Announcing a New Itinerary: Ethiopia 14-Day “Historic North and South Adventure”

The Africa Adventure Company has just posted an updated version of our Ethiopia “Historic North and South Adventure” itinerary on our website.

After one of our employees visited the country in January earlier this year (see Miles Nolting’s trip report), we decided to revise our itinerary to include an exciting new destination. Namely, the Tigray region and its large collection of rock-hewn churches and monasteries! Miles visited the Debre Damo monastery and the churches of Mariam Korkor and Abune Yimata.

For some of these churches & monasteries, half the fun is getting there! For the thrill-seekers out there, you’ll look forward to vertical ascents with only a harness and/or rope to pull yourself up. But for those not so keen on heights or exertion, there are plenty of other options in this region to explore these historic, less-visited churches.

The itinerary also includes a really charming lodge with outstanding, panoramic views of the surround landscape. It’s strange to see an African lodge in a landscape evocative of the American Southwest while eating Italian food prepared by the Italian owners!

The itinerary still includes the classic destinations of Ethiopia’s Historic Route: Addis Ababa, Gondar, the Simien Mountains National Park, Lalibela, and Axum.

Ethiopia still has the same historical and cultural sites that make it a one-of-a-kind destination. The main difference between now and just a few years ago is twofold:

First, many of these destinations are much more accessible by road, and increasingly they are paved. Furthermore, the major cities are all connected via commercial flights; Ethiopian Airlines has proven itself over the years to be an exemplary, reliable airline.

Second, the quality of accommodations has markedly improved, not only in the capital of Addis Ababa (see this Wall Street Journal article), but throughout the areas this itinerary covers.

We at AAC are very excited about Ethiopia’s prospects and hope you will consider taking a trip there, whether as a stand-alone or an historical extension to a traditional safari!