Duration: 16 Days / 15 Nights
Departure Point: Addis Ababa
Tour Type: Historical, Cultural

🗺️ Overview:

Embark on an unforgettable journey through the heart of Ethiopia, where ancient history meets vibrant tribal culture and breathtaking landscapes. This 16-day tour takes you from the historic northern highlands to the diverse tribes and scenic wonders of southern Ethiopia.

📅 Itinerary

Day 01: : Addis – Lalibela
Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela

In the morning, fly north to Lalibela and be transferred to your hotel. After lunch, visit the first group of Lalibela Churches which are located north of a small stream named Jordan River. These Churches were carved during the time of King Lalibela (1181 – 1221) and are registered by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Accommodations
Overnight Lalibela Lodge or Zagwe Hotel

Day 02 Lalibela Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela

6 hoursAdmission Ticket Included
After breakfast, have an excursion trip to the cave-built church of Ne’akuto Le’ab (13th Century AD) which is famous for its wide collection of ancient crosses, manuscripts, and icons. If this day is Saturday, spare some time at the interesting weekly market of Lalibela. After lunch, visit the second and third group of churches of Lalibela.

In the city of Lalibela you will see about Eleven Rock Churches organized into groups of three.

Biete Medhanealem
Biete Maryam
Biete Golgotha Mikael
Biete Maskal (House of the Cross)
Biete Denagel (House of Virgins)
Biete Giyorgis
Biete Amanuel
Biete Qeddus Merkoreos
Biete Abba Libanos (House of Abba Libanos)
Biete Gabriel-Raphael
Biete Lehem (Bethlehem Hebrew: בֵּית לֶחֶם, House of Holy Bread).

Accommodations
Overnight Lalibela Lodge or Zagwe Hotel.

Day 03: Fly back from Lalibela to Axum through Via Addis Abbeba .

Explore Axum
Morning: Begin with a guided tour of Axum’s key historical sites, including the Northern Stelae Field, the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, the Tombs of Kings, and the Queen of Sheba’s Palace.
Afternoon: Continue exploring Axum’s ancient sites, such as the Queen of Sheba’s Bath and the Ezana Inscription.

Evening: Overnight in Axum.

Day 04 : Gheralta Mountains & Rock-Hewn Churches
Morning: After an early breakfast, drive towards the Gheralta Mountains.

Afternoon: Begin your exploration of the region’s famous rock-hewn churches, with Abuna Yemata Guh being a spectacular and challenging ascent to see its 5th-century architecture and paintings.

Evening: Spend the night in a lodge or guesthouse in the Gheralta area.

Day 05: Gheralta Trekking & More Churches
Full Day: Continue your trekking adventure in the Gheralta Mountains, visiting more remote churches like Maryam Korkor and Daniel Korkor with a local guide.
Evening: Return to your

accommodation in the Gheralta area.

Day 06 : Journey to Mekelle
Morning: Head towards Mekelle, the capital city of the Tigray Region.

Afternoon: Upon arrival in Mekelle, you may have time for a final tour or to explore the city’s local markets before your departure.
Evening: Depart from Mekelle.

overnight at Mekelle

Day 07: Drive from Mekelle to

We can drive your tour into the DANAKIL to ERTA ALE, the famous volcano with its bubbling lava -lake and the rare possibility of experiencing the nomadic tribe living in this desert- the AFAR people, survivors and warriors in the hottest and one of the lowest places on earth!

Today we drive from Mekele to LAKE AFDERA (which is Afar language and means ‘salty area’).

The Danakil Depression can be said to ‘begin’ here.

It is one of the most spectacular and also absolutely inhospitable regions of the world!

Today it is a 4 hours’ drive on an asphalt road (220km), with a few stops for instance having a coffee with the locals and lunch, prepared by our own cook.

The landscape starts to become more and drier and less and less inhabited; we will be passing the odd local on the way, but not many people are to be seen.

We reach the local village Afdera, a 15 min walk from the Lake Afdera, around 4:30pm, have a stop there to explore it and yet another coffee or coke with the inhabitants.

After that we continue our journey to the ending point of today: Lake Afdera, where is also our campsite.

Meanwhile the sun is setting we go for a swim, floating on the surface of the salt-lake and enjoying the nearby hot springs, experiencing an incredible view.

Dinner and a campfire before falling asleep right underneath a star-full nightly sky with thousands and thousands of stars will brightening up your dreams.

​Day 08 : Today’s aim is first DODOM (‘tree planting’) -the base of the ERTA ALE volcano and later, at night, Erta Ale itself.

After a breakfast at 10am at the lake, it is a 70 km drive on sandy ground and over cold lava rocks.

On the way we visit the salt miners which are local Afar people. They pump salt water over the surface and let it evaporate to create a salt crust.

Lunch will be served in Dodom village, surrounded by many local people.

Here we also have to show our permission to climb ERTA ALE (‘the smoking mountain’), get the needed camels for transporting the goods, more scouts…

Dinner time is already at 5-ish since we have to start trekking up to the volcano around 6-7pm.

