Wild Northern Ethiopia

Take an overnight flight from London Heathrow to Addis Ababa with Ethiopian Airlines.

Land in to Addis Ababa this morning where you will be met and transferred to the Impress Hotel where you will drop off your bags before setting out on an orientation tour of the city. This will include time exploring the Merkato – Africa’s largest open-air market, a trip down Independence Way and a visit to the Cathedral. Enjoy a tour of the very interesting National Museum before heading back to the hotel for some time at leisure to relax.

After breakfast we will be flying up to Lalibela, arriving in the late morning where vehicles will be waiting for the transfer up to the Wollo region, the mountains that surround Lalibela for a 3 night trek with our partners at TESFA Trekking and Tours. A traditional Ethiopian lunch of injira – a flat pancake with vegetarian side dishes – will be served before setting off on the trek, walking roughly 4 hours to reach the first village where the night will be spent. Enjoy dinner and then a peaceful night enjoying the starry night skies.

Breakfast will be served as the sun rises over the mountains today, before you set off on the morning walk, stopping again for a traditional lunch before moving on to your second camp. The walking is around 7 hours today, with lunch to break things up.

Continue your walking through the beautiful Wollo region today, enjoying the spectacular views to the valleys way below, the challenging, but enjoyable walking and the chance to learn more about the rural communities who are hosting you and supported by TESFA. It truly is a remarkable project and has made a huge difference to an area with next to no employment opportunities.

You will enjoy breakfast in the mountains today before a final morning walk back down to the pick-up point for the drive in to Lalibela. We will take a slight detour to head up to the spectacular cave Monastery at Yemerehanna Kristos, a hugely important site of pilgrims visiting Ethiopia with a delightful brown and white outside design which resembles something one would see in a bakery! Hopefully this whets the appetite for dinner in Lalibela this evening, with some excellent restaurants to enjoy and the next 2 nights will be spent at the excellent Lalibela Lodge.

Spend a full day exploring the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela – 13 in total – which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the undoubted highlights of any visit to Ethiopia. The churches are found in two clusters – Northern and Southern which we will visit either side of lunch. Round off the day with a visit to Beit Gyorgis – the only one of the churches which is a freestanding monolith and is arguably the most famous and photographed of them all.

Today will be a full day in the car as we drive from Lalibela across to Mekelle, the gateway town to the Danakil Depression. Spend the night at the Genfel Hotel and the evening will be at leisure for you to relax.

Today will see an early start to drive in to the Danakil Depression, one of the most remote and inhospitable regions on Earth. A stop for lunch will be followed by some time to rest, before setting off on the walk up the lower slopes of Erta Ale as the sun sets. Arrive on the volcano rim once darkness has taken over and enjoy the mesmerising view down in to the cauldron of lava in the caldera well below.

Camping on the rim of the volcano will see you wake as the sunrises to enjoy the peace and tranquillity that this remarkable spot enjoys. Head back down for breakfast at the base-camp before driving on to the sulphur springs at Dallol – a remarkable spot of bubbling lakes, a huge array of colours and stunning rock formations. After the Dallol visit you will drive on to the campsite for an overnight stay.

This morning we will drive up to Lake Afera, the spot where the hardy Afar Tribesmen mine salt from the shores of the lake and where the camel trains start to make their way back to Mekelle to sell the salt. After the visit we will drive back to Mekelle for another overnight stay in the Genfel Hotel.

Enjoy a day at leisure to relax at the hotel before flying back to Addis Ababa in the evening, connecting on to the following morning’s early flight back to London Heathrow.