Tailor-made travel agency in Ethiopia

Ethiopia can be visited almost year-round, though the calendar deserves some nuance. The dry season, from October to March, remains the most comfortable window for exploring the historic circuit in the north — Lalibela, Gondar, Aksum, the monasteries of Lake Tana — and for venturing into the Danakil Depression, where heat remains extreme at any time. The rains of July and August, sometimes dreaded, nonetheless transform the Simien highlands into vast green expanses, ideal for trekking if you're willing to accept occasional showers. January is also the month of Timkat, one of the country's most beautiful Orthodox festivals. For the Omo valleys, the end of the dry season is preferred, when the tracks become passable again.

Traveling in Éthiopie is not as affordable as one might sometimes imagine. Distances are vast, the road network is uneven, and many major sites — Lalibela, the Simien, the Danakil — involve domestic flights, 4x4s, or specific permits. Budget on average 130 to 180 € per day and per person for a guided circuit with full board, English-speaking guide, driver, and comfortable accommodations. Logistical expeditions like the Danakil or treks in the Balé push this budget higher, while a more contemplative stay around the churches of Tigray or Lake Tana remains more moderate. Domestic flights on Ethiopian Airlines, at reduced rates for those arriving on the carrier, significantly ease the expense.

Ethiopia cannot be approached as a mapped-out country. Southern tracks shift with the rains, religious festivals move across the Coptic calendar, and certain areas — Danakil, Omo Valley, the Eritrean border — require permits renewed case by case. Based in Addis Ababa since 2004, our English-speaking local agency knows these realities from the inside. Anna, Teshu and our team of guides and drivers build each itinerary directly, without intermediaries, with partners we have worked with for twenty years: host families in Tigray, muleteers in the Simien, fishermen on Lake Tana. This proximity transforms the nature of travel. It also ensures that a fair share of the benefits returns to the communities that open their doors to you.

A first trip often follows the historic circuit of the north: the monolithic churches of Lalibela, carved into rock in the 12th century, the castles of Gondar, the stelae of Aksum, the monasteries lost on the islands of Lake Tana. For those who love hiking, Simien Park and its geladas, or the heather forests of Bale, offer some of Africa's finest treks. Further south, the Omo Valley brings together Hamer, Mursi, Karo and Dassanech peoples, in landscapes where travel still moves at a slower pace. And then there is the Danakil, with its salt lakes, sulfurous fumaroles, the Erta Ale volcano — another world, best reserved for travelers ready to embrace the heat and rustic conditions.