A Detailed 9-Day Ethiopia Itinerary

Day 1: Addis Ababa

On arrival at Bole International Airport, your driver will greet you outside the airport building and transport you to the magnificent Sheraton Hotel. Have a rest at the hotel before you start your first day in the busy capital city of Addis Ababa, which means ‘New Flower’.

It is Africa’s diplomatic capital, at 2,700m above sea level, in the central highlands. Founded by Emperor Menelik II in 1887, it today hosts over 3 million inhabitants and a collection of remarkable museums, historic landmarks, cathedrals and enormous markets. Mercato is the largest open-air market in Africa, and the Entoto hills surrounding it afford spectacular views of the entire city.

In the evening there is lots of variety of restaurants and bars and a few of ethnic eateries that display Ethiopian dancing from across the country. A must visit on your first night in the nation.

Overnight at the luxury Sheraton Hotel, one of Addis’s best 5* offerings.

Day 2: Gheralta

Then, after breakfast, you will get aboard a private helicopter and fly to the beautiful Gheralta district of Tigray. The scenery of Gheralta is breathtaking, with huge limestone cliffs towering high over the far-reaching Hawzein plains.

But Gheralta is not just beautiful it is also home to some of Ethiopia’s most remarkable rock churches. Some of these are accessed by climbing a sheer cliff wall, but are nevertheless used by people every day.

The churches are famed for their stone work and ancient murals and old texts and the views of the Tigrayan landscape are breathtaking. The sights from your soaring overhead chopper are only rivalled by the amazing views from the rock cathedrals.

Nestled into the plains of Gheralta is one of Ethiopia’s best boutique lodges, Korkor Lodge. Your helicopter will land in the lodge compound, and you have the evening to enjoy the spectacular views and fantastic hospitality of Korkor.

Day 3: Danakil Depression

Today you’ll travel to one of the most extraordinary environments on Earth. The Danakil Depression is one of the hottest places on Earth and has lava lakes, bubbling acid lakes highlighted by the brilliant greens, reds, and yellows of salt deposits, and some of the most stunning salt pans on the planet.

The Danakil has an average temperature of 35 degrees Centigrade and much of the territory is more than 100m below sea level, making it both one of the hottest, and lowest places on the earth. The region hits a ragged nadir at Dallol (-116m), the lowest point of terra firma on the African continent, and one of the driest, most tectonically active and visually spectacular places on the earth.

Your chopper lands for a short time so you can walk around the area. Explore the kaleidoscopic beauty of Dallol and watch the native Afar people labouring in the burning heat as they cut salt into blocks from the salt pans and load onto camel caravans that carry this crucial commodity back to the adjacent town of Mekele.

After exploring this fascinating area, return to Korkor Lodge for the night.

Day 4: Simien Mountains National Park

After breakfast at the lodge fly to Axum, one of the most historically significant cities in Ethiopia, leaving behind the majestic Gheralta mountains and the scorching Danakil Depression.

Axum is famed for its cathedral of St Mary Zion, reputed resting place of the original Ark of the Covenant. Spend a few hours wandering around this old city. Queen of Sheba’s Palace The site of Queen of Sheba’s palace has remains of a previously large palace with neatly mortared stonewalls, deep foundations and its own spectacular drainage system. Several monolithic Stelae stand high out of the earth. It’s thought to be the oldest building in Axum.

Axum was the first capital city of Ethiopia and has a long fascinating history and plays a key role in the development and identity of Ethiopia today. Your guide will be there to bring this magnificent city to life for you.

In the afternoon, get back in the helicopter and fly the short distance to the stunning Simien Mountains National Park. Transfer to Limalimo Lodge, Ethiopia’s best lodge in the slopes of the Simiens. The lodge has spectacular views over the Simien range and is the ideal place to relax with sundowners after a day of visiting the park.

The Simien Mountains is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of the most spectacular landscapes on the planet. There are many different trekking paths and perspectives depending on your interest and fitness levels and a dirt road running through the mountains offers easy access to the main overlooks. The Simiens is rich in wildlife, with dozens of animals and 180 bird species catalogued. The Walia Ibex, Ethiopian Wolf, Menelik Bushbuck and Gelada Monkeys are all only found in Ethiopia.

Day 5: Simien Mountains National Park

Today is a full day in the park. You can travel a gravel road all the way to Chennek camp, and stop at all the key overlooks. Large battalions of Gelada Monkeys and raports soaring in the thermals below are to be expected as well as the occasional sighting of Walia Ibex or Ethiopian Wolf. The spectacular Jinbar Falls is close, plunging over 500m in a series of cascades into the valley below.

Back after the walk enjoy sundowners and dinner by the fire in the luxury of Limalimo Lodge.

