Debre Libanos Monastery Tour: Experience Wildlife & Ancient Cave Church in Ethiopia

Embark on a captivating road trip through Ethiopia’s countryside to explore the ancient Debre Libanos Monastery, the Portuguese Bridge, and the stunning Nile Gorge. Encounter wildlife, including gelada baboons, and enjoy breathtaking views of Addis Ababa.

Duration: 8 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Debre Libanos - Founded by Ethiopian Saint Abune Tekle Haymanot, within a steep riverine canyon in 1284, Debre Libanos later became the political centre of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and is where Emperor Lebna Dengal received the first Portuguese mission to Ethiopia in 1520. The Italian army destroyed the original church in a 1937 massacre…
What's Included
  • Local guides
  • Ground transportation including a car, fuel and a driver
  • Pickup and dropoff at any location in Addis Ababa (either Hotel or Airport)
  • Lunch, including a bottle of water and hot drinks
  • Museum and Church Entrance Fees
  • Accompanying English speaking tour guide
What's Not Included
  • Alcoholic beverages
  • Personal expenses
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

As part of this admired roadway journey, you will traverse through stunning pastoral landscapes and observe the authentic Ethiopian lifestyle - agriculturists, rural districts, isolated towns. The trip includes a stopover at the historic Debre Libanos Monastery (including its cave church), the renowned ‘Portuguese Bridge’ constructed in the 1890s, the…

Location
Edna Mall
Cameroon Street
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(196 Ratings)
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879romeok
Dec 12, 2024
A must-do if in Addis Abeba! - Had an amazing time with our tour guide, Abi, and our driver Mush (I'm sorry if I misspelled his name). The pair were a great team in getting us from place to place and informing us about each important site we were seeing along the way. The views were breathtaking, the history: captivating, the food: tantalizing, and the wildlife was so exciting! Absolutely worth the drive! We truly had a good time and it made it all the greater that our tour guide was aware of all the best stops throughout! Highly-recommended tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nicholas_l
Nov 28, 2024
Wonderful day - Great experience in Ethiopia! Teka was a great guide. Loved learning more about the country and the beautiful church.
Review provided by Viator
Greg25or6to4
Nov 26, 2024
Guide Teka and Driver Mussie - I was apprehensive about my long weekend in Ethiopia. The country is simply not geared for tourism. However, I felt at ease on this tour with Teka as our guide and Mussie as our driver. The sights, the food, and the people were wonderful, and I highly recommend it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
M7199ncjohannaw
Nov 24, 2024
Brilliant Day Trip with Teka and Mussie - If you only have a short time in or around Addis, then this trip is a great idea. It gives you a great idea of the scope and size of the city, has dramatic views, historical insights, great coffee, delicious lunch and a really knowledgeable and personable guide in Teka. The tour is varied and fascinating featuring a monastery visit with a very informed guide/ monk, a stop at a beautiful 14th century bridge and views over the Nile Gorge AND you see baboons up close! There is a lot of drive time, be advised (about 4 hours all up, though it is well divided) - I found it fascinating and a brilliant use of my last day in Ethiopia.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kent_b
Nov 23, 2024
Baboons, Monastery, and Waterfall - Teka was a great guide. The churches, baboons, and waterfall were well worth the bumpy ride. Would definitely recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Paolocale
Nov 2, 2024
Great tour! The best guide - The trip was so nice! Desele is a great guide he explained everything with a lot of passion and was ready to help for every need possible. It felt a warm tour, like in a family. Totally recommended
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bryn_deamer
Nov 1, 2024
Wait until 2027 to do this trip to avoid the road constuction - but the end is beautiful - The final destination was fabulous but what should have been an 8 hour trip turned into and 11 trip due to the huge "Corridor Project" that Ethiopia is undertaking. Rather then build By-passes or Ring roads around the cities and town enroute to the Monestary, the Goverment want to widen and beautify the roads through the heart of the city. This means demolishing every thing back some 20 meters from the road on each side. As one can imigine this is having a major impact on the road and travel through the region turning a 4 hour drive into a 8 hour marathon over rough road. So I recommend waiting until after that project is finished and you should have an amazing trip. Due the delays we only had 10 minutes at the monestary before we were guided out so the service which we cannot attend as non-believers began. However, our priest/guide had excellent English and took us through the attached museum explaing so much of the intriguing beliefs and history of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The renovated "Portuguese Bridge" is intriging in itseelf but mostly it is an stunning place over looking the deep gorge carved by a minor tributary of the Blue Nile. Baboons abounded, and the scenery and waterfall are delightful. The lunch stop was at a rustic, local restaurant and the food I'm sure was good, but much of it is an aquired taste. It turns out we were the only 2 people who booked, but Teko the guide went ahead with the trip anyway. His driver Mussie, got us there and back safely despite the hair -raising conditions of heavy rain with no wipers on the way back - avoiding lorries, Tuk-tuks, taxis, vans and speeding UNO Land Cruisers. We passed two capsized cargo truck - one on the way out and a new one on the way back.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Chemaza
Oct 31, 2024
Risky - Although it has been an unforgettable experience, we have been lucky, because it is dangerous. The further you get from the capital. At this time it is not highly recommended due to insecurity
Review provided by Tripadvisor
B4143xgjefff
Oct 22, 2024
Never deal with this company. They will threaten you!! - The tour was 1.5 hours late. They rushed it by removing one location & reduced 2 hours of exploring at other stops to 30 minutes. When I complained, they sent screen shots from my place of employment and threatened to inform my employer of the dispute. Their response to customer complaints is completely inappropriate. I have documented lies and threats from this company, and the other two members (strangers to me) of the group confirm the elimination of stops and rushed experiences. I would never book with them again. Very poor representatives of beautiful Ethiopia!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jeffrey_f
Oct 22, 2024
Never deal with this company!!! - The tour was 1.5 hours late. They rushed it by removing one location & reduced 2 hours of exploring at other stops to 30 minutes. When I complained, they sent screen shots from my place of employment and threatened to inform my employer of the dispute. Their response to customer complaints is completely inappropriate. I have documented lies and threats from this company, and the other two members (strangers to me) of the group confirm the elimination of stops and rushed experiences. I would never book with them again. Very poor representatives of beautiful Ethiopia!
Review provided by Viator
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