Ethiopia is unlike anywhere else on the continent: never colonised, home to its own church, calendar, alphabet and clock, and to landscapes that run from the Simien escarpment to the Danakil. This nine-day trip follows the classic northern historic circuit and adds a proper mountain leg.
You fly between the main sites to save time on the ground, walk the Simien plateau among herds of gelada – the only grass-grazing primate in the world – and finish at Lalibela, where eleven churches were cut down into the rock 900 years ago and are still in daily use.
Trip facts
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Addis Ababa
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October to March
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Hotels and a Simien lodge or camp
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Domestic flights and private vehicle
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2 to 8 guests
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Moderate - walking at altitude
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Breakfast daily; lunch on trek days
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Cultural and trekking
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12
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65
Overview
Ethiopia is unlike anywhere else on the continent: never colonised, home to its own church, calendar, alphabet and clock, and to landscapes that run from the Simien escarpment to the Danakil. This nine-day trip follows the classic northern historic circuit and adds a proper mountain leg.
You fly between the main sites to save time on the ground, walk the Simien plateau among herds of gelada – the only grass-grazing primate in the world – and finish at Lalibela, where eleven churches were cut down into the rock 900 years ago and are still in daily use.
Highlights
- The rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, a living UNESCO World Heritage site
- Two days trekking in Simien Mountains National Park
- Close encounters with gelada baboons and, with luck, walia ibex
- The royal enclosure of Fasil Ghebbi in Gondar
- The stelae field and archaeology of Axum