Day 6: Gondar & Bahir Dar

After breakfast at the lodge, depart the mountains and take a helicopter to Gondar. Take some time to explore this beautiful city.

Gondar was home to the Kings and Queens of Ethiopia for almost two centuries. The city was the first capital of the Ethiopian kingdom beginning with the reign of Fasilidas in 1632.

The castle remains, most of which are in the Royal Enclosure, a fairy-tale like castle compound dating back to the 17th century. The castles represent the magnificence of the Gondarine rulers and are built with a characteristic lime mortar style.

Visit Debre Birhan Selassie church, rewarded for its exquisite murals decorating the dome and the walls of the building. Like many other Eastern Orthodox churches, Debre Birhan presents a modest stone and brick facade with double arched entrance door and two-tiered thatched roof. As you enter, angels light you with light and colour. The inside walls and ceiling are completely covered with painted figures of angels with huge eyes and the walls show scenes from the bible and saints.

Visit the famed Fasilida’s pool where pilgrims still take a plunge at the issue of Timket (Epiphany) celebrations. It’s a tranquil, lovely place where snakelike roots of trees eat bits of the stone walls. While the complex was utilised for swimming, it was also used for religious festivals, which are still held today. It is filled with water once a year for the Timket event. After being sanctified by a high priest, the pool explodes in a frenzy of splashes, shouting and laughing as hundreds dive in. The event is a re-enactment of Christ’s baptism in the Jordan River and is viewed as a major rebirth of faith. Close by is a modest mausoleum supposed to have been built for the king’s favourite horse.

Return to helicopter for transfer to Bahir Dar. Bahir Dar is a pretty town, well planned with tree-lined streets, the blue of Lake Tana never far from view. Lake Tana, Ethiopia’s largest lake, is dotted with more than 30 islands, many of which are home to churches and monasteries.

Take boat journey over the lake to Zege Peninsula to visit two of the famed Island Monasteries: Ura Kidane Mihret and Azua Mariam they have a stunning painting of scenes from the Old and the New Testaments of the Holy Bible. The Ura monastery which is concealed in the mangrove wilderness of the Zege peninsula. It is a typical example of Ethiopian Orthodox Church’s architectural style with a round mud plastered wall and a conical thatched roof. Ura is particularly notable for its excellent paintings, manuscripts, ecclesiastical goods such as crown of several emperors dated from 14th century, processional crosses of silver & gold, silver-drum and royal garments.

As the sun sets retire to the wondeful Kurfitu Resort for nighttime.

Day 7: Lalibela

A morning flight brings you to Lalibela, one of Ethiopia’s most extraordinary sites and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At the end of the 12th and beginning of the 13th centuries King Lalibela of the Zaghwe dynasty built a succession of rock hewn churches in this spot which he called New Jerusalem. These enormous edifices appear to be a superhuman creation in scale, workmanship and concept, hewn from the rock in which they stand. There are 11 churches in the town named after the King.

Today you will view the first group of six churches in the city. These churches are located in rock cradles, one behind the other. Bet Golgotha, Bet Mikael, Bet Mariam, Bet Meskel, Bet Danaghel and Bet Medhane Alem.

The biggest, Bet Medhane Alem, is built like a Greek temple. Three empty tombs, dug symbolically for the Biblical patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, stand in one corner. Your guide will walk you through the cultural and historical meaning of this ancient town.

Mezena Lodge is the best hotel option in Lalibela, a short drive beyond the town with spectacular views out of Lalibela.

Day 8: Lalibela

In the morning see the second series of rock-cut churches. The south-east cluster of churches is less regular in plan than the north-western grouping. Some of the individual churches in this cluster are believed to have had secular origins, and some are five centuries older than the reign of King Lalibela. The south-east cluster churches are Bet Gebriel-Rafael, Bet Abba Libanos, Bet Lehem, Bet Emanuel and Bet Mercurios. According to mythology, Lalibela’s wife, Meskel Kebre, built Bet Abba Libanos overnight with the help of a number of angels.

Then head to Bet Giyorgis, the most visually spectacular and exquisite of all the Lalibela churches. The church is slightly isolated in the southwestern section of the settlement on a sloping rock terrace. It can be reached only by tunnel.

After lunch, visit the monastery of Na’akuto La‘ab, six kilometres outside of Lalibela, accessible by automobile. It is a basic but fascinating example of Lalibela’s eastern group of rock hewn churches and gives lovely views across rural Lalibela. In the late afternoon visit the open market of Lalibela, then enjoy a traditional coffee ceremony.

Overnight at Mezena Lodge. Your last night.

Day 9: Addis Ababa

Relaxed breakfast before you take your final helicopter journey to go to Addis Ababa for your connecting flight home. Addis services can be arranged to match your International flight departure timing.

End of the 9-Day Ethiopia Itinerary By Private Helicopter