11 Days Highlights of Ethiopia

About the destination: Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia and a hub for international diplomacy concerning Africa. Ethiopia is an ancient land with rich history and cultural heritage and its capital city is no exception, Addis is full of culture and impressive monuments of colonial architecture. The huge area around Mercato is a picturesque part of the city. It is a colorful open market that offers everything from food to paintings of biblical scenes. The calls from the minarets happen five times a day to call the faithful Muslims to prayer. The mosques and churches are close to each other offering a fascinating merging of worlds worth experiencing. Other important sights of the city are the Emperor’s Palace, the Menelik II Mausoleum located in a cellar under a small church on a hill overlooking the city, the Africa Hall, a convention hall with beautiful stained, the Lion Park, the Ethiopian Museum, the Grand Mosque, the Lion of Judah statue and the octagonal Church of St. George. Addis Abeba is exciting and full of contrast, a mix of the past and the present, and it offers the chance to experience big-city Africa in an entirely inviting atmosphere.

About the destination: This provincial capital is one of the most beautiful and urbanly organized cities that can be found in Ethiopia. Perhaps the fact that Bahir Dar is on the shore of Lake Tana is quite influential. In any case it is nice to walk through its wide avenues with palm trees. A highly recommended walk is the one that takes us to the bridge of the Blue Nile, very close to the birthplace of this river. This bridge is about 2.5 km from the Ghion hotel following the shore of Lake Tana. From the same bridge and looking towards the lake you can see the sources of the Blue Nile and, depending on the time of day and with good luck, it is possible to see a hippopotamus. Certainly neither the bridge nor the view of the river from this point are too charming, at least compared to the sources of the White Nile in Jinja (Uganda). Still we reiterate our recommendation to make this trip. If we continue the track beyond the bridge and 200 m. we turn right towards the Bezawit mountain, and we walk about 3 km. more you get to Haile Selassie's palace. The palace is not visitable and it is forbidden to take pictures from outside. There is only the possible view from up there. Returning to the center of Bahir Dar along the same road we recommend making a stop at Hotel Tana. This hotel is already somewhat decrepit, but it has a magnificent garden by the lake, with lots of birds, where it is very nice to have a drink and enjoy the peace and relax of such a beautiful environment

About the destination: Gondar or Gonder was the former imperial capital of Ethiopia and the historical province of Begemder. For this reason the old province of Begemder is frequently called Gondar. It is located in the Semien Gondar area of ​​the Amhara region, Gondar is north of Lake Tana on the Angereb River and southwest of the Simen Mountains. It is located 2,133 meters above sea level. The geographical coordinates are: 12 ° 36'N 37 ° 28'E. The population is 194,773 inhabitants.

About the destination: Lalibela is a town in Amhara Region, Ethiopia famous for its rock-cut monolithic churches. The whole of Lalibela is a large antiquity of the medieval and post-medieval civilization of Ethiopia.[1] Lalibela is one of Ethiopia's holiest cities, second only to Axum, and a center of pilgrimage. Unlike Axum, the population of Lalibela is almost completely Ethiopian Orthodox Christian. Ethiopia was one of the earliest nations to adopt Christianity in the first half of the fourth century, and its historical roots date to the time of the Apostles. The churches themselves date from the seventh to thirteenth centuries, and are traditionally dated to the reign of the Zagwe king Gebre Mesqel Lalibela (r. ca. 1181–1221). The layout and names of the major buildings in Lalibela are widely accepted, especially by local clergy, to be a symbolic representation of Jerusalem. This has led some experts to date the current church forms to the years following the capture of Jerusalem in 1187 by the Muslim leader Saladin. Lalibela is located in the North Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, at roughly 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) above sea level. It is the main town in Lasta woreda, which was formerly part of Bugna woreda. The Rock-Hewn Churches were declared a World Heritage site in 1978.