Slow Travel · Private
Sacred Waters & Coffee
Island monasteries by boat, then south into the forest understorey where wild Arabica coffee still grows.
The Journey
6 nights, designed around the hours that matter
The least demanding of our itineraries, built for guests who want depth over distance. Water, forest, ceremony, and very little time spent driving. Best outside the heaviest highland rains of July and August.
Who this is for
Travellers who want a private 7 Days journey through Lake Tana, Kafa, Bonga Forest, reshaped around their pace.
What this is not
Anyone expecting a rigid large-group package that cannot change once booked.
Tailor-made journey
Priced to your plans
Quoted individually once we know your dates, lodges and group size.
- Duration
- 7 Days · 6 nights
- Best season
- Oct – May
- Group size
- 2 – 8 guests
- Style
- Slow Travel · Private
Final pricing depends on season, room category and group size. No deposit is taken until the itinerary is right.
Day by Day
The itinerary, as it usually runs
A working draft rather than a fixed schedule — we move days around for weather, festivals and how you are feeling.
Day 1
Arrive Addis Ababa
A cupping session in the roastery district to set the palate before the journey begins, then an early night ahead of the flight north.
Day 2
Bahir Dar & Zege
A morning flight to Bahir Dar, then a private boat across Lake Tana to the Zege Peninsula — coffee forest trails between monasteries, and Ura Kidane Mehret's painted interior at a quiet hour.
Day 3
Island monasteries & Tis Issat
Manuscripts shown by resident monks on a second island visit, then the Blue Nile Falls in the afternoon light before an evening on the lakeshore.
Day 4
South to Kafa
A return to Addis and the road west into the Kafa Biosphere Reserve, arriving at a forest lodge as the canopy cools.
Day 5
Wild coffee understorey
Walk the forest where Coffea arabica still grows without cultivation, harvest and roast with a farming family, and a ceremony that starts from the berry rather than the bag.
Day 6
Bonga & the forest villages
A second day among smallholder gardens around Bonga, cupping green and roasted samples side by side, with the night back under the trees.
Day 7
Addis & Departure
The drive or flight back to Addis, a walk through Merkato with a local chef if time allows, and an evening departure.
What Is Included
- Domestic flights and all private transfers
- A private boat charter on Lake Tana
- A farm-to-cup coffee immersion in the Kafa forests
- Two nights beside Lake Tana, three at a forest eco-lodge, one in Addis
- Breakfast and dinner daily
- A guided cupping session in Addis Ababa
Not Included
- International flights and Ethiopian visa fees
- Travel insurance (required)
- Coffee purchases and shipping home
Enquire
Make Sacred Waters & Coffee yours
Send us your dates and we will confirm availability, quote precisely, and suggest the two or three changes we would make if it were our own trip.
Runs Oct – May · 2 – 8 guests · priced to your plans
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Speak With a Designer
Questions before you enquire?
Altitude, road time, how hard the walking really is, whether the children will cope. Ask us anything — a designer will answer honestly.
Or call us directly on +1909-450-7246