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Spiritual Roots Tour

A 15-day overland journey along the northern historic route: Lake Tana’s island monasteries, Gondar’s castles, ancient Axum, the rock churches of Tigray and the wonders of Lalibela.

15 days

Northern historic route

History & faith

Private & tailor-made

Overview Highlights Itinerary FAQ Contact

About this tour

Faith, empire and the northern historic route

For centuries, the Ethiopian Empire, led by its own King of Kings, ruled the highlands of Ethiopia, drawing its legitimacy from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, an ancient faith that became the state religion in the 4th century. The historic route is a journey through this dramatic history, letting you imagine the past and experience a highland culture closely linked to its faith.

Travel to Axum, the centre of the ancient Aksumite civilization, and on to the rock churches of Tigray carved into the sandstone of the Gheralta mountains. Explore the castles, royal baths and churches built by Ethiopia’s kings in Gondar, and the isolated monasteries on the islands of Lake Tana. The journey covers some 2,000 kilometres by road, so you also see the countryside, mountains and everyday life in between the historic sites.

Trip facts

Duration15 days

Best timeOctober – March

DifficultyEasy, with long driving days

DistanceAbout 2,000 km by road

Start / endAddis Ababa

StylePrivate, tailor-made

Highlights

What you will see

Lake Tana & Blue Nile Falls

Island monasteries and the thundering Blue Nile Falls.

The castles of Gondar

Fasil Ghebbi, the 17th-century royal enclosure.

Debre Birhan Selassie

Gondar’s church famous for its ceiling of painted angels.

Axum & St. Mary of Zion

Ancient stelae and the church said to hold the Ark of the Covenant.

Priests & manuscripts

Ancient liturgy and illuminated manuscripts in remote churches.

Rock-hewn churches of Lalibela

Two full days among Lalibela’s extraordinary churches.

Also on the route: Debre Libanos monastery, the Blue Nile Gorge, the Yeha temple, Debre Damo, the rock churches of Gheralta and Wukro, Asheton Mariam, Na’akuto La’ab and Lake Hayk.

Sample itinerary

Day by day

A 15-day example. We adjust every itinerary to you.

Day 1 · Arrival in Addis Ababa

Arrive in Addis Ababa and transfer to your hotel.

Day 2 · Addis Ababa to Bahir Dar

Drive north to Bahir Dar, visiting Debre Libanos monastery and crossing the Blue Nile Gorge on the way.

Day 3 · Bahir Dar & Lake Tana

Visit the Blue Nile Falls, then take an afternoon boat trip on Lake Tana to island monasteries dating back as far as the 14th century.

Day 4 · Bahir Dar to Gondar

Drive to Gondar and visit the 17th-century royal enclosure of Fasil Ghebbi and the Baths of King Fasilides.

Day 5 · Gondar

Visit the 17th-century church of Debre Birhan Selassie, famous for its painted ceiling, and in the afternoon the Beta Israel village of Wolleka outside Gondar.

Day 6 · Gondar to Axum

Drive the scenic road past the Simien Mountains, through the Tekezé River gorge and along the dramatic cliffs of Tigray to Axum.

Day 7 · Axum

A full day in Axum: the famous Aksumite stelae, archaeological sites, the bath and palace traditionally associated with the Queen of Sheba, the tombs of the kings and the church of St. Mary of Zion, where, according to tradition, the Ark of the Covenant is kept.

Day 8 · Axum to the Gheralta mountains

Drive to Gheralta, visiting the ancient temple of Yeha, one of the oldest standing structures in Ethiopia, and the rock churches of Debre Damo and Abuna Aregawi on the way.

Day 9 · Gheralta to Mekelle

Drive to Mekelle, visiting more of Tigray’s rock churches on the way, including Wukro Cherkos and the monumental church of Abreha we Atsbeha.

Day 10 · Mekelle to Lalibela

Drive to Lalibela on the scenic road through Sekota.

Day 11 · Lalibela

A full day in Lalibela: the Asheton Mariam monastery and the first cluster of rock-hewn churches.

Day 12 · Lalibela

Visit the second cluster of rock-hewn churches, and in the afternoon the cave monastery of Na’akuto La’ab.

Day 13 · Lalibela to Kombolcha

Drive to Kombolcha, visiting the monastery of Hayk Estifanos on Lake Hayk on the way.

Day 14 · Kombolcha to Addis Ababa

Drive back to Addis Ababa, stopping at a local Oromo or Afar market on the way.

Day 15 · Addis Ababa

A full-day city tour with museums, churches and local markets, followed by a farewell dinner. End of the tour.

Reviews

What our travellers say

      EXCELLENT  
   Based on 94 reviews 
    
 
 
 
   
 
 
       Posted on Tripadvisor  
    Dessislava M 
 
 
 
 Verified Amazing!
Perfect organization! Very kind and helpful people! They are professionals, and you can be sure with them! Good hotels, comfortable cars, exellent drivers and guides! We were happy every day!
  
