Transfer from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to the old world charm and modern comforts of the Panafric Hotel. Relax by the pool, use the gym or just rest and enjoy the sunshine

After breakfast you will be transferred to JKIA in time to catch a scheduled flight to Addis Ababa. On arrival you will be transferred to the hotel for overnight.

Transfer to airport to fly to Bahir Dar. On arrival check in to hotel then later, Boat trip on Lake Tana to visit the 13 monasteries. After lunch drive to visit the Blue Nile falls known as Tiss Abay [water that smokes]. Back to Bahir Dar for overnight.

Fly to Gondar, visit the 17th century magnificent castles registered as world heritage by UNESCO, the swimming pool of King Fasil, churches, and city tour. Overnight in hotel.

Fly to Axum, the holiest place for Ethiopian Christians and the birthplace of Ethiopian civilization, transfer to a hotel, and visit the Church of St. Mary where the Ark of the Covenant was, and the main Stelae park. Overnight in hotel.

Fly to Lalibela, the place of the amazing eleven rock hewn churches with some being monolithic (carved out of one stone). Overnight in hotel.

Fly back to Addis for your onward tours. Transfer to hotel.

Combine your Ethiopia tour during one of the below festivals;

Timkat-Feast of the Epiphany, 19 January
During the first millennium B.C. and possibly even earlier, various Semitic-speaking groups from Southwest Arabia began to cross the Red Sea and settle along the coast and in the nearby highlands. These migrants brought with them their Semitic speech (Sabaean and perhaps others) and script (Old Epigraphic South Arabic) and monumental stone architecture. A fusion of the newcomers with the indigenous inhabitants produced a culture known as pre-Aksumite.

Buhe-21 August
Bands of small boys call at each house, singing and jostling until they are given some fresh dough (buhe), that is being prepared for baking. In the evening, bonfires are lit outside each home.

Enkutatash -New Year, 11 September
This festival celebrates both the New Year and the Feast of John the Baptist at the end of the long rains in Spring, when the Highlands become covered in wild flowers. Children dressed in new clothes dance through the villages, distributing garlands and tiny paintings. In the evening every house lights a bonfire and there is singing and dancing.

Maskal- Finding of the True Cross, 27 September
Legend has it that the cross upon which Christ was crucified was discovered in the year 326 by Empress Helen, Mother of Constantine the Great. Unable to find the Holy Sepulchre, she prayed for help and was directed by the smoke of an incense burner to where the cross was buried.

In the Middle Ages, the Patriarch of Alexandria gave the Ethiopian Emperor Dawit half of the True Cross in retum for the protection afforded to the Coptic Christians A fragment of the T rue Cross is reputed to be held at the Gishen Marien monastery which is about 70 kilometres to the northwest of Dessie.

Kullubi- Feast of St Gabriel, 28 December
St Gabriel is the Patron Saint who guards over homes and churches. There is a huge pilgrimage to St Gabriel's Church on Kulubi hill, which is on the route from Addis Ababa eastwards, about 70 kilometres before Dire Dawa. Many pilgrims carry heavy burdens as penance, children are brought to be baptized, and offerings are made to be distributed to the poor.