Nine centuries of stone at Lalibela. Then the road to the lava.
What a Danakil convoy really costs and when operators stand it down. Whether Lalibela is worth its own flight. Which day out of Addis Ababa reaches the gelada cliffs and is back before dark. Reviews of every tour you can book in Ethiopia.
Addis, the gorge, the Danakil, the road north.
First trips land in Addis Ababa and are up in the highlands inside a week. These four decide the shape of the rest of it, and what each one costs.
01The first morningFull Day Tour of Addis Ababa with Hotel Pickup and Drop-offEntoto, the Merkato lanes and the museum where Lucy is kept, with pickup from the hotel so the altitude does the walking for you.
02The day out of townDay Trip From Addis Ababa See Historical Monastery,Stunning Nature,Animals,BirdsNorth to the monastery on the gorge rim, with the Portuguese Bridge and the Blue Nile canyon on the way back.
03The one you plan around3 Days Danakil Depression TourThree days below sea level: the salt flats, the sulphur at Dallol, and a night on the crater rim at Erta Ale.
04The whole north6 Days tour Package (Simien Mountains, Lalibela, and Danakil Depression)Simien escarpment, the Lalibela churches and the Danakil in one six-day run out of the capital.
Addis Ababa first, then the towns the historic route strings together.
A capital at 2,300 metres holding the country’s museums and its best kitchens, a church town cut out of red rock, castles on a Gonder hilltop, the monasteries out on Lake Tana, the Rift Valley lakes at Arba Minch, and the Tigray town where the salt road starts. Six bases, and the best day out from each.
Danakil, Omo, Simien: pick the expedition first, then build the days around it.
The trips people come to Ethiopia for take days rather than hours, and they run on convoys, park scouts and permits arranged before you land. This is what boarding each one costs.
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01
The Danakil DepressionSalt flats, the sulphur at Dallol, a night above the lava.
from $300 -
02
The Omo ValleyThe southern circuit through Konso, Jinka and the river villages.
from $500 -
03
The Simien MountainsEscarpment ridges over 3,000 metres, gelada troops on the edge.
from $165 -
04
The historic routeBahir Dar, Gonder, Axum and Lalibela on one loop.
from $472 - All 309 tours in Ethiopia →
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 3 Days Danakil Depression Tour
Addis Ababa is a base as much as it is a city.
The capital sits high enough that the first morning is for going slowly: the National Museum, the Merkato lanes, a roof with the whole plateau under it. After that the good days are all drives. Debre Libanos and the gorge, the stone tools at Melka Kunture, the crater lake at Wenchi, the juniper forest at Menagesha.
- 1Debre Libanos, Blue Nile Gorge, and Cave Tourfrom $94
- 2Addis Ababa Guided City Tour With Airport & Hotel Pick Upfrom $55
- 3Full-Day Private City Tour of Addis Ababa
The days out more travellers take than anything else in Ethiopia.
Every tour in Ethiopia →City mornings, gorge drives and salt-flat expeditions, and what earns each of them its slot.
1
Full Day Tour of Addis Ababa with Hotel Pickup and Drop-off
Spend 6 to 7 hours seeing Addis Ababa with hotel or airport pickup, a driver-guide, and a shared air-conditioned minivan. Visit Lucy at the National Museum, explore Mercato, climb Mount Entoto, eat at historic Taitu Hotel, and see St. George’s Cathedral. Guides such as Luel and Desale are available depending on the departure.
From · $69
Read our review →
2
Taste of Ethiopia
from $102
3
Day Trip From Addis Ababa See Historical Monastery,Stunning Nature,Animals,Birds
from $90
4
Debre Libanos, Blue Nile Gorge, and Cave Tour
from $94
5
Addis Ababa Guided City Tour With Airport & Hotel Pick Up
from $55
6
Breathtaking Nature, Wildlife and Cave Church Tour – Free Pickups
from $80
7
Full-Day Private City Tour of Addis Ababa
8
3 Days Danakil Depression Tour
from $450
Three things that happen in Ethiopia and nowhere else.
Old churches and high mountains turn up everywhere. Churches quarried downwards out of solid rock, a lava lake you can stand over, and a grass-eating monkey at 3,500 metres do not.
