Travel information on Security & Safety for visitors in Ethiopia

Category Archives: trek

Sunset at Shimbrety guesthouse

Tesfa Means Hope

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Berhe enjoys a coffee while sitting with his children

Berhe with his children – Feb23

Over a year ago I went back up to Tigray after the peace accords had been signed and flight services resumed. I met with my good friend Berhe and visited his family. We trekked to all the guesthouses and met with communities.  (More details of this can be found here:- Blog- A new-dawn-for-tigrays-tourism.)

Berhe has been the key person holding the community tourism together for many years, and I have trekked with him across the Agame mountains many times.  He is always positive, thoughtful and forward looking. But when we met 14 months ago – for the first time since conflict had erupted in the north in Nov 2020, he was a different person.

Berhe has written this email for me and to share with our supporters :-

.. After I finished my university degree I worked for Tigray culture and Tourism Agency for almost one year. Then I moved to an NGO called Adigrat Diocese Catholic Secretariat working as tourism expert and helped to develop eight community based tourism cooperatives. When the NGO I used to work for [TESFA CBT] phased out, I started tour guiding for Mulualem and Birhan Guiding and Travel Agent Partnership [this was the guiding organisation for the community tourism] until Covid and then the war in Tigray.
Before the war I used to had a stable life. I used to cover all my expenses, even I was able to send my kids to private school and save a little bit of money. Then Covid came, followed by the devastating war happened and things changed dramatically. I don’t want to talk a lot about the war. I want to leave bad things behind me and look forward. But to mention one thing, I lost any hope and I was not sure what tomorrow could bring.

The Pretoria peace agreement was signed after two years of bloody war.  Then immediately you [Mark] came to visit us (I wantto thank you Mark for believing in us and you showed up even against all the odds. I know people were telling you not to come over here thinking it is not safe).

Berhe and Mark near Shimbrety in the Agame mats on the Tesfa trek

Berhe & Mark in Agame Mnts

It was then I start to thing life could be easier again. If you remember when we were crossing the villages, people were saying in Tigrigna “Degim Wegihu”,which means “it’s dawn now”.  Those people were right the dawn has come. Since Tesfa Tours start to send tourists again my perception has changed. I start to see hope again. I start to believe my children will eat and go to school again. And that’s what it’s happening right now; though it is not enough but I start to make some money again.
Thank you Mark,  and thank you Tesfa Tours for giving me hope and for trying to give my previous life back again.
Best Regards
Berhe
Sunset at Shimbrety guesthouse

Shimbrety Guesthouse curtesy of Pierre

As Berhe says, he had lost hope! Our discussion for the first days 14 months ago was on how he could leave the country – he was even ready to risk it all with the terrible desert crossing to Libya via Sudan, and then the massive risk crossing the Mediterranean. Of course it was completely understandable. When hope is gone, you are prepared to take risks to find a chance – a glimmer of hope. Thankfully for now, we have been able to provide that. Somehow we showed that the dawn had broken and a new day was slowly and painfully emerging, and with it that hope.

I want to reach out to our supporters and friends. For those who have trekked in Tigray in the last 12 months, or directed friends and family to trek there, I want to say a huge thank you. Without your support we could not have give the hope Berhe refer to. In fact it is you giving the hope by visiting there. For others who have not had the chance to get back to Ethiopia or get up to Tigray I really urge you to try in the coming months. We need to keep this resurgence going.

And I can assure you you everyone visiting Tigray is having a wonderful trip :-

Hi Mark …..sorry for the late mail but after the fabulous week end in the Tigray, the week was very intense…..!!! Thanks for all because it was amazing …..everything was perfect and we enjoy a lot…..for the site, a selection of photos to prove that it was incredible……!!!! Pierre, Feb 2024

Hi. We had a wonderful time. I can’t state enough how beautiful it all was and my son was crying to leave Berhe [who was their guide]. Farzad, April 2024

So while on the one hand you bring hope to a people who have been through too much, on the other hand you will experience a wonderful stay in Tigray as a guest of the local farmers and with our guides (Berhe and his friends) acting as translators in language, culture and so much more, to give you a truly memorable and heart lifting time.

And for those worried about the rain we are experiencing in Addis, Tigray is much drier.  We continue to run treks there during the rainy season as rain is more sporadic with blue skies most mornings and the soil is sandy. I myself enjoy being in Tigray during that time – in addition there are special festivals in August and the beles fruit (the prickly pear) is ripe!

