Day 01: After breafast we will begin our tour. We first drive north up to Mount Entoto.

In 1881 Emperor Menelik II made his permanent camp there, after remains of an old town (believed to have been the capital of 16th century monarch Lebna Dengel) were discovered, which Menelik too as a divine and auspicious sign. Addis Ababa at between 2300-2500 meters is the third highest capital in world and Entoto is several hundred meters higher-as we drive up the hill there is an appreciable drop in temperature and the air is filled with the scent of the Eucalyptus trees which line the road.

View

From the top, there is a panoramic view of the capital and surrounding countryside Entoto is an important watershed; to the north, water flows to the Blue Nile and on the Mediterranean, to the South of the Awash River and east to Djibouti. Your guide will point out the important landmarks of the city.

Entoto was soon abandoned as a site for the capital- it was cold, difficult to provision and there was a shortage of wood. Empress Taytu was said to have led the move down to the plain of Finfine in 1889, and to have named the new capital Addis Ababa, or New Flower. However, two important structures remain within the old imperial compound on Entoto, the churches of Mariam and the Archangel Raguel. It was in the church of Mariam that Menelik was crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in 1989, and in the small museum in the compound there are various clothes, court and household implements and weapons dating from the period. The church of Raguel is unusual in that it is octagonal, rather than round. There is a first story balustrade around which Menelik like to stroll.

Museum

Leaving the churches we descend to Addis Ababa, stopping off at the National Archaeological Museum. Here visitors can see exhibits ranging from the 3.5 million year old bones of Lucy, from the Axumite and Gondarene periods through to the period of the monarchs Tewodros and Menelik II.

Lunch Break

After lunch we resume our tour with a visit to the Institute of Ethiopian Studies, where we can see clothing from different regions, along with artifacts, household utensils and in a separate section, paintings reflecting the history and culture of the country.

This building was once the Genete Place of Emperor Haile Selassie, and visitors can see his bedroom and bathroom.

Mercato

To finish our tour we proceed to the Mercato, the Largest market area in Africa, where virtually every possible commodity is on sale, from livestock to computers for the visitor good at bargaining, there is a huge selection of Ethiopian arts and crafts.

We now return to our hotel.

Day 02: A leisurely start this morning, we take our flight to Bahir Dar. Ethiopian Airlines insists on check in 2 hours prior to take off. Bahir Dar is an attractive town, well laid out with tree lined avenues and with the blue of the lake in the background.

We arrive in Bahir Dar after an hour flight, and leave immediately for the Blue Nile Falls, some 30 km from the town. A 20 minute walk brings us to the falls themselves, which are at their most spectacular during and after the rainy season (from about June to January). Here the Blue Nile, which contributes 85% of the main Nile flow, starts its long journey to the Mediterranean. (NB Since the new power station was opened at the Falls late in 2003, the water flow has been very much reduced.)

We return to our hotel in time to see the sunset on the lake. The Hotel is situated on the shores of Lake Tana, 68km wide and 73 km long. Tana is Ethiopia's largest lake and is dotted with islands, on many of which are found churches and monasteries, some of which we will visit tomorrow.

Day 03: Today we embark on our boat trip to Gorgora, at the northern end of Lake Tana.

Our first stop will be at the Zeghie Peninsula, which is known for its 14th century, round, grass roofed churches and their magnificent wall murals. We visit two churches, Azowa Mariam and Ura Kidane Mehret, walking through dense forest with lots of bird life, before returning to our boat.
(NB It is about a 20 minute walk, on a fairly uneven path. We could make a shorter walk to the church of Azowa Mariam.)

We then proceed to Narga Selassie, which is situated on the western shore of Dek, the largest island on Lake Tana. This 18th century church was built by the Empress Mentawab, and among the many murals is a representation of the pipe smoking James Bruce, a friend of the Empress.

From here it is a straight run across the lake to Gorgora. On disembarking, if we have time, we can make a quick visit to the restored medieval church of Debre Sina Mariam, before setting off on the hour's drive to Gondar. The road is gravel, but well maintained, and we will pass through a number of villages en route.

Arriving in Gondar we check into the Goha Hotel, situated on a hill with a panoramic view of the town and its monuments, and with great sunsets from the terrace. Occasionally visitor will see the giant Lammergeyer, with its 3 meter wing span, soaring on the air currents by the Goha Hotel.

Day 04: After breakfast we set off on our city tour, breaking for lunch in the hotel at a convenient time.

