Ethiopia Historical Route

About This Tour

Ethiopia stands apart from every other country on the continent — never colonised, home to its own alphabet, calendar, and coffee ceremony, and guardian of a Christian heritage stretching back 1,700 years. This 9-day cultural expedition follows the Historic Route through the northern highlands. In Lalibela, 11 medieval churches carved entirely from living rock remain active places of worship, their candle-lit interiors echoing with liturgical chants unchanged for eight centuries. In Axum, towering stelae mark the heart of a trading empire that once rivalled Rome, and the Chapel of the Tablet claims to house the biblical Ark of the Covenant. The Simien Mountains — Ethiopia's rooftop — provide the adventure counterpoint: trek along 4,000-metre escarpments in the company of endemic Gelada baboons and Walia ibex, with views plunging 1,500 metres into the lowlands. Between sites, sample injera and wat in roadside kitchens, attend a traditional coffee ceremony complete with incense and popcorn, and absorb a culture that feels genuinely unlike anywhere else in Africa.