Historical Tour Packages in Ethiopia:
Ethiopia is probably the country in Africa if not in the world with most ancient history and discoveries. The most important unbelievable Ethiopia historical tourist attractions such as ancient steles, monuments, rock-hewn churches and castles are located in north Ethiopia. The ever-changing, colorful and fascinating landscapes of the northern Ethiopia leave you impressed. We only see a fraction of the greatest historical landmarks once existed on the earth. Fortunately, many of the historical landmarks of Ethiopia that we have today have survived incredible circumstances ranging from warfare, national disasters and just from extremely old.
Our Ethiopia historical tour packages take you to:
- The rock-hewn Churches of Lalibela which took its name after King Lalibela who built it and revolutionized architecture in Ethiopia and the world by constructing this unbelievable rock-hewn church. Most Ethiopia tours suggest this sightseeing. At Lalibela, one will have a chance to see one of the finest examples of the greatest architectural achievements of its time. Lalibela is the most famous place of interest of all the other Ethiopia tourist attractions.
- Axum where the first Ethiopian kingdom, the Axumite Kingdom was founded in north Ethiopia some 3,000 years ago and one can see ancient historical churches and some of the most important archaeological sites ever discovered in the world’s prehistory.
- Bahir Dar which hosts historical artifacts and objects dating back to 750 years in its monasteries on Lake Tana.
- Gondar which was home for most of Ethiopian past emperors. The most important attractions in this place are the 17th century Castles of King Fasiladas and other icon rich monasteries.
- The Wall of Harar to see the largest concentration of mosques in a single place in the world, historical museums, one of the most hospitable people in Ethiopia, the colorful markets of the city and the hyenas of Harar and the "hyena men" who feed them and who are famous and one of the "musts" for any visitor to the old walled city. This sightseeing is located in east Ethiopia unlike the above ones. If you are nature lovers and history enthusiasts, we hope our Harar and Lake Wonchi tour packages meet your interests.
Ethiopia historical tours
Ethiopia historical tours: A two day trip to Lalibela
PETHT 01
Well, Churches rose to the sky in Europe, in 12th century Africa they were being carved out of the ground. In the highlands of central Ethiopia in the 12th century, King Lalibela, a new king from a new dynasty built a new holy capital. He built 11 monolithic churches by carving down into the rock using primitive tools. Lalibela is a religious state, spiritual center that would rival Jerusalem. These churches were unique in their construction. They embody an ideal typical of the century to remodel nature to match a vision. Today, Lalibela’s legacy lives on in the physical splendor of the churches and their traditions of their guardian priests. Churches with no wood, no cement and no mud---you can not find anything like this in the rest of the world. On holy days priests carry on their heads replicas of the tablets of the Ten Commandments.
The first European to describe Lalibela, Francisco Alvarez, came to the holy city of Lalibela between 1521 and 1525. Travelers have tried to put into words their experience, praising it as a “New Jerusalem”, a “New Golgotha”, and the “Christian Citadel in the Mountains of Wondrous Ethiopia”. The inhabitants of the monastic township of Roha-Lalibela in Lasta Woreda, province of Wollo, dwelling in two-storied circular huts with dry-stone walls, are unable to believe that the rock churches are entirely made by man. They ascribe their creation to one of the last kings of the Zagwe dynasty, Lalibela who reigned about 1200 A.D.
Before the throne of Ethiopia was restored to its rightful rulers, Lalibela’s pious zeal converted the royal residence of the Zagwe in the town of Roha into a prayer of stone.
Fly to Lalibela, the centre of worldly might, where pilgrims to shares the same blessings as pilgrims to Jerusalem.
Coming to Lalibela you will find an atmosphere of mystery. Approaching the village in a vehicle from the airport you may just catch a glimpse of a group of churches.
The rock churches reflect the blending of Axumite tradition and early eastern Mediterranean Christianity.
Visitors agree in describing Bete Giyorgis Church, the Church of Saint George to be Lalibela’s “most elegant” and “refined” in its architecture and stonemasonry.
There are three basic types of rock churches in Ethiopia:
1) Built-up cave churches which are ordinary structures inside a natural cave (Yemrehana Krestos Church near Lalibela is an example of this style).
2) Rock-hewn cave churches which are cul inwards from a more or less vertical cliff face, sometimes using and widening an existing natural cave (Biete Abba Libanos in Lalibela).
3) Rock-hewn monolithic churches which imitate a built-up structure but are cut in one piece from the rock and separated from it all round by a trench. Most churches of this type are found in or near Lalibela (Bete Medhane Alem, Bete Maryam, the Church of Saint George in Lalibela, and others). Nowhere else in the world are constructions of this particular kind found.
