Northern Ethiopia

Northern Circuit holidays in Ethiopia see you travel around four key cultural and historic destinations: Lalibela, Axum, Gondar and Bahir Dar on the shore of Lake Tana, as well as the Simien Mountains. This is the most sought after tourist route in Ethiopia; read on to find out why

Ethiopia’s Northern Circuit, sometimes called the Historical Route, is by some distance the most impressive tourism itinerary in Ethiopia. Across Bahir Dar, Gondar, Axum and Lalibela there lies an extraordinary trove of historic and cultural treasures, from beautifully preserved ancient monasteries to monolithic churches and vast, mysterious obelisks.

The route is frequently supplemented with time in the wider and relatively little known Tigray region from Axum, including the rock-hewn churches around Wukro and the battlefield of Akwa. Gondar is within easy reach of the magnificent Simian Mountain range making the national park a natural add-on to the circuit, and it can also be appended with tours to the game reserves and lakes of southern Ethiopia, such as those in Ethiopia’s section of the Great Rift Valley.

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