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Tour

Somaliland and Ethiopia Tour

Take a visit with us to a country that doesn’t officially exist; Somaliland, and a country that has long struggled to shake off its media image of poverty and famine; Ethiopia.

Itinerary

  1. Day One

    Arrive in Addis Ababa

    • Arrive in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. Our driver will transfer you to the airport. Spend the day at leisure.

    • For those taking our Danakil extension trip, the group will arrive from Semera in the evening and be transferred to the hotel.

  2. Day Two

    Tour of Addis Ababa

    • Full-day tour of Addis Ababa. In the morning, we will visit the National Museum to view many other historical relics, including Lucy, the world’s oldest humanoid skeleton, dating back over 3 million years. Afterwards, we head to St George’s Cathedral before stopping for lunch and sampling some Ethiopian coffee—arguably the best in the world!

    • Move on to Holy Trinity Cathedral after lunch to see the tomb of Hailie Selassie before going to the Red Terror Martyrs Museum, a place to hear accounts of the torture and killing carried out by The Derg, the military junta during the late 1970s.

    • Evening at leisure.

  3. Day Three

    Dire Dawe

    • 05:30 departure for Dire Dawe by minibus.

    • Stop mid-way through the journey at a local roadside restaurant for lunch.

    • Arrive in Dire Dawe around 15:30 and check into our hotel.

    • Spend the rest of the day at leisure, relaxing in the outdoor swimming pool or going for a stroll around the city.

  4. Day Four

    Dire Dawe Tour

    • Tour the Dire Dawe Railway Museum, a great site which is partly still in use. The station was built over 100 years ago and has barely changed; most of the original French-built machinery is still functional.

    • Visit the khat, camel and spice markets. Watch the locals sit in the sun, chewing their khat without a care, and take in the overpowering smells of dried chili being crushed down into a powder.

    • Stop for lunch before taking a private minibus to Harar.

    • Arrive in Harar and check into the Heritage Plaza Hotel.

    • Take the rest of the day at leisure—with an option to feed some hyenas in the evening!

  5. Day Five

    Harar City

    • Tour the UNESCO-listed city of Harar. We’ll see the colourfully dressed local women, wild eagles circling the butchers’ shops, fresh coffee being processed, and khat being made into a paste to make tea.

    • Visit the tomb of Sheikh Abadir, the Arthur Rimbaud Centre, City Gates, Ras Tafari’s House, Ras Makonnen’s Palace, Jamia mosque and the Smugglers Market.

    • Evening spent at leisure, with the option of going to a local bar and club.

  6. Day Six

    Journey to Hargeisa 

    • Off to the unofficial country of Somaliland we go! We’ll take a three-hour journey to the Somaliland border, pass border control, meet our Somali guide and then drive a further two hours to the capital, Hargeisa.

    • We’ll head to the livestock market where we’ll witness the spectacle of people trading hundreds of camels and other livestock.

    • Afterwards, we’ll take a short walking tour of the city centre, where we will see moneychangers with their piles of Somaliland shillings, the bustling bazaar, the national museum and the MIG Monument.

    • The evening will be spent at leisure.

  7. Day Seven

    Laas Geel cave paintings

    • After breakfast, we’ll journey to see the Laas Geel cave paintings—ancient art created between 9000 BC and 3000 BC. They are some of the best-preserved cave paintings in the world and were only discovered by the Western world as recently as 2002 by a French archaeological team.

    • We’ll then continue to the coastal city of Berbera, where we’ll have free time to relax. The hotel is near a private beach where dolphins and turtles can regularly be spotted.

  8. Day Eight

    Berbera and Sheikh

    • In the morning, we will have a walking tour of Berbera to view some of the English and Russian colonial architecture, before heading to the seafront to view the bombed and abandoned ships that remain from the Somalian Civil War.

    • Next, we’ll journey into the picturesque Sheikh Mountains, where we’ll enjoy breathtaking views and tranquil surroundings.

    • We’ll continue on the road back to Hargeisa where we’ll spend the night.

  9. Day Nine

    Dhagax Khoure

    • Today we’ll head to Dhagax Khoure on the west side of Hargeisa, home to more famous rock art. We’ll enjoy panoramic views of the surrounding landscapes as we explore the area.

    • We’ll pass through small semi-nomadic communities and villages to see everyday life, before returning back to the capital for our final night of the tour.

  10. Day Ten

    Tour Ends

    • We’ll transfer to the airport for our onward journeys.

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