Rufus Reade Tours

3 November Leave London Heathrow at 2000hrs on the bmi flight to Addis.

4 November Arrive Addis around 7. (alt. 2400m) and transfer to our hotel for breakfast. Day trip to see the viewpoint at Entoto. Drive back to Addis Ababa for overnight at the Embilta Hotel.

5 November Catch the early morning flight to Lalibela (altitude 2630m). After transferring to our hotel, we'll begin to explore some of these 13 amazing rock hewn churches, set amidst a craggy mountain landscape. Overnight in Lalibela at the Roha hotel.

6 November In the morning we can drive a short way out of the town to the Church of NaKuta La'ab where it nestles inside a large cave. There will be time to return to the churches at Lalibela so that you can see them in different light. Overnight in Lalibela at Roha Hotel.

7 November Fly to Gondar (alt. 2120m). After a simple lunch, visit the Royal Castle Compound with 17th century castles (all built by different rulers) and Debre Birhan Selassie, the one remaining ancient church from the Gondarian period, famous for its angel ceiling and the murals of Bible stories. You may like to end the day with a drink on the hotel terrace with views over the town. Overnight Goha Hotel, Gondar.

8 November Drive the three hours (130km) to Bahir Dar (alt.1880m), passing some interesting outcrops of volcanic cores. We may pause at a local market. We'll stay in the Hotel Tana with its lakeside location. Overnight Lake Tana Hotel.

9 November Early morning visit by boat on lake Tana to a monastery on the Zege Peninsular. Afternoon visit to the Blue Nile Falls with an optional circular walk of about 2 hours. Return to the Lake Tana Hotel for our second night.

10 November Fly to Axum (alt. 2130m.) Settle into Hotel Yeha, then start to visit the town's many historic sights: the stellae park, the tombs of Kaleb and Gebre Meskel, Church of St Mary Tsion, Erzana's stone in the small park and the new museum. First of three nights in the Yeha Hotel.

11 November We'll visit the ruins of Axum including the Queen of Sheba's Palace, and later walk between the stone field walls to visit the monastery of Pantaleon. Overnight Yeha Hotel.

12 November Axum is a market town, as well as an important religious centre. The Ethiopian Church house the Ark of the Covenant in a secluded church: although no one may see this ancient relic which is said to date from the time of Solomon, the area around the church conveys the importance of this place. Overnight Yeha Hotel.

13 November All day drive to the area of the Gheralta. On the way we will pause in Yeha and in Adua. In the centre of Yeha village is a remarkable two and half thousand year old temple with walls still standing to a good height. The mountains of Adua are breath taking! And it was here that the Italian army suffered a terrible defeat at the hands of an Ethiopian army in 1896. First of three nights in the Gheralta Lodge

14 November The Gheralta Lodge makes a wonderful base to visit the Gheralta area whose remarkable churches and monasteries date from the 13th,14th and 15th centuries. These are living churches which are still supported by the local communities. Overnight Gheralta Lodge.

15 November Although the Gheralta churches are not as imposing architecturally as the Rock hewn Churches of Lalibela, Their positions, often hugging the tops of mountainous outcrops, towering nearly 2500metres above the plains more than make up for this. Our Lodge makes the perfect place to rest for the day or you may want to continue seeing the remarkable churches in this area close to Eritrea. Overnight Gheralta Lodge.

16 November Drive to Mekele seeing more churches on the way. In Mekele we'll have one night at the Abraha castel Hotel.

17 November Check-in for our flight to Addis. There should be time in the afternoon for shopping for curios and coffee in Addis. After dinner and we'll have a late evening check-in for our flight.

18 November Fly with bmi from Addis to London Heathrow.

The slide show on this page shows images from Ethiopia. Click on the arrow and let the 7 slides reveal themselves!