The Churches of Lalibela
Eleven churches were quarried out of the red volcanic tuff in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, roof first, then hollowed out from the inside. Bete Giyorgis stands alone in a pit shaped like a cross. The whole complex is a working parish, not a ruin: priests, pilgrims and services that start hours before the first visitor is awake.
- 1Visiting Lalibela churches★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 40 reviews
- 2Visit the rock hewn churches★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 39 reviews
- 3Ethiopia Tigray Tours: Guided tour of Tigray rock hewn churches★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 36 reviews
Dallol and the Erta Ale Lava Lake
The Danakil lies more than a hundred metres under the sea and is the hottest inhabited place measured anywhere. Dallol is a field of sulphur and potash salts in yellows and acid greens. Erta Ale, further south, holds one of the few permanent lava lakes on earth. Trips move in convoy with permits and a local escort, and the crater is walked at night.
- 13 Days Danakil Depression Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 135 reviews
- 23 Days Danakil Depression Tours Via Semera★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 47 reviews
- 312 Days SIMIEN MOUNTAIN-LALIBELA-DANAKIL-TIGRAY CHURCHES★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 45 reviews
The Simien Geladas
The Simien escarpment falls away a thousand metres in a single step, and along the top edge live the geladas, the last of the grass-eating primates. Troops a hundred strong graze a few metres from the path and pay you no attention at all. The park requires a scout, treks start from Debark, and the high camps sit above 3,600 metres.
- 112 Days SIMIEN MOUNTAIN-LALIBELA-DANAKIL-TIGRAY CHURCHES★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 45 reviews
- 26 Days tour Package (Simien Mountains, Lalibela, and Danakil Depression)★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 32 reviews
- 3Danakil Depression, Lalibela, Omo Valley and Simien Mountains★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 23 reviews
What a day, and a week, in Ethiopia actually costs.
Every tour on the site grouped by price. A morning in the capital costs less than dinner at the hotel; the salt road and the southern circuit are a different order of money entirely.
City mornings, the museum and Merkato walks, coffee ceremonies and cooking classes.
The long drives out of the capital: Debre Libanos, Wenchi, Tiya, and the shorter treks.
- 1Taste of Ethiopiafrom $102
- 2Day Trip From Addis Ababa To Debre Libanos & Portuguese Bridgefrom $100
- 3Addis Ababa Guided City Toursfrom $100
The Danakil convoys, the Omo circuit, Simien trekking and the full historic route.
- 13 Days Danakil Depression Tourfrom $450
- 23 Days Danakil Depression Tours Via Semerafrom $420
- 312 Days SIMIEN MOUNTAIN-LALIBELA-DANAKIL-TIGRAY CHURCHESfrom $1,641
What is left when the kiremt rains close the highland roads.
From late June into September the rain arrives every afternoon. The dirt roads into the Simiens and down towards the Omo turn to mud, highland flights slip, and the walking gets miserable. Addis Ababa works straight through it. This is the season for kitchens, coffee, the Merkato lanes and the museums.
Four Ethiopian bookings that cannot be sorted out on arrival.
Most of a trip here can be rearranged over coffee the night before. These four run on permits, park scouts, pilgrimage dates and village market days, and none of them move for your flight.
- 013 Days Danakil Depression TourDepartures move in convoy with permits and a local escort arranged in advance, and operators stand the route down through the hottest months.
- 0212 Days SIMIEN MOUNTAIN-LALIBELA-DANAKIL-TIGRAY CHURCHESBeds and flights into Lalibela go early around Genna in January, when the pilgrimage fills the town.
- 0312 Days SIMIEN MOUNTAIN-LALIBELA-DANAKIL-TIGRAY CHURCHESThe park will not let you walk in without a scout, and the trek is put together before you reach Debark.
- 046 Days Omo Valley Tribes Tours From Addis AbabaThe southern villages hold their markets on fixed weekdays, so the departure date decides what there is to see.
Addis, Bahir Dar, Gonder, the Simiens, Lalibela, Mekele: the loop most first trips follow.
Addis Ababa
Bahir Dar
Gonder
Lalibela
MekeleBy place, capital to highlands
By kind of day, on foot, in a convoy or at the table
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