 
      Posted on Tripadvisor  
    Stasys M 
 
 
 
 Verified From historical Lalibela to vibrant soutern tribes
Icredible trip: beutiful nature, fiery people. Well organized. Competent and helpful gides.
  
 
      Posted on Tripadvisor  
    Regina R 
 
 
 
 Verified Highly recommended
Our group chose this company based on recommendations. It fully met our expectations. The accommodation was selected at a high level. The drivers and guides are professional. I can confidently recommend it.
  
 
      Posted on Tripadvisor  
    Giedrius_19 
 
 
 
 Verified Two weeks trip in Ethiopia
Very interesting and full of impressions 14 day trip. Visited North and South Ethiopia. Well organized and managed. Schedule is quite tough so you have to be in good shape.
  
 
      Posted on Tripadvisor  
    Loreta M 
 
 
 
 Verified Colorful Ethiopia
We visited northern and southern Ethiopia. The tour was organized perfectly. Habtu was constantly asking how we were doing. We thank him and the Vast Ethiopia team for a great time.
  
 
      Posted on Tripadvisor  
    Zbigniew M 
 
 
 
 Verified Rock-hewn monasteries, nature and black Africa.
The overall impression of our private 15 day stay in Ethiopia is really good. We've founf what we expected most: living ancient history,monasteries and a visit to Natives in the South. Axum offers the great place of holy monuments, the morning processions held there are exquisite. Do not miss Balthazar's tomb. Wildlife; we were happy to ser hipos and crocodiles in natural environment. The Natl Museum in Addis is a must-see. We found the smartest and knowledgable guides in Gondar and Axum. Local flights and ca drives were ok. Roads are bad, yet this was not a surprise. Best hotels on our route were located in Lalibela and Gondar. Do visit this vibrant, unpretentious and friendly country. Zbyszek Miśkiewicz
  
 
      Posted on Tripadvisor  
    Leah O 
 
 
 
 Verified Amazing trip with vast Ethiopia tours!! Highly recommend!
Our family of 6 traveled with VAST Ethiopia tours in March 2024 and had an amazing experience! We visited Addis Ababa and then took a trip through the southern region of Ethiopia, including Bale Mountains NP, Dorze Village Arba Minch, and Hawassa. The guides were skilled, knowledgeable, and incredibly helpful. We loved every minute of it.
  
 
      Posted on Tripadvisor  
    osmoreno68 
 
 
 
 Verified Unforgettable and unique Ethiopia. Magic and diversity in one country
We have made a group of 30 people an unforgettable trip through the North and South of the country. It's all been very interesting. The North with its gem La LIBELA and the interesting places of Gondar and Simiens Mountains. And in the south the amazing wonders of the HAMER, DASSENECH, KARO and MURSI tribes along with the KONSO and DORCE people...With Vast we have not had any problems and we have made the trip as planned in the program... fulfilling the agreed and always trying the best for the group. It is the second time we have done ETHIOPIA in a group and for another one!!!!
  
 
      Posted on Tripadvisor  
    Kevin S 
 
 
 
 Verified A great team! Book with them
For many years, I’ve had dreams of visiting Ethiopia. Finally, that opportunity arose for us in May, 2024.I asked friends for recommendations and we were pointed to Habtu Marye and Vast Tours. And we were lucky to find them.I spent some time online researching the things I wanted to see. But being the local experts, I relied on them to take our list, put it in the most logical order, and then they even added some things that I didn’t realize would be important for our visit.We had four full days in Addis. A short time considering everything there is to see in the country. We realized we had to limit ourselves. We spent three days in Addis and one day we headed out of town with Debre Libanos as our destination goal.We were partnered with Abay as our guide and Tesfaye as our driver. They were a great team and we thought we were fortunate to have them. They shared a wealth of knowledge about the sites we were visiting, took us places regular tourists never would have seen, and even gained entrance to several sites otherwise closed when we were there.we felt safe with Abay and Tesfaye. We were cared for. And they took us to restaurants offering wonderful local foods. We believe we saw everything we could in the short time we were on the ground. Of course, there still is a vast country beyond what we saw but that comes with a future visit.Without a doubt, I would use this tour company again and specifically the staff. And you know, that’s the strongest recommendation I can give!
  
 
      Posted on Tripadvisor  
    Karim 
 
 
 
 Verified Best Agency for Planning Ethiopia Trip
My wife and I compared several agencies before booking. We found Vast to be the most responsive, most affordable, and most complete. Habtu and the Vast team planned our two week Ethiopia trip and were flexible in adding and removing activities although the schedule was already very complete. I am happy to say the trip was incredible. Vast takes safety first and prioritizes customer safety. The hotels we stayed at were always the best in the city we would visit. our trip was suitable for all ages and we will be recommending Vast to all travelers who want to visit Ethiopia!

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Spiritual Roots