Experience beautiful scenery and ancient churches carved into the sandstone cliffs, this is a must visit part of the country and is a great location to strike out on foot to explore the great walking trails.

During your time in the Tigray region, you’ll stay at a charming eco-lodge situated next to the village of Megab. The lodge is surrounded by the natural beauty of the Gheralta Mountains within easy reach of all the historical sites.

Visit ancient churches in the company of your private guide – scale the rock face to be rewarded with spectacular views before you explore the churches, some that house sacred medieval artefacts and paintings thousands of years old.

Of Lalibela's 8,000 - 10,000 people, over 1,000 are priests. Religious ritual is central to the life of the town, with regular processions, extensive fasts, crowds of singing and dancing priests.

Home to one of the world's most astounding sacred sites: eleven rock-hewn churches, each carved entirely out of a single block of granite with its roof at ground level.

Astonishingly, the churches of Lalibela were not constructed, they were excavated. Each was created by carving a wide trench on all four sides of the rock, then painstakingly chiselling out the interior. The largest church is 40 feet high, and the labour required to complete such a task with only hammers and chisels is astonishing. The churches have been in continuous use since they were built in the 12th century.

The religious architecture and simplicity of life gives the town of Lalibela a distinctively timeless, almost biblical atmosphere.

The national park covers an area of approximately 2,150 square kilometres and rises to over 4,000 meters high to include the highest peak in the southern Ethiopian highlands. During your time in the mountains you will explore the many trails on foot with your private guide. 

Staying in a private mobile camp with your guide and camp team, the time in the mountains will get you off the beaten track with some great walking in remote areas. 

The mountain range is home to many of Ethiopia’s endemic animals including the Ethiopian Wolf, Bale Monkey and Giant Mole Rat.

On arrival in the Omo Valley you’ll be staying at the delightful Lale’s Camp, located on the banks of the Omo River. The camp named after its proud Kara tribesman owner, Lale, has created many jobs for the Kara community since its renovation. 

The Omo Valley is cohabited by a colourful mix of tribes practising a mixture of pastoralism, small scale cattle herding and subsistence agriculture. The Karo are expert body painters, using clays and locally available vegetable pigments. Hamar women wear their hair in dense ringlets smeared with mud and clarified butter and topped off with head-dresses of aluminium. The men mould extravagant ochre mud caps.

The lip-plate Mursi are some of Africa's remotest and original of tribes. This culture will not last forever as they are gradually becoming exposed to western values and materials. However, the Mursi are quite simply one of the most bizarre and fascinating of tribes, with their heavy clay lip plates worn by the women and colourful ochre paints and adornments.

Head north out of the Omo Valley flying back to Addis for your final night ready to depart. 

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