Adventure journeys
Axum’s stelae and a cliff church in Gheralta, then Dallol’s salt flats and a night on Erta Ale before Lalibela and Gondar.
Paused while Tigray, Amhara and Afar are under official travel warnings and northern flights are suspended.
Length 12 days
Bale Mountains
The walled city of Harar, a 4,000 m plateau where Ethiopian wolves hunt, and Mursi villages in the lower Omo, linked by short flights.
Overview
At Dallol, below sea level in one of the hottest places on earth, hot springs stain the salt crust yellow, green and rust. A day’s drive away, Erta Ale holds one of the world’s few long-lived lava lakes. This trip pairs the north’s historic route with its harshest land: Axum’s stelae, the cliff church of Abuna Yemata Guh, the Danakil, then Lalibela, Gondar and Lake Tana.
The Danakil means camping under the stars, a police escort and heat around 35°C even in the cool season, so a rest night in Addis follows. This route is paused for now; we will reopen it when it is safe.
Itinerary
Your guide meets you at Bole International Airport and takes you to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours, with a briefing on the route and what to pack for the Danakil.
A morning flight takes you north to Axum. In the afternoon you walk the main stelae field, where King Ezana’s stele stands 24 m high and the 33 m Great Stele lies broken beside it. The obelisk Italy took to Rome in 1937 stands here again, returned in 2005.
You visit St Mary of Zion, whose chapel is said to hold the Ark of the Covenant, then the tombs of Kings Kaleb and Gebre Meskel. The afternoon takes in Dungur, the ruin called the Queen of Sheba’s Palace, and time on your own in town.
On the road east you stop at Yeha, where a temple from about 700 BC is Ethiopia’s oldest standing building. By late afternoon you reach the Gheralta range, its sandstone towers turning red as the sun drops.
A half-hour walk, a 15 m rock face climbed on holds worn by pilgrims, and a narrow ledge above a drop of about 200 m bring you to Abuna Yemata Guh, its dome painted with saints and apostles. The climb is optional; in the afternoon you can walk about 1.5 hours up to Maryam Korkor instead.
You drive through Mekelle and down the escarpment past Berhale, where camel caravans carry salt toward the highlands. By evening you reach the camp at Hamed Ela, where the police escort that travels with you through the Danakil joins the team.
Early, before the heat, you walk among Dallol’s hot springs and watch Afar workers cut salt into blocks by hand near Lake Assale. In the afternoon you drive to the Erta Ale base camp, then walk about three hours in the evening to sleep on the crater rim.
At first light you look into the crater, then walk down before the heat builds. Camels carry the bedding. After breakfast at base camp, a long drive takes you to Semera, a hotel bed and a shower.
A morning flight returns you to Addis Ababa, seat of the African Union. In the afternoon, if you have the energy, the National Museum’s human-origins gallery holds casts of Lucy (3.2 million years old) and Selam, the child found at Dikika (about 3.3 million years old), both from the Afar region you have just crossed.
A morning flight takes you to Lalibela, a town strung along a ridge at about 2,500 m. In the afternoon a local church guide leads you through the northern group, linked by trenches and tunnels cut through the same red rock.
In the morning you drive about 1.5 hours by 4WD to Yemrehanna Kristos, a church of wood and stone built inside a cave. In the afternoon you look down on Bete Giyorgis, its roof carved as a cross, and walk the eastern group.
A short flight crosses the highlands to Gondar. In the afternoon you walk Fasil Ghebbi, the walled royal enclosure begun by Emperor Fasilides in the 17th century, then look up at the 80 angel faces on the ceiling of Debre Birhan Selassie.
In the morning you see the Fasilides bath, where Gondar celebrates Timket, then drive about 3 hours south with Lake Tana beside you. In the late afternoon you visit the Blue Nile Falls and cross the stone bridge built in 1626.
An early boat crosses Lake Tana to the Zege peninsula and Ura Kidane Mehret, its walls covered in painted saints and Bible stories. After lunch you fly to Addis Ababa and transfer to your hotel or your flight home.
Itineraries can change with weather, road and flight conditions. We will tell you promptly if they do.
Gallery
Photo: Unsplash
Good to know
Dress code: Light, loose clothing in the Danakil; shoulders and knees covered in churches, and women bring a light scarf.
This tour follows the Strict policy. Days are whole calendar days before departure.
| When you cancel | What you get back |
|---|---|
| 30 or more days before departure | 50% refund |
| Fewer than 30 days before departure | No refund |
A non-refundable USD 300 per traveller (domestic flights) is deducted before these percentages are applied.
Questions
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Plan with us
Choose your dates above, or tell us what you have in mind and we will shape the trip around you.
