Northern Part Trip 10 Days

A short flight takes you to the shores of Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile, where life revolves around the lake and you will find the local fishermen at work in traditional papyrus reed boats. An afternoon hike takes you to the beautiful Tis Isat Falls, also known as the Blue Nile Falls. Overnight Hotel

Drive through wheat fields to the old mountain capital of Gondar. Gondar has a rich history. With its beautiful and strategic mountain setting, the 17th-century capital was once the crossroads of several major caravan routes, and was also occupied by the Italians during World War II. The Art Deco buildings surrounding the Royal Enclosure with its medieval castles and churches are a reminder of this heritage. This afternoon, explore Gondar’s castles and the Church of Debre Berhan Selassie with its iconic ceiling of painted angels. Overnight Hotel

Having eaten breakfast in the morning, drive from Gondar to the park headquarter in Debark. The 100 km journey takes a couple of hours. We will arrange our permits to the park and pick up our scout at the headquarter. Then after, drive farther for about 40 minutes before we start our first day introductory walk. This first hike is an easy one along the northern edge of the escarpment with a nice view points over the foothills and plains of northern Ethiopia. You will encounter gelada baboon along this hike and over nigh at Sankaber. Overnight camping

We follow the northern escarpment eastward, before we descend a little into the Kaba Valley. After that we climb up before we reach Gich Abyss and continue over a narrow ridge to a cliff where we have a spectacular view of the abyss towards the Simien foothills. We also find a large waterfall here, where the Jinbar River plunges 500 m into the abyss. We proceed for about two hours and have lunch at the Jinbar River. After lunch we walk through fields of barley before we arrive at the idyllic village of Gich. Here we can enjoy a traditional coffee ceremony in one of the huts and learn more about local farm life. From Gich village it is a short walk to Gich camp which is a good area to look for lammergeyer and thick billed raven. After a relaxing afternoon, we will take a short hike up to Kedadit to enjoy sunset plus the gorgeous shaded landscapes down to the cliff side towards to the eastern direction and return to the camp for dinner. Overnight camping

From Gich camp we stroll through endless fields of Giant Lobelia before we reach the towering cliffs of Imet-Gogo (3926 m). Here we will spend some time to absorb the superb views over the mountain valleys below and strange shaped domes in the distance, which we will see from up close at the end of the trip. After that we descend into the Jinbahir River Valley. In this way we get a very different perspective of Imet-Gogo and the volcanic landscape, where it looks like big chunks of mountains have been blown away. The trail follows the edge of the escarpment, which is completely vertical here for several hundred meters. We climb to a summit of 4070 m where we will have lunch. After lunch we descend to Chennek for about two hours along a steep trail. From Chennek camp there are spectacular views in all directions. Sit down on a bench at the escarpment and try to spot Walia Ibex in late afternoon or early morning. Sometimes Walia Ibex visit the edges of the camp site.  Overnight camping

Climb the second highest peak in the Simien mountains Buwahit (4430 m) rewarding with the gorgeous scenery watching from frog perspective side. In addition, you will have a chance to see and enjoy with one of the endemic wild animals in Ethiopia particularly in the Simien Mountains called Walia Ibex (a goat family). You have also a chance of closer look for the highest Mountain peak in Ethiopia, Ras Dejen (4543 m). Having enjoyed with the natural beauty of the surroundings and taking pictures from the top of Mt. Buwahit, walk back down to chenek camp where the car waiting us to pick and drive back to Gondar for about 4:30  hrs. overnight Hotel

Fly to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lalibela - the Jerusalem of Ethiopia, and Africa’s own ‘Petra’. In a fitting finale to your Ethiopian adventure, explore the monolithic red-hued churches incredibly carved into the rock. Your guide will lead you through the network of crevices and tunnels linking each of the churches. The churches are still in use today: step inside and you will see a robed priest going about his timeless business. Overnight Hotel

Today your guide takes you to the eastern group of rock hewn churches: smaller in size, these are no less impressive, with intricate carvings and many dark tunnels to explore! Travel further afield to the Nakutelab rock-hewn church, built into the side of a hill in a natural cave. The afternoon culminates in a visit to a private home to participate in an Ethiopian coffee ceremony. Overnight Hotel

Having eaten breakfast in the morning, drive back to Addis Ababa which enables us to be there at the midday. You will enjoy the rest of your time in the afternoon in the city of Addis Ababa and if necessary you can do a souvenir shopping. In the evening you will be invited a farewell dinner and the end of the trip will be transferring you to the Air port for your international flight back home.