trip details for ethiopian highlands & sudan (EHS)

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Map of Ethiopian Highlands & Sudan (EHS)

is this trip for me?

Route: Khartoum to Addis Ababa or v.v.

Length of Section: 25 Nights

Profile: Discover style trip exploring remote regions. Laid back pace with long stays to explore. Excellent antiquities, trekking opportunities and cultural experiences with local people. Journeys through a part of Africa that is very different but with limited facilities. Climatic variations from cold highlands to hot plains. Spectacular scenery, an ideal trip for the more adventurous traveller.

Adventure Rating: Challenging

Crew: 2 crew, local guides as necessary.

Vehicle: Classic Dragoman truck.

Accommodation: Campsites, wildcamps, hostel/hotel. (35% camping, 65% hotels)

what's included?

Nights 1-3: Sudan & Ethiopian Foothills:

Khartoum & the confluence of the Niles
Explore Omdurman market in Khartoum
Witness the spectacular and totally bizarre Omdurman Whirling Dervishes
Overland through the hot plains of eastern Sudan and the foothills of the Ethiopian Highlands

Nights 4-9: Ethiopian Highlands:

2 night stay and guided tour of Gondar, ancient capital of historic Ethiopia
2 or 3 days for organised guided trek through the Simien Mountains NP

Nights 10-19: Coptic Ethiopia:

2 nights in Axum to experience this historic town with guided tour of its palaces and temples
Explore Tigray rockhewn churches and Debre Demo Monastery
3 nights to comprehensively explore the unbelievable Lalibela churches
Guided tours of the rock churches and monastery and visit to local school at Lalibela

Nights 20-25: The Nile & Addis:

3 nights at Bahir Dar to explore Lake Tana and the island monasteries by boat
Chill out in Bahir Dar and visit the source of the Blue Nile
Day trip out to the huge Blue Nile Falls, second in Africa only to Vic Falls
Overland journey into the immense Blue Nile Gorge
Time to explore the capital city, Addis

notes:

General notes: It is possible to start or finish this trip in Gondar, Ethiopia to avoid going to Sudan. The start and finish date is approx 5 days later.

Rough roads and few western amenities. Because of the areas that we are visiting, the itineraries may well vary from that published. Do not expect the trip to run as published, this is definitely an exploratory style trip.

If you want to see the Whirling Dervishes on southbound trips you must arrive in Khartoum a day early. This event occurs in Omdurman on Friday afternoons.

Kitty does not cover food while staying in hotels and hostels.

This adventure travel holiday will take you overland from Khartoum through to Addis, exploring the historic kingdom of Ethiopia. As overland travel goes, this is pretty much an ultimate. Adventure travel to Africa generally sticks to the Africa safari routes in the East and South of the continent. For the overland traveller, it is a fantastic destination, with few other tourists, (Ethiopia tourism really has not hit the big league), fantastic historic and cultural sites, friendly people and the Blue Nile. Is this a holiday? Yes, an adventure holiday because although we visit amazing places and trek in high mountains, we keep the pace of the journey leisurely and allow time for exploration.

No country in sub-Saharan Africa has a wealth of history that can compare to Ethiopia's. In fact few countries in the world have a historic and religious myths that are taken so seriously. According to Ethiopia's religious history the Ark of the Covenant lies in a church in Axum, the city of the Queen of Sheba. In the Middle Ages, the Christian kingdom of Prester John became a legend, a lost civilisation. You will see the great castles and palaces of Gondar; the rock hewn churches of Lalibela; and the beautiful monasteries on Lake Tana which still house the mummified remains of ancient emperors. What a contrast to the Islamic world of Sudan. Of course, there are stunning landscapes too; the Blue Nile begins in Lake Tana before tumbling down the great Blue Nile Falls into steep gorges and on to Egypt. This trip may not be an African safari holiday, in fact don't expect any wildlife except for the stunning gelada baboon (which you will see while trekking in the Simien Mountains), but it is a great adventure tour.