3 Days Meskel Festival Package-Addis Ababa City Tour/Debre Libanos Monastery

What's Included

Meeting and pickup

Itinerary

Day 1
Trip To Debre Libanos & Blue Nile Gorge (September 25)
2 stops
1
Debre Libanos Orthodox Church
Debre Libanos is an important monastic center for Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity. The monastery was founded by the renowned 13th century mystic, St Teklehaimanot. Before driving back to Addis, we will stop at the Jemma River Gorge. The Jemma River is one of the tributaries of the Nile, and there is a drop of nearly 1000 metros to the valley below. We will walk downhill to the 17th century Portuguese Bridge. Here we can expect to see plenty of birdlife including the Banded Barbet, the Black headed forest oriole, the White billed starling, the Red Billed starling, the White winged cliff chat, the White backed black tit, white cheeked Turaco and Hemprich's hornbill.
2 hours • Admission ticket included
2
Portuguese Bridge
Portuguese bridge near Debre Libanos was erected by the Portuguese in the 16th century; it was actually built at the turn of the 19th century by Ethiopians, albeit in the old Portuguese style. The narrow span makes a pretty picture and the gushing (in the rainy season) cascade just below it is even more impressive. We will also see one of Ethiopia's endemic mammals, the Gelada or bleeding heart baboon. Leaving the Gorge we drive back to Addis Ababa.
2 hours • Admission ticket included
Day 2
Addis Ababa City Tour and Meskel Festival (September 26)
4 stops
3
Mount Entoto
We offer the city walking or car with driver/guide where you’ll meet the local and visit all the best sightseeing with coffee and lunch breaks on your way, which will lead by a tour guide, as an escort. Start the day looking down on Addis Ababa from Entoto Mountain, the capital of Ethiopia before Addis Ababa. Here you will have panoramic views of the city with fresh air from the eucalyptus forests.
2 hours • Admission ticket included
4
Addis Ababa Museum
After the Entoto Hill visit, proceed down to Addis Ababa via Shiro Meda, the city’s largest market for traditional clothes and campus of Addis Ababa University to the ethnographic museum, with great displays of the many cultures of Ethiopia, housed in the former palace of Haile-Selassie. You will then continue with a visit to the National Museum, where Ethiopia’s oldest resident, Lucy, is housed. Before you head to Mercato, you will visit the Red Terror Museum and receive a tour in English from a survivor of the Red Terror. It was
2 hours • Admission ticket included
5
Mercato Market
Finish the day with shopping in Mercato, the local marketplace which is said to be Africa’s largest open-air market. All the guides are experienced and great storytellers and, more importantly, are fully qualified and experienced in the history of art and the history of Addis Ababa. Highly recommended!
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission ticket included
6
Meskel Square
The Meskel celebration includes the burning of a large bonfire, or Demera, based on the belief that Queen Eleni, as she is known, had a revelation in a dream. She was told that she should make a bonfire and that the smoke would show her where the true cross was buried. So she ordered the people of Jerusalem to bring wood and make a huge pile. After adding frankincense to it the bonfire was lit and the smoke rose high up to the sky and returned to the ground, exactly to the spot where the Cross had been buried. For over 1600 years, Meskel has been celebrated in Ethiopia and it is probably the most important festival after the Timkat. Meskel celebrations commemorate the discovery of the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified by St. Helena, mother of Constantine the Great.
3 hours • Admission ticket included
Day 3
Trip to Adadi Mariyam, Tiya and Melka kunture (September 27)
3 stops
7
Tiya World Heritage Site
The tour starts with a pick up from airport or your hotel, and then drive to Tiya Stelae. This full day excursion southwest of Addis Ababa gives visitors the chance to visit archeological sites as well as the intact rock-hewn church of Adadi Mariam. Believed to be constructed the famous king Lalibela.
2 hours 10 minutes • Admission ticket included
8
Melka Kunture
At Melka Kunture Archaeological site we have a chance to see (nearly 2 million year old) discovered fossils of prehistoric age . The Stone tools in the area dating 1. 5 million years old.
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission ticket included
9
Adadi Maryam
Adadi Maryam is easily visited en route to Tiya, along with the Melka Kunture Prehistoric Site, where a museum documents the many important fossils and Stone Age artifacts uncovered there. Leaving the Church and we drive back to Addis Ababa. End of Service.
2 hours • Admission ticket included

Additional info

• Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
• Service animals allowed
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Specialized infant seats are available
• Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels

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