Have a full day city tour of Addis Ababa mainly to visit Merkao market which is the biggest outdoor market not only in Ethiopia but in Africa. At Merkato, visit the interesting cultural pockets of the market such as the Spice Market, the False Banana Tree Market, the grain market, the dairy products market, and the second-hand items market. Then, visit the National Archaeological Market (where the fossil remains of Lucy (3.25 mil years old) is kept in), and before lunch drive to Mount Entoto to have a panoramic view of the city and to visit the oldest church in Addis Ababa. You will have lunch at one of the best traditional restaurants of the city where you will taste variety of delicious Ethiopian meals. Then, head to a local family house in Addis Ababa where you will take a food preparation class to learn how to prepare Enjera - the Ethiopian national bread which is prepared from tiny grains called Teff. Then, drive on the main streets of Addis Ababa to see the palaces, the buildings of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the building of the HQ of the African Union, Meskel Square, and other major landmarks of the city. O/N - Sidama Lodge Read more

Sidama Lodge

Drive 180 km south of Addis in the Ethiopian part of the Great East African Rift Valley via the town of Butajira visiting the interesting and still active church of Adadi Mariam which was hand cut out of a single piece rock in the 13th Century AD by King Lalibela, and the Steles of Tiya (UNESCO World Heritage Site). This site is a cemetery where about 40 huge blocks or rocks are decorated with carvings and erected in honor of local warriors in the 14th Century AD. At Tiya, you will also have ethnic food preparation class to learn how the locals make bread and porridge from Enset or False Banana Tree. Late in the afternoon, walk in the shores of the Rift Valley Lake of Ziway to see some low land water birds. O/N - Haile Resort Hotel Read more

Haile Resort

Early in the morning, you may take picture of the beautiful sun rise behind the lake, and after breakfast, take about an hour boat ride on Lake Ziway to see families of hippos, and visit the "Birds' Island" which is the breeding ground of birds like Marabou Stork, Spoon Billed Stork, Sacred Ibis, etc Then, with a lunch break at the other Rift Valley Lake of Langano (the only lake in the Ethiopian Rift suitable for swimming as it is Bilharzia - free), we drive 100 km south to Awassa. Along the way, you will have a game drive in the Abiyatta-Shalla Lakes National Park to see Ostriches, Grant's Gazelles, Warthogs, and enjoy the great view of the Rift Valley Lakes of Abiyatta and Shalla. Late in the afternoon, enjoy the great sun set over Lake Awassa, and walking by the shores. O/N - Lewi Resort Hotel Read more

Lewi Resort Hotel

In the morning, visit the "Fish Market" of Lake Awassa. It is a popular place where the locals gather to have breakfast of fresh caught raw and fried fish, and see the rare Black and White Monkey - the Colobus Monkey. Then, with a lunch stop at Sodo, and visiting one of the villages of the Alaba people who are famous for their huge huts which are decorated with beautiful artistic paintings. Late in the afternoon, from the balcony of your hotel room, enjoy the great view of the twin Rift Valley Lakes of Abaya and Chamo, the natural forest where about 40 springs the town Arba Minch named after found in, and the land connecting the lakes which is locally known as "The Bridge of Heaven". O/N - Paradise Lodge Read more

Paradise Lodge

In the morning, drive 45 km to Chencha in the Goge Mountains to visit the villages of the Highlander Dorze people. The Dorze are noted for their cultivation of Enset or the False Banana Tree, their colorful hand woven cotton clothes, and their huge huts made of bamboo trees. The bamboo huts, which look like the face of an elephant, are about 12 meters high when first made, and they get shorter with time as termites eat the bottom. As such, locals have to adjust the length of their gates. Then, after lunch at Arba Minch, drive for about half an hour to the Rift Valley lake of Chamo where you will have a remarkable boat ride of an hour to see big African Crocodiles, families of hippos, and various low land water birds. Then, drive back to Arba Minch for overnight. O/N - Paradise Lodge Read more

Paradise Lodge

Morning drive back the same way to Lake Langano, and have a relaxing afternoon which you may spend in swimming, water sports, bird watching, horse back riding, and the beautiful sun set over the lake. O/N - Sabana Lodge

Sabana Lodge

In the morning, take a food preparation class with the Oromo tribal people to learn how they make their typical porridge from powder of barley, and butter which is known as "Chiko", and drive back to Addis Ababa with a stop at one of the crater lake of Bishoftu. In Addis, you will be my guest at one of the best traditional Ethiopian restaurants of the city where you will taste varieties of delicious Ethiopian meals and enjoy LIVE dance shows of the different people of the country. End of tour Read more