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Enchanting Ethiopia (9 days)9 days duration
On arrival in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, you are met and taken to your well located hotel for two nights.
Following breakfast you undertake an interesting city and surroundings tour. You visit the National Archaeological Museum, which houses the 3.5 million year old bones of ''Lucy" as well as many other interesting exhibits. Also included are the Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Menelik's Mausoleum and the Mercato, the largest market in Africa. (BL)
This morning you will fly to Gondar, the Imperial Capital from the 17th to mid-19th Centuries. From here travel to Debark by road. Here you visit Simien Mountains National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which presents perhaps the most dramatic scenery in Africa: great volcanic plugs, formed 40 million years ago! These have eroded into fantastic crags, pinnacles and flat topped mountains (''the chess pieces of the Gods'', as once described). Here you should see the endemic Gelada or ''Bleeding Heart Baboon''. (BLD)
This morning you return to Gondar with a visit to the former Felasha or Bait Israel Village at Wolleka enroute. Later you are taken to the Royal Enclosure or Fasil Gibbi. Within the compound are the castles of the various Gondarene Emperors. You also visit the Bath of King Fasilides, where at Timkat (Ethiopian Epiphany) a nearby river is diverted to fill an area the size of a small swimming pool! Here worshippers plunge into the cold water in a re-enactment of Christ's baptism in the River Jordan. (BLD)
Today you fly to Lalibela for two nights. At the end of the 12th Century, King Lalibela of the Zaghwe Dynasty built a series of rock hewn churches - the ''New Jerusalem'' as he called it - now acknowledged as one of the Wonders of the World. After checking in you visit these churches. (BLD)
After breakfast you waslk to the Church of Ashetun Mariam, passing through villages enroute. There are wonderful views of the surrounding countryside from the top of the mountain where the church is located. After lunch you visit Yemrehane Christos, built by the king of the same name. (BLD)
This morning you fly to Axum for a two night stay. From around 200 BC to 700 AD, Axum was the seat of an empire which extended across the Red Sea to Arabia, traded with India and China, minted its own coinage and had its own alphabet. After lunch you start your tour of this fascinating area with a visit to the Castle of King Kalab, passing Mai Shum (Bath of the Queen of Sheba) on the way. On your return to town you visit the site known as ''Queen of Sheba's Palace''. (BLD)
Today you will undertake a tour to Yeha, Ethiopia's first city where settlement dates back more than 2,800 years. Here you visit the remains of a temple dedicated to Ilmuqeh, the Moon God. During today's drive you will be confronted by the dramatic mountain backdrop of the ''Teeth of Adua'', the striking mountain scenery where in 1896 King Menelik II defeated the invading Italian Forces. (BLD)
This morning you are taken to the airport for your flight to Addis Ababa where on arrival, your tour comes to an end. (B)
Inca Tours does not own any of the hotels, lodges or service providers utilised in making up the tours. As a result Inca Tours is only acting as an agent for the operators and as such does not accept responsibility for any negligence, omissions, errors or differences in standard experienced by passengers when utilising the operators' products or services. Please Note: for full booking terms and conditions please see the back of our booking form.
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