12 Days Amazing Ethiopia Tours

You'll fly to Lalibela on Ethiopian Airlines from Addis to Lalibela and have lunch at the hotel. You'll tour the magnificent rock-hewn churches of Lalibela in the afternoon, a UNESCO World Heritage site. This group of ten monolithic and semi-monolithic structures was carved directly into the stone of the mountainside at least 900 years ago. This complex boasts the largest monolithic church in the world, a maze of passageways and tunnels, intricately carved reliefs, and fabulous examples of icon paintings. On this day, you will see the first group of churches called Bete Medehanialem, Bete Maryam, Bete Meskel, Bete Denagil, and Debre Sina we Golegotha and of course the famous St’ George.

Accommodation: Top 12 Hotel, Lalibela

Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast, you will see the second group of churches which includes, Bete Emanuel, Bete Gabriel, Bete Merkorious, and Aba Libanos. After finishing the second group churches, you will transfer to the Airport for your flight back to Addis Ababa and we’ll fly from the capital to Dire Dawa where we’ll continue overland to Harar. Revered as the fourth Holiest city after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.  This evening, we’ll meet one of Harar’s celebrated Hyena Men. In a tradition that is passed from father to son, Abbas Yusuf and his peers have learned to feed these wild animals directly from their mouth. The hyenas live in caves outside of town, but descend upon the city streets every night in search of food. Though considered to be dangerous throughout the rest of Africa, the residents of Harar are not afraid. As Mr. Yusuf recently told a reporter from Reuters, ‘Hyenas have never attacked the people of Harar since my father started feeding them, unless you harm the babies.’ Indeed, the Hyena Men of Harar view their nightly work as a service to the community and look forward to passing on the task to their own children.

Accommodation: Rawuda Harari guest House, Harar 

Meals: Breakfast,

 After breakfast we’ll visit lively streets, labyrinthine alleys and a remarkable architectural assemblage. Along with more than 180 mosques and shrines, three of which date to the 10th century, you’ll see exceptional homes that reflect a myriad of influences from coastal Arabia to the wooden balconied houses of 19th-century Indian merchants.
Departing Harar this afternoon we’ll travel back to Dire Dawa for our return flight to Addis Ababa.

Accommodation:  Hayes Hotel, Addis Ababa

Meals: Breakfast

Total driving distance 300kms/6-7hrs

You will wake up early morning to catch your flight to Semera, have breakfast in Semera, and drive to Lake Afdera (a salt lake that is located in the heart of Danakil Depressions and then later you have to swim around this lake we will be driving to Hamedela town of Dallol. Visit the Sunset at Lake Assale late in the afternoon.

Overnight open-air camping with clean beds, Mattresses, pillows, clean bed sheets, and a lot of water for hydration.
Accommodation: Camping, Hamedela

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Total driving distance 300kms/6-7hrs

Total walking distance 3:30 hours.

Early in the morning, before sunrise, we drive to the lunar landscape of the Dallol geothermal site for an amazing wonder seen nowhere else on the planet. A chemical reaction happening right in front of you lives face to face with row nature. You will revise your knowledge of colors from that moment on. After this, we drive to the salt and mud-formed mountain cave right underneath the Dallol crater, another 10-minute drive and a completely different world. We will have a picnic breakfast in nearby the cave with wonder. After this visit, we drive to the vast salt plains, Lake Karum, swim in the saltwater pool in that scorching sun, and finally visit the salt miners before leaving back to Hamedela for some rest. After lunch, we continue driving to the Ert-ale active volcano. We reach our camping ground at the top of the Caldera. Walk 1 hour until the summit Crater Lake is currently not active. Enjoy the wonder happening right in front of you and walk back to the camping ground. We leave for the volcano around 5:30 P.m., late in the afternoon, and walk back after visiting around 8:00PM.  Overnight open-air camping on flat ground with a suitable mattress, pillow, clean bed sheets, and a quiet environment.
Accommodation: Camping, Dodom

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Total driving distance 270kms/5-6hrs

In the morning, wake up with the sun, and after breakfast, drive to Afdera Salt Lake Town. The major hub for salt production and distribution lies at -102m below sea level and the highest temperature feeling in the Danakil depression. Have lunch in town, a glimpse of the salt lake, a walk along the salt farms, and. In the afternoon drive to Semera and fly to Addis late afternoon.  

Accommodation:  Hayes Hotel, Addis Ababa

Meals: Breakfast

fter breakfast, fly to Arba Minch check in and lunch at the hotel, in the afternoon visit to Dorze village. Dorze people who are expert in weaving called Shamma Weaving are a primary profession for a number of Dorze people. The shape of their house looks Elephant, in order to remember the existence of these animals around the area many years ago. They are known for their traditional weaving of huts made out of local bamboo. Enset “fake banana” is the stable food for these peoples.

