Upon arrival in Addis, you will be directly connected to your domestic flight to Bahir Dar. The assigned Vehicle and staff pick you up from Bahir Dar Airport and transfer you to your hotel. Then in the afternoon, drive to the Blue Nile Falls, this is known locally as Tissisat (smoking waterfall): 100 m (328 ft) wide, the water plunges for 45m, giving rise to steam clouds and rainbows. Early in the afternoon drive back to Bahir Dar and finish the day with a lovely sunset over Lake Tana.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Bed and Breakfast Basis: Kuriftu Resort and Spa Bahir Dar
• Full Board Basis: Kuriftu Resort and Spa Bahir Dar

Have a boat trip on Lake Tana. On Lake Tana, there are 37 islands and 32 of them have churches and monasteries of considerable historical and cultural interest. We visit the monastery church of Ura Kidane Mihret, which is the best known of the monasteries and has an important collection of religious icons from the 16th to 18th centuries A.D. In the afternoon, continue visiting the beautiful city of Bahir Dar. including Fish Market, which is a one-table fish market in the mud-hut deacon’s village behind St George’s Church. The catch is brought in by Tankwa in the morning and pelicans come to feed on the scraps in the afternoon. Then proceed to visit the Palace of Haile Selassie which is Two-and-a-half kilometers south of the Martyrs Memorial, northeast of town, is Bezawit Hill.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Bed and Breakfast Basis: Kuriftu Resort and Spa Bahir Dar
• Full Board Basis: Kuriftu Resort and Spa Bahir Dar

After lunch, we will visit Gondar, the first capital city with the reign of Fasilides. In Gonder, there are a dozen castles built by various emperors over the course of 236 years. The city seems more of a European than African origin. In the afternoon, we visit Fasiladas' Palace, probably the most impressive of all the castles found in the area and the oldest one! We continue going to the Church of Debre Berhan Selassie (Light of the Trinity). The interior is decorated with beautiful frescos, cherubs, and paintings. Debre Berhan Selassie is rumored to once have been the proposed final resting-place of the Ark of the Covenant of the Ethiopian Empire, which began in 1632.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Bed and Breakfast Basis: Gondar Hills Hotel
• Full Board Basis: Gondar Hills Hotel

After breakfast, drive to Simien Mountain National Park. Debark is a small market town at an altitude of 2700 meters close to the boundary of the Simien Mountains National Park. Corrugated–iron-roofed buildings surround the colorful and busy market area. Before entering the park, you have to register at the park headquarters just outside town. Here, armed scout – one of the park regulations, joins you. Then drive to Sankaber for the best view. En route, pass through pretty country, the foothills of the Semen Mountains, with carefully tended fields, open pasture with grazing horses, stands of trees, and distant rocky peaks. At the high point of the road, there are superb views across the weirdly eroded foothills of the range and you may also be lucky enough to spot your first Lammergeiers and Gelada Baboons of the trip.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Bed and Breakfast Basis: Simien Lodge
• Full Board Basis: Simien Lodge

After breakfast, depart the lodge with a picnic lunch for Chenek where it’s possible to spot another endemic mammal- the Walia Ibex. The landscape in the area is remarkably picturesque with panoramic vistas overlooking the deep gorges of the escarpment. We will also be able to spot troops of Gelada baboons. If lucky, we will also be able to spot the endemic Ethiopian Wolf. Late afternoon, drive back to Gondar for overnight.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Bed and Breakfast Basis: Gondar Hills Hotel
• Full Board Basis: Gondar Hills Hotel

Early Morning, Leave Simien mountains and drive back to Gondar to take a domestic flight to Lalibela. The flight departs at 10:00 and takes about 30 minutes. The small town in the Lasta mountains is world-famous for its unique rock churches chiseled into the red, soft tuff rock. The city is named after King Lalibela, who built numerous religious buildings here. The Rock-Hewn Ethiopian orthodox Christian churches of Lalibela, are one of the eighth wonders of the world. It’s a collection of churches, some connected by fascinating internal channels, with hermit holes where people lived and died. The connecting walls are full of religious symbols. The city contains 11 monolithic churches that were built in the 12th century. Some are beautifully painted inside. We will visit the 1st and 2nd groups of the rock-hewn churches today.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Bed and Breakfast Basis: Mezena Lodge
• Full Board Basis: Mezena Lodge

Today, you leave Lalibela and have a drive to Yimrhane Kristos for another ancient rock-hewn church known as Yimrhane Kristos. The drive to Yemrehanna will also give you the opportunity to view the rural countryside and villages of the Ethiopian highlands. Visit Yemrehanna Kristos, which is one of Ethiopia’s best-preserved late-Aksumite buildings, few people reward themselves with a visit. And a reward it is. The church is different because it’s built rather than excavated. Seeing the stepped exterior facade, created from alternating wood and stone layers, you’ll understand why so many of Lalibela rock-hewn churches look like they do. And knowing that Yemrehanna Kristos may predate Lalibela’s churches by up to 80 years, you have before you a virtual blueprint of greatness. Afternoon, drive back to Lalibela for lunch and you will proceed to visit the remaining groups of the church. Finally, you will visit the most famous of all the churches – Bet Giyorgis, constructed in honor of the patron saint of Ethiopia – Saint George.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Bed and Breakfast Basis: Mezena Lodge
• Full Board Basis: Mezena Lodge