Ethiopia historical tour Itinerary – PETHT 01
TOUR CODE | DURATION | SITE | TRANSPORT |
PETHT 01 | 2 Days / 1 Night | LALIBELA | AIR |
Detailed itinerary Day 1: ADDIS ABABA – LALIBELA |
Ethiopia historical tours: A two day trip to Harar
PETHT 02
Harar is a difficult city to classify. It’s the fourth holiest city of Islam. This city houses almost 100 mosques within its walls, the largest concentration per square kilometre in the world. For centuries Harar was the key point for trade between Ethiopia and the Somalia’s coast. To safeguard its identity and commercial supremacy, Harar was closed to the unfaithful until 1854 when Richard Burton succeeded in entering the long city of Harar where he remained for 10 years as a guest of the Sultanate of Harar. It was the perfect place to immerse himself completely in the myth of the east.
Rimbaud, a famous French poet also lived here for several years. This French poet was a genius who said everything he had to say before the age of 20. Then he abandoned poetry and the literary life of Paris to embark upon African adventure. Today, his house in Harar is a museum.
Harar is a paragon of religious coexistence. This city was founded between the 7th and 11th centuries and emerged as the center of Islamic culture and religion in the Horn of Africa. Today its historic center looks much the same as it would have been 100 years ago. People here for the most part live in harmony with the hyenas. Harar as the 4th holy city of Islam, was one of the places that consequated the study of calligraphy. Its calligraphers were put to use in philosophy, medicine and poetry.
While you are in the 16th century walled city of Harar, the Mecca of Africa, you will have a chance to visit the historical city of Harar which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016. You need to take some of the most important alleys to visit the mosques. For your information, there are 368 alleys in just one sq km in this same place. In today’s activity, you will also have a chance to meet the locals and visit their traditional houses, visit some museums and colorful local markets. In the early hours of the evening you will also have a chance to meet the man who lives with hyenas.
Ethiopia historical tour Itinerary
TOUR CODE | DURATION | SITE | TRANSPORT |
PETHT 02 | 2 Days / 1 Night | HARAR | AIR |
Detailed itinerary Day 1: ADDIS ABABA – DIRE DAWA – HARAR |
Ethiopia historical tours - A three day trip to Axum & Lalibela
PETHT 03
This tour takes you to Lalibela and Axum, two of the famous Ethiopia historical tourist attractions. Please see booking code PETHT 01 above to learn about Lalibela Here a word must be said about Axumite civilization if only to make clear that it represented but one of the many ancient Ethiopian civilizations – the last and best known.
Axum, the capital of the ancient Ethiopian empire in the north is where one can visit monuments of the pre-Christian period: the most famous are the great sculptured steles. The huge sculptured steles of Axum are the most splendid expression of the degree of development attained by this civilization in the third century or at the beginning of the fourth century A.D. They are square, solid, strongly built, and impressively sited; the ground plans strictly geometrical. They express great power. Axumite achievements display great uniformity of character.
This tour takes you to Axum which ruled over a prosperous and influential kingdom during a time that many scholars believe it was a golden age for the African civilization and whose kines were the first to issue gold coins when few other kingdoms and empires in the world could do so in such quantity. and best known.which ruled over a prosperous and influential kingdom during a time that many scholars believe it was a golden age for the African civilization and whose kings were the first to issue gold coins when few other kingdoms and empires in the world could do so in such quantity.
Ethiopia historical tour Itinerary
TOUR CODE | DURATION | SITE | TRANSPORT |
PETHT 03 | 3 Days / 2 Night | AXUM - LALIBELA | AIR |
Detailed itinerary Day 1: ADDIS ABABA – AXUM To conclude, your full day sightseeing tour of this city includes:
Day 2: AXUM – LALIBELA |
Ethiopia historical tours
PETHT 04
We have packaged visits to the most famous historical tourist destinations of Ethiopia and have added a number of other locations making for attractive historical tours that are today very popular with both locals and visitors.
Participating in these historical tours to the region of north Ethiopia will allow you to enjoy views of and visit to places such as: Bahir Dar, Gondar, Axum, Mekele, Lalibela, Simien Mountains National Park and other wonders of the region. Aside from cultural and historical tours, for which Ethiopia is globally renowned, we offer a variety of exciting tours and activities that showcase Ethiopia’s other wonders. Our 11-day Ethiopia Omo Valley tour packages, which is suitable for both nature lovers and culture tourists, combines a visit to Awassa, Arba Minch, Jinka, Turmi & Bale Mountains National Park. You can contact us to discuss and confirm available tour packages.
How to get there: You can reach all these places on direct flights from Addis Ababa or connecting flights between the cities or by surface or by a combination of surface and air.
TOUR CODE | DURATION | SITE | TRANSPORT |
PETHT 04 | 16 Days / 15 Nights | BAHIR DAR – GONDAR – SIMIEN MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK – AXUM – MEKELE – DALLOL & DANAKIL DEPRESSION - LALIBELA | SURFACE & AIR |
Detailed tour itinerary Day 1: ARRIVE ADDIS ABABA |
Check on our a 6 days and 5 nights Ethiopia historical tour packages and a 9 days and 8 nights Ethiopia historical tour packages to get detailed itineraries on a fraction of our optional historical tours and enjoy your holidays with your family and friends at all the memorable historical places of the country in Paragon Ethiopia Tours.