Slow Travel · Cultural · Family · Private
Around Lake Tana
Monasteries, coffee forest, a village of equals and a forgotten royal lakeshore — the long way from Bahir Dar to Gondar.
The Journey
5 nights, designed around the hours that matter
The classic circuit crosses from Bahir Dar to Gondar in a few hours. This one takes six days over it, circling the lake through the places most itineraries drive past: the Zege coffee forest, the Portuguese bridge below the falls, the weaving cooperative of Awra Amba and the Jesuit ruins at Gorgora.
Places
- Bahir Dar
- Lake Tana
- Zege Peninsula
- Awra Amba
- Gorgora
- Gondar
Tailor-made journey
Priced to your plans
Quoted individually once we know your dates, lodges and group size.
- Duration
- 6 Days · 5 nights
- Best season
- Oct – May
- Group size
- 2 – 8 guests
- Style
- Slow Travel · Cultural · Family · 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 Bahir Dar
Met at the airport, the lakefront at sunset, and dinner by the water.
Day 2
The Zege Peninsula
A private boat to Ura Kidane Mehret, then the shaded trails through Zege's coffee forest linking its monasteries, and back across the lake in the afternoon.
Day 3
Blue Nile Falls & Awra Amba
The falls in the morning and the seventeenth-century Portuguese bridge below them, then east to Awra Amba for the afternoon and a night in the community guesthouse.
Day 4
North to Gorgora
Morning at the Awra Amba looms, then the road north along the lake to Gorgora and the painted church of Debre Sina Maryam.
Day 5
Maryam Gimb & Gondar
The Jesuit ruins at Maryam Gimb and a last boat on the north shore, then the short drive up to Gondar.
Day 6
Gondar & departure
The royal enclosure at opening hour and Debre Berhan Selassie, before an afternoon flight.
What Is Included
- Private vehicle and senior driver-guide throughout
- A private boat for the Zege Peninsula and on the north shore
- A night in the Awra Amba community guesthouse
- Lakeside lodges at Bahir Dar and Gorgora, a hotel in Gondar
- Church, monastery and community entry fees
- Breakfast and dinner daily
Not Included
- Flights to Bahir Dar and from Gondar
- Travel insurance (required)
- Gratuities and personal purchases
Enquire
Make Around Lake Tana 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