Dashen is the highest in the country and the fourth highest in Africa. In the Simyens, visitors can see the endemic Gelada or "bleeding heart" baboon, Klipspringer, Rock hyrax and endemic birds such as the Thick-billed Raven, Black-headed Siskin, White-collared Pigeon, Wattled Ibis, White-billed Starling, Spot-breasted lapwing and White-backed Black tit. Lammergeyers, Ruppell's griffons and Egyptian vultures are often seen. On the way back to Gondar, you will visit the former Felasha (Ethiopian Jew) village at Wolleka, where you can purchase characteristic pottery. Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Overnight at Hotel Goha or Similar | | Day 6 | Axum | Transfer to the airport for the flight to Axum. From around 200 BC to 700 AD, Axum was the seat of an empire that extended across the Red Sea to Arabia, traded with India and China, had its own alphabet, constructed great engineering works and, in the 4th century, was one of the four great powers of the ancient world. You can see the remarkable stelae or obelisks, which are the largest single pieces of stone standing anywhere on the world. It is still not understood how they were transported from the quarry and erected. There are also tombs and castles of former monarchs, the Axum Museum and Mariamtsion Church, built on the site of Ethiopia's first church. A chapel within the church compound is believed by Ethiopian Orthodox Christians to house the Ark of the Covenant, or the original tablets of Moses. Your tour starts with a visit to the museum and the stelae. Then you ascend a hill to see the castle of King Kalab, passing Mai Shum (the bath of the Queen of Sheba) on the way. Coming back into town, you will see the tomb of King Basen, visit the small museum inside the church grounds (the priests may likely put on display crowns of past kings for visitors to see), and end the day with a visit to the site known locally as Queen Sheba's Palace, although in fact it is of a later date, the villa of an Axumite notable from around the 1st century AD. The Yeha Hotel, is set on a hill overlooking the stelae field and the Mariamtsion Church. Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Overnight at Yeha Hotel or Similar | | Day 7 | Lalibela | In the morning, fly to Lalibela and start celebrating the Timket Festival which is one of the most significant festivals in Ethiopia commemorating the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan. Dancing, singing and playing drums in the streets are all part of the festivities. A replica of the Tablets of Law or Ten Commandments, known as the Tabot, is carried by Priests in a procession that ends with a mass baptism. Also, tour the rock-hewn churches built by King Lalibela between the 12th and 13th centuries. Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Overnight at Roha Hotel or Similar | | Day 8 | Lalibela | Continue with the Timket celebrations and exploration of the rock-hewn churches. Bet Medihanialem is the largest, supported by 72 pillars and houses the 7kg (15 lbs) gold Lalibela Cross. You will go through a tunnel from Bet Medihanialem to Bet Mariam, in which there is a pillar that it is said Jesus Christ leaned against when he appeared in a vision to King Lalibela. Bet Mariam also contains fabulous carvings of various birds and animals. You will also visit Bet Danaghel; a chapel built in honor of martyred nuns. Bet Golgotha and Bet Mikael are twin churches and 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 last church we visit is Bet Giyorgis, one of the more recent churches and best preserved. Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Overnight at Roha Hotel or Similar | | Day 9 | Addis Ababa | Fly to Addis Ababa in the morning where you will have the day at leisure then later enjoy an African dinner. Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner Overnight at Ghion Hotel or Similar | | Day 10 | Depart Addis Ababa | After breakfast, the day is at your leisure until you are transferred to the airport for departure. Meal(s) Included: Breakfast |
| | | Single Supplement $390.00 Minimum 6 passengers Airfare from Washington Dulles is $1440 USD |
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