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Raw honey & ambasha bread

Boya Guesthouse is repaired

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Boya Community Guesthouse

Boya Community Guesthouse

Olivia Chapman visits Boya – one of the Tesfa Community owned Guesthouses near Lalibela (all photos taken by Olivia)

“I had the pleasure of visiting Tesfa Tour’s community owned guesthouse in Boya at the end of February this year and despite the structural destruction there is still a sort of magic about the place. The guesthouse was badly impacted by the conflict, with the Tigrayan army using the guesthouse as a base. Once the army left, they attempted to burn the remaining structures and took many materials with them. The community, managed to put out the fires before it was completely destroyed. Since then the community have been unable to make any money of the guesthouse, with tourism at an all time low and inadequate

Damaged kitchen/dining tukul

Damaged kitchen/dining tukul 

structures to hold the few tourist who visited.

However, the community have since received funding from a small and local NGO; Zegoch le Zegoch (ZlZ) who have focused on a new approach to aid in areas that have been affected by conflict. ZlZ’s irsho approach places communities at the centre of the emergency response, seeing them as capable of drive their own development. In line with this, ZlZ have granted the community in Boya 130,000 ETB (around $2,450USD) for reconstruction. The community have already started to fix the site and prepare for tourists to

Children in Boya home

Children in their home 

come again, estimating to be ready within a month or so. With the news that tourists were returning back to Ethiopia and business was picking up, the community members faces brightened.

The community invited us into their houses and offered us so much even though they have so little. This group is the perfect example of resilience, demonstrated by the continued loving approach despite the devastating impact the war had on them and

Raw honey & ambasha bread

Ethiopian hospitality -Raw honey & ambasha bread

their families. They are excited and ready to meet you with the warmest hospitality, as soon as the site is ready and up and running. Get ready to experience the real Ethiopia.”

We since received a call from the community to tell us that all is fixed and they are eagerly waiting for guests.

 

Farmer shaping wood for the doors and windows

Farmer shaping wood for the doors and windows

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UK travel advise for Ethiopia

Lalibela & Gondar get the green light  in UK Travel Advice

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UK travel advise for Ethiopia

UK travel advise for Ethiopia

The UK government have changed the travel advise for Ethiopia’s key tourist sites – Lalibela and Gondar – home to stunning rock hewn churches, and romantic castles. The UK had been advising against travel to these places and to the roads that connect them but this negative advise has now been lifted. 

Along with Bahir Dar and Lake Tana this now means much of the northern historical circuit is in the UK’s ‘green zone’.

Giyorgis church in Lalibela

What does this mean for you? If you are travelling in these areas, your normal travel insurance will cover you. 

We have been arguing for months that the Travel Advice should be relaxed. As I mentioned in previous posts I have visited Lalibela 3 times since January and  felt completely safe and welcome each time. I also visited Gondar once (going on to the Simien Mountains) and also felt safe throughout my visit. This change in travel advice reinforces this view.

We are also really happy that this change means that the community tourism guesthouses in Meket and along the roads that approach Lalibela from the south are now also out of the red. We look forward to more trekkers enjoying this marvelous scenery as hosts of the local farmers.

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Mountain bike in sunset

Great-Ethiopian Homecoming

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Mountain bike in sunset

Outdoor fun in Ethiopia

Following the call by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopian all over the world to join the Great Ethiopian Homecoming Challenge, Tesfa Tours has been working with our partner Tour Companies under the banner of Ride the Rift to develop some exciting tours and offer them at a discounted rate to diaspora.

Ride the Rift Special Diaspora Tours

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We invite you to look at our trips and come and see some of these exiting places with us. Between us we have a huge experience across this beautiful country and would love help you see more.

 

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View from Mequat Mariam Community Guesthouse

Northern Ethiopia begins to return to normal

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The view from Janamora Woreda to Ras Dashen

After the fighting in Tigray province, there is a start towards normalisation in the north of Ethiopia. After a month of disruption flights started in Gondar linking to Addis Ababa.  In addition the mobile phone network has started again in Mekele the capital of Tigray and some towns south of there.

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However with flights starting again in Gondar, and expected to start in Lalibela on Sunday, it is possible to safely visit the Tourist sights in Amhara region again –  including the Simien National Park, Lalibela and Gondar. Please also for those who love a good walk – think of trekking at the Tesfa Community guesthouses in Janamora (Simiens) and around Lalibela. There is something here for everyone. Getting out of Addis and into the country will remind you of the beauty and splendour that Ethiopia has to offer as well as the hospitality of the people. Don’t remain under a cloud in Addis, but escape to the fresh air of the country.

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View of Ankober Lodge

Ride the Rift – sponsored bike ride

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https://bit.ly/3dYxOJs

Tesfa Tours is one of a team of tour operators organising RIDE THE RIFT –

Fancy testing your legs & lungs, and thrill your senses. Cycling up the Rift Valley from the borders of Afar to Ankober Palace Lodge. The object is to raise money for feeelance tourism workers around the country who have had no income for 7 months now.

