Bahir Dar, “the gate to the sea”, is a pleasant city on the bank of lake Tana, where, according to the local tradition, the source of the Blue Nile is located. Lake Tana is 9,600 square metres in size and the largest lake in Ethiopia. Its 37 islands house some twenty secluded monasteries, bearing witness to an ancient mystical tradition. Many of these antique monasteries are decorated with magnificient paintings and frescoes from the heyday of the Gondar era. In addition, the monasteries contain artistic and religious objects from all over Ethiopia, which were brought there over the course of the centuries in order to protect them from invading forces.
According to legend, the Ark of the Covenant itself was housed in the church of Tana Qirqos during the return voyage of Menelik I, along the road from Jerusalem to Aksum.
Some of our proposals to discover this area rich in nature and history:
Essential tour in the North of Ethiopia with internal flights that allows to travel in a fast and comfort way the big distances that separate the monumental sites, realising the trip in the chronological direction. [...]
Complete tour to North Ethiopia by ground transportation that allows to appreciate the variety and width of unique Ethiopian plateau sceneries. Two internal flights enable to reduce the transfer time from Addis Abeba. It’s the [...]
Complete tour to North Ethiopia with all transfers by surface, allowing a complete experience of the variety and width of unique Ethiopian plateau sceneries. It’s the ideal combination for slow-travel lovers enjoying not only the [...]