5-Day Marvelous Tigray Rock Churches

• You'll be collected from the airport.
• Accommodation before the tour starts can be arranged for an extra cost.

Fly to Mekele and Drive Hawzen

After breakfast, we fly to Mekele and drive to Hawzen in the Gheralta Mountains. On the way, we will visit the historic rock-hewn churches of Wukro Cherkos and Abreha We-Atsbeha. Wukro Chirkos is a must-see destination for travelers interested in history, religion, and architecture. Carved from a single piece of rock in the 4th century, this Ethiopian Orthodox church is a testament to the region’s rich religious history. After lunch we will visit Abreha We-Atsbeha Church. Carved entirely out of a protruded sedimentary rock recessed into a continuous chain of mountains, Abraha We Atsbeha is one of the finest of rock churches in Tigrai. It is easily accessible on the main asphalt road 16km Wuqro to Gheralta. The church has a massive cruciform interior, perhaps the largest of the region’s rock-cut churches, and an elaborately carved roof supported by thick pillars and decorated arches. After we visit, we drive to your hotel. You will stay and prepare yourself for tomorrow trekking.

Main Destination:

Hawzen (Town)

Accommodation:

Vision Hotel

• Budget hotel located in Hawzen (Town)

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Non-alcoholic drinks

Visit Abune Yemanta and Korkur Mariaym

In this day, you will visit three churches Abuna Yemanta Guh, Maryam Korkor and Daniel Korkor. Morning we visit Abuna Yemanta Guh, walking for about an hour to commence a steep ascent up the side of the Gheralta massif. This steep ascent soon turn into a climb using foot holds and hand holds chipped into the sandstone rock by the passage of many hands and feet. The climb and the walk along very narrow ledges with sheer drops to the side is not one for the faint hearted. The church itself can be reached by walking out on a ledge one meter wide and with a 200m drop to the left-hand side. At the entrance, there is a small cave and a wooden door built into the rock. Of the three, Maryam Korkor is the most impressive architecturally. Twelve free standing pillars support a huge, high ceiling. Looking at it you could not help but wonder how the architect managed to carve so high from the ground. Afteryou visit drive to hotel.

Main Destination:

Hawzen (Town)

Accommodation:

Vision Hotel

• Budget hotel located in Hawzen (Town)

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Non-alcoholic drinks

Drive to Axum

Drive from Hawzein to Axum via Adigrat and Adwa. For the Ethiopians, the town of Adwa holds huge significance. It was in the hills surrounding Adwa that the Emperor Menelik II inflicted the biggest defeat ever on a colonial army in Africa and saved Ethiopia from colonization. We turn to the town as the base from which to visit Yeha. Yeha is famous for its huge and remarkable temple. According to the 19th-century German scholar Heinrich Miiller, the temple is thought to date back to about seven or eight hundred years before the birth of Christ. The temple is believed to be the oldest standing building in the country. Beside the remarkable temple stands, a church dedicated to Abba Aftse. Abba Aftse was one of the famous nine saints who came to Ethiopia in the 6th century from the eastern Roman Empire to teach the Gospel. The church, sharing the same compound with the temple is rectangular shape. Finally drive to Axum for overnight.

Main Destination:

Axum (City)

Accommodation:

Sabean International Hotel

• Mid-range hotel located in Axum (City)

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Non-alcoholic drinks

Visit Axum

After breakfast, you will start the visit of Ancient City of Axum. you will visit 2000 years old mysterious monolithic Axum Stelae, Queen of Sheba’s palace and bath, Church of St. Mary of Tsion, Axum Museums, and King Kaleb Tomb place, etc. in the ancient city of Axum. After its conversion to Christianity, early in the fourth century, Axum also emerged as an important religious center, site of the country’s most important and revered Church of St Mary of Tsion.
Axum once the capital and a major religious center. It remains the site of quite startling antiquities; the 2000 years old mysterious monolithic stelae, hewn from single pieces of solid granite and carved to resemble multi-story houses, ever worked on by humanity anywhere in the world, subterranean stone tombs high enough to walk in. Other places including ruins of the legendary Queen of Sheba’s palace and bath; special gold-silver-and-bronze currencies; multilingual tablets dating from the time of Christ and much more besides.

Main Destination:

Axum (City)

Accommodation:

Sabean International Hotel

• Mid-range hotel located in Axum (City)

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Non-alcoholic drinks

Fly Back to Addis and Departure

After Breakfast, we make a short drive to Axum Airport for fly back to Addis Ababa. Early in the afternoon, we arrive in Addis Ababa and have time for souvenir shop anything you want to do before departure.
This evening, we enjoy a traditional Ethiopian buffet dinner and local drinks, celebrating our journey through this culturally rich and fascinating country. After dinner, you will have transferred to the Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa for your onward flight, bringing this unique Ethiopia’s Tour Package an end. Thanks for booking our tour package.

Main Destination:

Addis Ababa (City)

Accommodation:

No accommodation (End of tour)

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Non-alcoholic drinks

• Additional accommodation can be arranged for an extra cost.
• You'll be dropped off at the airport.