Day 1: Bahir Dar and Lake Tana
A flight from Addis Ababa to Bahir Dar, followed by a boat trip on Lake Tana, source of the Blue Nile, to visit one or two of its island and peninsula monasteries, some dating back several centuries and holding notable religious manuscripts and mural paintings.
Day 2: Blue Nile Falls, on to Gondar
A morning excursion to the Blue Nile Falls, known locally as Tis Issat, or "smoking water" – still an impressive sight in the wetter months despite reduced flow from an upstream dam. An afternoon flight continues to Gondar.
Day 3: Gondar's castles
A full day touring Fasil Ghebbi, the walled royal enclosure built from the seventeenth century onward, whose castles show a distinct blend of local, Portuguese and Indian architectural influence. A flight to Lalibela follows in the afternoon.
Day 4–5: Lalibela
Two full days across Lalibela's two main church clusters, each carved directly down into the surrounding volcanic rock. Bet Giyorgis, cut in the shape of a cross and set apart from the others, is usually kept for a slower final visit.
Day 6: Axum and departure
A flight to Axum for a morning among its ancient granite stelae – some over twenty metres tall – and a visit to the Church of St Mary of Zion, which many Ethiopians believe holds the Ark of the Covenant, before the return flight for departure.
