Ethiopia in Style: A Luxury Historic Circuit

Today you explore Ethiopia's vibrant, high-altitude capital privately and at a relaxed pace with your expert guide. You visit the National Museum to meet Lucy, the astonishing 3.2-million-year-old fossil ancestor whose discovery made Ethiopia a cradle of humankind, and the fascinating Ethnological Museum, housed in Emperor Haile Selassie's former palace. You take in the domed Holy Trinity Cathedral, enjoy sweeping views from the wooded heights of Entoto, and, if you wish, browse the vast Merkato market or the city's stylish boutiques and galleries for fine Ethiopian art, silver and coffee. You might pause for lunch at one of the capital's best restaurants and savour excellent coffee in a chic cafe. The afternoon can be as full or relaxed as you like, with time for the hotel spa. Enjoy a fine dinner this evening. Rest well in Addis Ababa.

This morning you fly north to Bahir Dar, the gracious, palm-lined town on the shore of Lake Tana, Ethiopia's largest lake and the source of the Blue Nile, and settle into an elegant lakeside retreat. In the afternoon you enjoy a private boat trip on the calm, beautiful lake, gliding at your leisure to a magnificently painted island monastery half-hidden among the trees, watching fishermen pole home on slender papyrus tankwa craft, and taking in the birdlife and the golden light as the sun lowers, perhaps with refreshments aboard. The serenity and beauty are a delightful contrast to the capital. Back on shore, you relax at your lakeside retreat and enjoy fine dining by the water. This exclusive, tranquil experience of Lake Tana is a highlight of the journey. Rest well in Bahir Dar beside the serene lake.

This morning you visit the spectacular Blue Nile Falls, known as Tis Issat, the Smoking Water, where the great river plunges over a broad cliff in a thunder of spray that throws rainbows across the gorge, reached on a scenic walk amid lush countryside and birdlife. Returning to Bahir Dar, you then take a private flight to Gondar, Ethiopia's romantic seventeenth-century imperial capital, ringed by mountains and often called the Camelot of Africa, and settle into a fine hotel. If time allows, you begin your exploration of its extraordinary heritage in the golden late-afternoon light. Gondar has a grand, atmospheric air, and exploring it privately and unhurried is a pleasure. This evening you might enjoy fine Ethiopian cuisine with traditional music and dance. Rest well amid the fairy-tale grandeur of imperial Gondar, ready for a full day among its castles tomorrow.

Today you delve deeply into the imperial splendour of Gondar with your expert private guide, at a leisurely pace. At the heart of the city, the walled Fasil Ghebbi encloses a remarkable cluster of stone castles, palaces, towers and banqueting halls raised by Emperor Fasilides and his successors, blending Ethiopian and foreign influences into something uniquely beautiful, and you wander among them imagining the pageantry of the court. You visit the serene, tree-fringed pool of Fasilides Bath, still filled once a year for the joyous Timkat festival, and admire the famous ceiling of winged angels at Debre Berhan Selassie church, one of Ethiopia's most beautiful. You may also visit the hilltop palace complex of Empress Mentewab at Kuskuam. With time to absorb the history and romance, the experience is rich and rewarding. Enjoy fine dining this evening. Rest well in imperial Gondar.

This morning you fly to Axum, the ancient and sacred cradle of Ethiopian civilisation in the far north, and settle into the best available hotel in this legend-steeped town. With your expert private guide, you explore its extraordinary treasures at an unhurried pace. You wander the haunting main stelae field, where towering granite obelisks, carved some seventeen centuries ago to mark royal tombs, rise dramatically from the ground, the greatest still standing soaring over twenty-four metres. You visit the chapel said by Ethiopian tradition to hold the Ark of the Covenant, beside the churches of Saint Mary of Zion, explore underground royal tombs, and see the ruins and reservoir linked by legend to the Queen of Sheba. The layers of empire, faith and legend here are profound, especially in the soft evening light. Enjoy dinner this evening. Rest well in ancient Axum.

This morning you fly to Lalibela, the spiritual heart of Ethiopia and the crowning wonder of the journey, perched high in the rugged Lasta mountains, and retreat to a gracious lodge with sweeping views over the peaks and valleys. In the afternoon, with your expert private guide, you begin to explore the astonishing rock-hewn churches at the most beautiful, unhurried time, starting perhaps with the northern cluster, where great monolithic sanctuaries have been carved downward out of solid red rock and linked by tunnels and trenches, still alive with pilgrimage, chant and incense after eight centuries. Experiencing them privately, in the soft golden light, is deeply moving. As the day ends, you might take in a spectacular sunset over the mountains from your lodge. Enjoy fine dining this evening. Rest well in sacred Lalibela, with two full days here still to come.

Today you continue your unhurried, privileged exploration of Lalibela's rock-hewn churches with your expert guide, timing your visits for the most beautiful light and the quieter hours. You explore the southern cluster of sanctuaries, linked by shadowy passageways and adorned with carved crosses and ancient art, and stand before the sublime Bete Giyorgis, the Church of Saint George, carved in the perfect shape of a cross and sunk into a deep pit, the most beautiful of them all. You have time to sit, absorb the chanting and devotion, and understand the deeper meaning of these wonders. Later you enjoy a fine lunch with a view or a private coffee ceremony, and perhaps some time to relax at your lodge. This unhurried immersion in one of the world's great sites is profoundly rewarding. Rest well in Lalibela this evening.

Today you enjoy a final, flexible day in and around Lalibela at a luxurious pace. In the morning you take a scenic excursion to an atmospheric outlying church, such as the remarkable cave sanctuary of Yemrehanna Krestos, older than the town churches and set inside a vast natural cavern, or the mountainside monastery of Asheton Maryam with its panoramic highland views, adding depth and adventure amid beautiful scenery. The afternoon is yours to relax at your lodge, revisit a favourite church in the golden light, enjoy a spa treatment or private coffee ceremony, or shop for fine handwoven cotton, silver crosses and Ethiopian coffee to take home. As the sun sets over the mountains, you savour the peace of this extraordinary place. Enjoy a special farewell dinner this evening, reflecting on your remarkable journey. Rest well on your last night in sacred Lalibela.

After a final, leisurely breakfast and, perhaps, a last quiet moment at a favourite church, you bid farewell to Lalibela and are transferred to the airport for your flight back to Addis Ababa, where a day room and a smooth private transfer await before your onward international departure. You leave having experienced the very best of Ethiopia's historic route in the greatest comfort and style: the vibrant capital and Lucy, the serene private boat trips of Lake Tana, the fairy-tale castles of Gondar, the spectacular Simien escarpment among the geladas, the ancient stelae and legends of Axum, and unhurried, privileged days among the incomparable rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, all with seamless service and genuine warmth. These refined memories of profound wonder and effortless comfort stay with you long after you fly home. Depart already dreaming of a return to remarkable Ethiopia.