Day 1
Arrival and city tour of Addis Ababa
On your arrival, you will be welcomed by our staff, then transferred to your hotel. The name of the capital city of Ethiopia in Amharic (the national language of Ethiopia) means “New flower”.
Addis, which was founded in 1886 by Menelik II, is located 2,500 metres above sea level in one of the highest parts of Entoto mountain chain (3,000 metres above sea level). It enjoys an excellent climate all year round, with an average temperature of 25ºC.
Addis Ababa is a pleasant city with side avenues of jacaranda trees, interesting museums and one of the largest open-air markets in Africa, known as the “Merkato”. It also has a good number of restaurants, hotels and discotheques. A tour of the city will be provided upon request – depending on your energy levels after your long-haul flights!
Day 2
Drive to Jimma (345 kms)
An early morning departure for Jimma, via Weliso, where the local people practice a unique culture, particularly in the ways they prepare their food and build their houses.
We will also visit a village of the Gurage people. Once in Jimma, we will visit local coffee farms, deciding for ourselves who makes the best coffee.
Day 3
Drive to Keffa
Today we journey to Keffa to visit local coffee farms. Keffa is the original source of coffee arabica, and again you will be able to assess which farm makes the best coffee.
Day 4
Day trip to Bebeka
From Keffa we drive to Bebeka where we visit the largest coffee farm in Ethiopia, testing out the best coffee, before driving back to Jimma.
Day 5
Drive to Awassa (450 kms)
Today we will visit Sidama and Yirga Chefe, both major coffee arabica production areas, before travelling on to Awassa.
Day 6
Awassa – Yirga Cheffe (121 kms)
Drive to visit Yirga Cheffe area coffee farms and coffee union to check out the best coffee, before returning to Awassa for the night.
Day 7
Drive to Adama (186 kms)
After a relaxed breakfast, we will leave for Adama, otherwise known as Nazreth. En route, we will stop at Lake Ziway which offers visitors an excellent blend of nature and culture. Hippos and birdlife abound.
Day 8
Drive to Harar (325 kms)
After breakfast, we drive to Harar, a walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is one of the holy towns of Islam in Africa, considered “the fourth holy city” of Islam, and the capital of a minority region within Christian Ethiopia.
Day 9
Excursion in Harar city
We will spend the day exploring this fascinating city, which, because of its Islamic adherence, is quite different to most Ethiopian cities.
Harar contains 82 mosques, three of which date from the 10th century, 102 shrines and a number of traditional, Indian and combined townhouses with unique interior designs, which constitute a spectacular part of Harar’s cultural heritage.
The present urban layout follows the 16th century design for an Islamic town with its central core occupied with commercial and religious buildings and a maze of narrow alleyways with imposing facades.
A long-standing tradition of feeding meat to spotted hyenas also evolved during the 1960s into an impressive night show for tourists.
Day 10
Drive back to Addis Ababa (510 kms)
Today we drive back to Addis Ababa, dropping you off at your hotel or the airport.