Dodom is approximately 8.5km away from Erta Ale and this stretch will take about 3 hours of trekking. Camels transport all the camping materials and some food to the rim of the volcano, where we spend the night watching the dramatic actions of the boiling lava.

The Volcano is 613 meters high, the lava lake contains actually 2 caters, one of them, the northern one, is inactive with no Magma. It is notable for being the longest existing lava lake on this planet. Erta Ale ranks one of the most alluring and physically challenging natural attractions anywhere in Ethiopia, it is a shield volcano with a base diameter of 30 km and 1km square caldera at its summit. The volcano contains the world’s only permanent lava lake.

We set our camp a little bit away from the rim, on the other side of the wind so we won’t have to inhale the toxic gases.

After enjoying this great, special, sometimes smelly, sometimes loud and hot experience we overnight in our camp, again with a brilliantly shining night sky.

​Day 09: Erta Ale- Dodom-Hamed Ela

For enjoying the very special sunrise (at 6am) we have to get up early, but you will see it is of course very well worth it.

A short stroll takes us to the northern crater, from here we descend around

7am in the direction

Dodom, which we will reach after 2hours.

Here breakfast will be served and you have some time to relax. We start our drive to HAMED ALE (which means something like ‘Ahmed found water here’), our next destination= 100 km/7 hours

Lunch is served en route, we reach Hamed Ale around 4:30pm, a bigger village with a total population about 500.

LAKE ASALE (lake ‘red mountain’)– a huge salt lake-is in walking distance, where we take a deep breath and a wine or beer for sunset, taking in the many reflections.

Our tonight camp is in Hamed Ale.

​Day 10 : Hamed Ale- Dallol- Mekele,

Again you get served an early breakfast at 6, around 7we start driving the short distance (approx 30 min) to Dallol (‘a colouful place’) via Asebo (‘the salt desert’), where- you can guess it- they mine salt. btw: 1,200 km2 of the Afar Depression is covered by salt.

You can watch the workers breaking the salt from the ground, cutting it into rectangular pieces and loading it onto camels. The caravans start from here.

This is also the lowest point of the Danakil – 116 meters! We continue driving ahead to Dallol and stroll through the different landscapes formed by volcanic activities.

Incredible, moon-like, colorful creations of the sulfur and huge salt mountains are to be found here.

From here we proceed to Mekele (180 km, around 4 hours), leaving the lowland and make our way up (Mekele is situated at 2100m!), having wonderful mountains on our side, reaching Mekele around 5pm

overnight at Mekelle

Day 11: Fly from Meklle to Addis Abeba via addis abeba to Jinka (Bco Airport )

Arrival in Jinka & Mursi Tribe Visit
Arrive at Jinka Airport from Addis Ababa. We fly Jinka Airport and we will meet our driver to Key afer to visit the Mursi tribe, known for their women’s lip plates and body painting.
Observe their traditional lifestyle before driving back to Jinka for the night.

Ovenight in Jinka at Nasa hotel / Jinka Resort

Day 12 : Drive to Turmi & Hamer Tribe
Drive to Turmi, the capital of the Hamer region.
Visit the Hamer people, famous for their traditional lifestyle and their spectacular women’s hairstyles.
Witness a Hamer bull-jumping ceremony if a rite of passage is taking place.

Spend the night in or near Turmi at Emerlad lodge

Day 13 : Dassanech & Karo Tribes
Embark on an excursion to visit the Dassanech and Karo tribes.
See the Karo people’s distinct body art and the Dassanech, who are known for their nomadic lifestyle and are often found by the Omo River.

Day 14 : Drive to Konso (UNESCO)
Drive from the tribal areas to Konso, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Explore Konso villages, admire the unique cultural landscape and terraces, and learn about their traditions.

Overnight in Konso at Kanta Lodge

Day 15 : Drive to Arba Minch & Lake Chamo
Drive to Arba Minch in the Great Rift Valley.
Enjoy a relaxing boat trip on Lake Chamo to see crocodiles, hippos, and diverse birdlife.

Overnight in Arba Minch at Mora hotel

Day 16 : Dorze Village & ” Fly back to Addis

Drive to the highlands to visit the Dorze village.
See the famous beehive-shaped huts and learn about the Dorze people’s weaving skills.
Drive to Arba Minch Airport for your departure. Fly back to Addis abeba Airport

End of the Tour !

Includes/ Excludes

cost Includes

👉Transportation comfortable (4WD vehicle with driver and fuel starting from Jinka airport),

👉Guide and local guides
Food all along the trip (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

👉Accommodations during the trip: the best in the destinations hotel / lodge

👉All entrance fees included

👉 bottle water

👉 15% Government Tax

👉All the required permits and paperwork

👉Photo fees in tribal villages

👉 Tips

Cost Excludes

👉International & Domestic Airfare

👉Visa Charges

👉Your travel and medical insurance.

👉Personal Expenses such as shopping, bar bills, telephone, laundry, etc.