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Ethiopia, Kenya & Tanzania Safari (20 days)20 days duration Kenya aAnd Tanzania are legendary for their safari experience as millions of plains animals undertake their annual migration through the Masai Mara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro conservation areas.
On arrival in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, you are met and taken to your city hotel for a two night stay.
After breakfast you will undertake a very interesting city and surrounding area tour starting with a visit to Mount Entoto where the churches of Mariam and the Archangel Raguel are located. It also affords a panoramic view of the capital and surrounding countryside. This is followed by a visit to the National Archaeological Museum, which houses the 3.5 million-year-old bones of ''Lucy" as well as many other interesting exhibits.
At the Institute of Ethiopian Studies, once the Genete Palace of Emperor Haile Selassie, you can view exhibits of clothing from different regions, along with artefacts, household utensils and paintings reflecting the history and culture of the country. This will be followed by a visit to Menelik's Mausoleum, where Etege Taitu and Queen Zauditu are buried.
Your final stop is the Mercato, the largest market area in Africa, where virtually every possible commodity is on sale, from livestock to computers. (BL)
This morning you will fly to Gondar where you set off north to Debark by road. In Debark you visit the 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, have over the aeons eroded into fantastic crags, pinnacles and flat topped mountains (''the chess pieces of the Gods'', one writer describes them) tower over precipitous gorges, river valleys and plains stretching all the way to Eritrea. There are many peaks over 4,000 metres, and Ras Dashen at 4,620 metres is the highest in the country and the fourth highest in Africa. Here you should see the endemic Gelada or ''Bleeding Heart Baboon'' and if you are very lucky, the Walia Ibex and the Simien Wolf. The park is also famous for its Afro-Alpine flora, meadows and grasslands punctuated by Giant Lobelia and flowering Red Hot Pokers. (BLD)
Today you return to Gondar with a visit to the former Felasha or Bait Israel Village at Wolleka on the way.
Gondar was the Imperial Capital from the 17th to 19th Centuries. Here you visit the Royal Enclosure or Fasil Gibbi, which gives you an idea of what it must have been like in its hey day. Within the compound are the castles of the various Gondarene Emperors along with a banquet hall, stables and churches. 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. Although most of Gondar's churches were destroyed in the 1880's, one very fine example survived, Debre Berhan Selassie, with its walls and ceiling completely covered in murals. The angels' faces on the ceiling of the church have become a common motif in Ethiopian Design. Gondar is the perfect place for experiencing Ethiopian tradition of Azmari Music, where a couple of wandering minstrels entertain their listeners with songs about life, the world and their audience. (BLD)
This morning you are taken to the airport for your flight to Lalibela, where on arrival, you will be met and transferred to your guesthouse for two nights. At the end of the 12th and start of the 13th Centuries, King Lalibela of the Zaghwe Dynasty built a series of rock hewn churches - the ''New Jerusalem'' as he called it - now rightly acknowledged to be one of the Wonders of the World.
After checking in to your guesthouse you will visit the churches which are divided into two groups, the division being the River Yordanos or River Jordan. (BLD)
After breakfast you set off by mule or on foot to the Church of Ashetun Mariam. Enroute you pass through villages and there are wonderful views of the surrounding countryside from the top of the mountain where the church is located. You return to the guesthouse for lunch before heading off by road to the cave church of Yemrehane Christos, built by the king of the same name before the reign of King Lalibela. The church is constructed inside a cave, in Axumite Style, similar to the church at Debre Damo, with alternating levels of wood and stone.
You return to your guesthouse in Lalibela for the night. (BLD)
Today you fly to Axum, your home for two nights. 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 it's own coinage and had its own alphabet and notational system and was considered in the 4th Century to be one of the four great powers of the ancient world.
After lunch you start your tour of this fascinating area with a visit to the museum and stelae followed by a visit to the Caslte of King Kalab, passing Mai Shum (Bath of the Queen of Sheba) on the way. On your return to town you will see the Tomb of King Basen, visit the small museum inside the church grounds and end the day with a visit to the site known locally 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, next to which is the church of Abune Aftse, one of the "9 Saints" who did much to spread Christianity in Ethiopia.
During today's drive you come to the top of a hill where 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. Afterwards you return to your hotel in Axum for the night. (BLD)
This morning you are taken to the airport for your return flight to Addis Ababa, where you connect with your flight to Nairobi.
On arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya, you are met by your guide and taken to your city hotel for the night.
After breakfast you are driven to Lake Nakuru National Park where you arrive in time for lunch. After lunch you undertake a leisurely game drive which takes you through Lake Nakuru National Park, famous for its pink flamingoes. (BLD)
After breakfast you depart from your lodge and drive to Masai Mara. Here you undertake the first of many safaris. (BLD)
Today you undertake morning and afternoon games drives in this spectacular game reserve, all with superb photographic opportunities. Blessed with a permanent water supply, Masai Mara has a permanent population of plains game including some of the "Big 5" - Elephant, Buffalo, Lion and Leopard which can be quite common. (BLD)
After breakfast you depart from your lodge with a picnic lunch for the drive to Serengeti. Today you cross the border between Kenya and Tanzania. After clearing customes and immigration, you are driven to your lodge in the Serengeti. The landscape of the park, with its low vegetation and vast seas of open plain, is ideal for game viewing. Famed for its annual migrations of Wildebeest, Zebras and Gazelles, which are tracked by an impressive array of predators sunch as Lions, Leopards, Cheetahs and Hyenas, you are in for a thrilling few days of game viewing. (BLD)
You spend the day game viewing in this wildlife paradise which is Tanzania's largest national park and one of the largest nature reserves in the world. (BLD)
You say farewell to the Serengeti as you drive to Ngogongoro Crater - one of the Wonders of the World and a designated World Heritage Site. Your luxurious lodge, with its excellent cuisine, has commanding views, probably the most breathtaking in East Africa. (BLD)
This morning you leave early in your game viewing vehicles and descend the 670 metres to the Crater floor below for a fantastic day among Africa's "Big 5" Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino and Buffalo and other wildlife. Following the visit you drive down the side of the crater to Lake Manyara where you spend the next two nights. (BLD)
Today you undertake a game drive in the Lake Manyara National Park. This park is located between the wall of the Great Rift Valley and Lake Manyara and is famous for its tree climbing lions, herds of elephants and hot spring waters (Maji moto). (BLD)
Following breakfast you are driven, via Arusha, to Amboseli National Park, in Kenya. Situated at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, Amboseli is famous for its herds of elephants and stunning views of Kilimanjaro on clear days. In the afternoon you undertake another game drive in search of elephant, lion, giraffe, buffalo and much more. (BLD)
You spend the day exploring this interesting park and if weather permits, viewing Mt Kilimanjaro. (BLD)
Today you have a morning game drive in Amboseli National Park before making your way back to Nairobi. On arrival in Nairobi you are taken to the airport where your safari comes to an ends. (BL)
Please note: At all of the places visited outside of Addis Ababa, the best hotels are used but they are fairly basic and would be considered as two-star, except in Addis Ababa. The meals offered are also fairly basic outside of Addis Ababa. Itinerary may vary due to road conditions in the areas being visited.
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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