For those who love cycling, for those interested in visiting beautiful parts of Ethiopia, and for those interested in supporting those whose livelihoods have been drastically affected by COVID-19, please take a look at this upcoming event on the weekend 20th – 22nd November. Please share far and wide with your national and international friends and colleagues. For more information email: ridetherift2020@gmail.com

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The road runs through stunning countryside. Much us asphalt but there is a 5k section of gravel.

#RideTheRift2020. #AwashToAnkober #TravelOutToHelpOut #EthiopianSponsoredBikeRide

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The Tesfa Calendar is ready!

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The new and unique Tesfa Calendar –

runs from Sep 2020 – Aug 2021 (ie Ethiopian Year 2013) is now in its 14th year and is ready!

This calendar is unique in that it details the Ethiopia dates, holidays, saints days, fasts, Islamic holidays and more on to a western calendar month format. This goes along side stunning photos that will make you want to get out of Addis, or fly over from where ever you have the calendar and see this beautiful country. The photos are taken from the Tesfa Community treks across the north of the country (the Agenda has photos from other additional places too).

 The Tesfa Agenda – 1 week to a page

The calendar comes in 3 versions:

Traditional hanging calendar (29.5cm across and 51cm opened hanging down) – 12 months with 13 photos. Donation 250birr.
You can buying this levitra properien download the coupon after submitting the online registration form. We should fight with the monster viagra online free of sexual disorders which are interrupting your sex life. Another symptom is purchase levitra online amerikabulteni.com the need to empty the bladder often during the day. They do not need to disclose viagra 100mg pfizer the problem of ED in men.
Desktop version to fit on your desk (approx 20cm x 17cm) – same

The Hanging Calendar

pages – with photos facing back and dates forward. We ask 150 birr donation for these calendars.

The Agenda (approx 21cm x 15cm) in portrait format, has 1 week to a page and so 53 pages (52.14 weeks a year) – running from Monday to Sunday on one side on easy to write on paper, additional information on the day and with a photo to match on opposite page. Donation 350birr.

We ask a donation to help support the Tesfa communities who have guesthouses around the country hosting visitors enabling them to walk through their beautiful landscapes.  The calendars are available from our offices at Kebena, but we will also have copies at various locations around Addis.

For further information email calendars@tesfatours.com

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Join the Exciting Solar Eclipse Tour – this June in Ethiopia

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A ‘ring of fire’ – how a solar eclipse looks

Witness a ring of fire in the sky over Ethiopia’s Jerusalem

 

“It’s not like night. It’s not like day. It’s not like twilight. It’s like nothing you’ve ever felt before.”

— Rhonda Coleman having witnessed the Great American Eclipse in Aug 2017

There will be a full Annular Solar Eclipse – that is ‘the moon moves in front of the sun and the world goes dark ‘ in Lalibela on the morning of 21 June this year. Nasa’s plotting of the eclipse shows that it will pass directly over Lalibela giving people over 1 minute of full eclipse where the moon almost totally blocks out the

View from Mequat Mariam Guesthouse

sun leaving a tiny ring of fire visible, or possibly what the experts call ‘Baileys beads‘. This climatic moment will be at 8am, although the eclipse will start at about 7am. [This is subject to clear sky where the sun rises, but experts such as eclipsophile.com conclude that is likely to be the case].

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Tabots & incense at Senay Mikael festival

with a very special Saints’ Day when tabots are paraded out of the churches and the priests perform special dances and chants while incense spreads its blessing to all. Two mornings later you will witness this ring of fire in the sky above the sacred churches of Lalibela – built as Africa’s Jerusalem. The ancient landscape will darken for over 1 minute before it emerges out of the moons shadow again.

This will be a very special week – one you will never forget.  There are only a limited number of places on this trip – maximum is 6 people. Per person the price is $1,495. This includes local flights, transport, accommodation, guides and entry fees. You will pay your own lunch and dinner in Addis, Gondar and Lalibela, drinks and tips. We have arranged a champagne breakfast at Ben Abeba to celebrate the eclipse and we will have a celebratory dinner in Addis on the last night.

The trip begins in Addis on Saturday 13 June in the morning with us meeting you at Bole Airport, and it will end on Sun 21st June with us dropping you at the airport in Addis.

For more details see our tour page for this trip by clicking here. Or email us your details. We can also design a custom trip for you.

 

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Passing Gondar, Wild Wheelchair expedition to the Simiens 2019

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Atse Tewedros, Emperor of Ethiopia from 1855-1868, is remembered in Gondar central square.

Atse Tewedros statue, Piazza, Gondar

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Did you spot Tesfa Trek in Selamta Magazine ?

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This was in the May/June issue – but you can read it at your leisure on line (go to page 54) on the link below. Journalist, Terry Adby, who trekked many of the Tesfa trails in the mountains, describes the experience trekking and staying with communities across the Ethiopian highlands.

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https://issuu.com/selamtamagazine/docs/selamta_mj19_issuu

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