Gondar was the imperial capital from the 17th to mid 20th centuries, and the Royal Enclosure of Fasil Gibbi, provides visitors with a idea of what it must have been like in its hey day. Within the compound are castles of various Gondarene emperors-extensive renovation is being carried out- along with a banqueting hall, stables and churches. About 2km from the town centre is the bath of King Fasilides, where at Timkate (Ethiopia Epiphany) a nearby river is diverted to fill an area the size of a small swimming pool. Worshippers plunge into the cold water in a re-enactment of the baptism of Christ in the river Jordan.

Although most of Gondar's churches were destroyed during the Mehdist invasion from Sudan in the 1880s, one very fine example, Debre Berhan Selassie, was saved according to the legend, by a swarm of bees which routed the invaders. The walls and ceiling are completely covered with murals- the angels' faces on the ceiling have become a common motif in Ethiopian design.

A good place to end our tour of Gondar is the ruined palace of Queen Mentewab, and the church of Qusquam Mariam, situated on a hill just outside the town.

Mid afternoon we will set off to Kossoye, some 20 km from Gondar, for views of the Simien Mountains, which present perhaps the most dramatic scenery in Africa great volcanic plugs, formed some 40 million years ago and eroded over the aeons into fantastic crags, pinnacles and flat topper mountains, "the chess pieces of the Gods", as one writer described them, tower over precipitious gorges, river valleys and plains stretching all the way to Eritrea. There are many peaks over 4000 meters, and Ras Dashen at 4620 meters is the highest in the country and the fourth highest in Africa.
We return to Gondar late afternoon.
Entertainment

Gondar is a great place for experiencing the Ethiopian tradition of Azmari music, where a couple of wandering minstrels, a girl with strident voice clapping in time to the music accompanied by a man playing a single stringed violin or Masinqo, entertain their listeners with songs about life, the world and their audience. Currently the best place is the Belageru. Overnight Hotel.

Day 05: An early start for the 0900 flight to Lalibela, arriving 0935.

At the end of the 12th and beginning 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. There are 11 churches in the town named after him, with others in the surrounding countryside. All are still in use today.

It is estimated that the churches took 25 years to construct- for the kingdom based on Roha (later renamed lalibela) to have kept a large work force engaged in economically unproductive labor for such a long period means that it disposed of a large economic surplus and was very wealthy. The area then was clearly fertile and agriculturally productive, whereas now deforestation and other forms of ecological degradation have made it barren.

After checking into the Hotel we will start our tour of the first group of churches, returning to the hotel for lunch, and continuing the tour in the afternoon. (The churches are divided into two groups, the division being the River Yordanos or River Jordan). Overnight Roha Hotel.

Day 06: There will be a choice of activities this morning. For the energetic, we set off on mule or on foot to the church of Ashetun Mariam, about 5 hours' round trip. We pass through small villages on the way up and there are wonderful views of the surrounding countryside from the top of the mountain where the church is located. Alternatively, we set 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. A 40 km trip from lalibela followed by a 20 minute hike brings us to this beautiful church, the finest example of its kind in Ethiopia.

After lunch, we can travel a short distance to the cave church of Neakuto’ Leab, and spend some time exploring the town. Overnight Hotel.

Day 07: After breakfast we transfer to the airport for the flight to Axum (0950-1030). 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, had its own alphabet and notational system, constructed great engineering works and dams and which was reckoned in the 4th century to be one of the four great powers of the ancient world. Today the visitor can see stelae(the largest single pieces of stone erected anywhere on the world, it is still not understood how they were transported from the quarry and erected), the tombs and castles of kings, Axum Museum and Mariam Tsion Church, built on the site of Ethiopia's first church. A chapel within the church compound is believed by Ethiopian Orthodox Christians to house the Ark of the Covenant, or the original tablets of Moses (see Graham Hancock's the Sing and the seal).

On arrival we transfer to the  Hotel. We start our tour after lunch with a visit to the museum and stelae, and then ascend a hill to see the castle of king Kaleb, passing Mai Shum (or the bath of the Queen of Sheba) on the way. Coming back into town we will see the tomb of King Basen, visit the small museum inside the church grounds (women are not allowed inside, nor into the 17th century church, but the priests usually bring out some crowns of kings for women visitors to see), and end the day with a visit to the site known locally as Queen Sheba's Palace, although in fact it is of a later date, the villa of an Axumite notable from around the 1st century AD. Overnight at the Hotel.

Day 08: After breakfast we transfer to the airport for the return flight to Addis Ababa. (1050-1420).
Farewell Dinner at Yod Abyssinia traditional restaurant. We leave Yod for the airport and for final departure.