Accommodation: Wubetie Hotel, Arba Minch

Meals: Breakfast,

Early morning drive to Konso where colorfully costumed dress, impressive terracing of the land and unusually engraved wooden statues used as grave markers can be seen. Differing from their neighbors, the Konso are pure agriculturists, famed for their use of the stone terraces that they utilize to such good effect in this dry and barren region of basalt hills. Originally from the east and speaking an east Cushitic language, the Konso live in settlements that are surrounded by stone walls. The age of each town is classified by a generation pole and each family lives in compounds that are accessible only through gateways that require the visitor to enter on all fours thereby rendering any potential attackers vulnerable. Keep driving to Key Afer for the colorful Thursday market where we should see and photographed the Ari, Bena, Hamer and Tsemay people. The Bena and Hamer women usually favor red clay braids in their hair, shiny with butter and perfumed with incense. The long beaded skirts of the Tsemay have a stick incorporated in the back to denote a married woman and the men have elaborately plaited hairstyles decorated with feathers and colorful beads. After visiting the market we drive on to Jinka, often called the gateway to the Omo Valley.

Accommodation:  Buska Lodge, Turmi   

Meals: Breakfast

Departing from our lodge after breakfast, we spend time with the Karo, a small tribe with an estimated population of less than 2,000 people. Raising small cattle and practicing flood retreat cultivation of maize, beans and sorghum, the Karo are an agro-pastoralist society known for their highly-detailed body painting. White chalk paint is the basic material with some use of colored paints derived from natural occurring pigments in local minerals, iron ore and charcoal. Red clay mixed with butter is sometimes used to color the hair. We’ll also see the men of the Karo with scars they have given themselves to represent an enemy or dangerous animal killed.
Late afternoon visit the Hamer village. The hammer are a fine looking people, both men and women take great pride in their appearance, shaving and coloring their hair, oiling their bodies and decorating themselves with beads and bracelets worn around arms and legs. They are famous for their body decoration, moonlight dance (Evangedi Dance) and bull-jumping. Bull jumping marks the rite of passage from childhood to adulthood. It is not done every day.

Accommodation:  Buska Lodge, Turmi   

Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast you will drive to Omorate crosses the Omo River to visit the Dassanech tribe only 72 Km from Turmi, Dassanech are traditional pastoralists, but in recent years began to move to a semi-nomadic way of life. The highest expression of male beauty is the vulgar transverse scars across the entire chest and back, resembling crocodile skin. Such scars are inflicted on a body of the warrior who showed himself heroically in battle, who killed the enemy in course of tribal cattle raids. From here, we return to Turmi for lunch and then continue to Jinka.

Accommodation:  NASA Hotel, Jinka    

Meals: Breakfast

Early morning visit the Mursi highlands where the most illustrious of Ethiopia’s unique tribes lives. The Mursi are known all over the world, for their decorative lip plates that adorn the lower lips of the Mursi women. The plates stretch the lower lip beyond imagination and the women’s beauty, pride and desirability is determined in direct proportion to the size of the plate. The Mursi men and women may appear gracious but the Mursi warriors are not to be sneezed at. On their arms are deep crescent incisions that represent each enemy they have killed in battle. The men are also famous for their hairstyle. Return to Jinka for lunch and drive to the Airport for your flight to Addis Ababa. In the evening farewell party dinner with cultural dinner and traditional special buffet and local drinks to experience Ethiopia’s cultural meals and drinks. Drive to Bole International Airport for your flight back to home.

Meals: Breakfast

What do you need for Danakil Depression?

• Light (walking in the night)
• Small backpack for the trek to the top of the volcano
• Closed, comfortable shoes (trekking shoes)
• Sun protection like sun cream, hat
• Jacket for the night on the volcano
• Toilet Paper (Soft)
• Sleeping bag, pillow, or blanket some will be provided by the agency.

Price per person based on single occupancy = 3400$

ET120 ADD -LLI

DEPART 11:50 AM- ARRIVAL 13:05 PM

DURATION 1H 15M NON STOP

ET121 LLI- DIR

DEPART 13:35 PM- ARRIVAL 17:55 PM

DURATION 4H 20M ONE STOP ADD

ET205 DIR-ADD

DEPART 14:35 PM- ARRIVAL 15:45 PM

DURATION 1H 15M NON STOP

ET 110 ADD-SZE

DEPART 06:45 AM –ARRIVAL 08:05 AM

DURATION 1H 20M- NON STOP

ET 165 SZE-ADD

DEPART 17:40 PM- ARRIVAL 19:00 PM

DURATION 1H20M -NON STOP

ET 171 ADD -AMH

DEPART 08:00 AM- ARRIVAL 9:15 4M

DURATION 1H10M -NON STOP

ET 270 BCO-ADD

DEPART 14:00 PM- ARRIVAL 15:55 PM

DURATION 1H20M -NON STOP

ADD- Addis Ababa

LLI- Lalibela

SZE- Semera

BCO- Jinka

AMH- Arba Minch

DIR- Dire Dewa

Addis Ababa-Hayes Hotel 

Arba Minch – Wubetie Hotel 

Lalibela- Top 12 Hotel  

Jinka- NASA Hotel

Turmi- Buska Lodge 

Harar- Rawuda Harari Guest House

Danakil depression- Camping