Ethiopian Rift Valley Lakes and Tiya Steles Tour: A UNESCO Heritage Site Exploration
5.0
2 Ratings
Tiya
Embark on a captivating 11-hour tour from Addis Ababa to explore the Ethiopian Rift Valley Lakes and the Tiya Steles, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Spot hippos, witness stunning scenery, and immerse yourself in the local culture.
Duration:
12 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Tiya World Heritage Site - At Tiya Steles, visit about 42 huge stone Steles erected between the 12th and 14th Century AD in honor of local warriors.
- Lake Ziway - Walk by Lake Ziway for 30 minutes to an hour on Lake Ziway to spot a number of water birds species like Marabou Storks, Malachite Kingfisher, Sacred Ibis, African Fish Eagle, Hammerkobs, etc
- Butajira - Have lunch at Butajira and stop at a couple of viewpoints to enjoy the great scenery of the Ethiopian part of the Great East African Rift Valley
- Bishoftu - Enjoy the picturesque view of one of the five crater lakes of Bishoftu (Debre Ziet). You will also have a short visit of a village of the Oromo people around Bishoftu.
What's Included
- Private comfortable Toyota Minivan or Corolla equipped with air conditioning and seat belts
- Local family visiting and attending a coffee ceremony fee
- Air port pickup and drop-off
- Bottled water and local snacks in the van
- Professional experienced English speaking tour guide
What's Not Included
- Meals
- Admission (entrance) fees
- Food and drinks, unless specified
- And, any expense which is not mentioned in the “Included” list above
Additional Information
Enjoy discovering few of Ethiopian Rift Valley Lakes and visiting the Steles of Tiya (14th Century AD and a UNESCO World Heritage). This is about 11 hours day trip from Addis to visit bird watching and spotting hippos, local family of the Oromo people, have great scenery of the Ethiopian part of the Great East African Rift Valley, and visit the UNESCO World Heritage site of Steles of Tiya which date back to the 14th Century, located south of Addis Ababa.
It is a great outing from Addis Ababa: -
- Enjoy spotting various lowland water birds by walking around Lake Ziway (if lucky few hippos).
- Appreciate the superb scenery of the Rift Valley
- Experience the way of life of the countryside people of Oromo.
- Attend a typical Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony.
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Visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site
Tour price includes private comfortable Toyota Minivan, fuel (gasoline), family visiting fee, bottled water, coffee, and professional experienced English speaking tour guide.
- As June, July and August are the rainy season, dress accordingly and get umbrellas.
Location
Tiya World Heritage Site
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(2 Ratings)
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1 star
Moirad649
Feb 21, 2023
Rift valley day tour - Our tour was excellent! Our day started off by being picked up from our hotel and grabbing some snacks for the road. The route to Tiya was beautiful and we stopped to take some pictures! The UNESCO site was educational and interesting. We then learned how fake banana bread is made and got to eat it as well. Seeing the hippos and different types of bird at Lake Ziway was an experience. One of the best parts of the tour was interacting with the locals and being able to observe some of their culture. Everyone we met during this tour was friendly and welcoming. Our tour guide, Biruk and driver, Ashu provided us a fantastic tour! I highly recommend this tour for those that wants to get out of the city without straying too far. Ask for Biruk and Ashu, they were great!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
David
Apr 20, 2019
Merit Ethiopian tour to lake Ziway, day tour from Addis Ababa - What an excellent day tour! Headed off early then stopped for breakfast. Visited UNESCO steles site with informative guide. Had home brewed drinks with locals. Visited a traditional African residence then headed for lake Ziway, which was spectacular! Had lunch of fish from the lake, then went out on the lake with another local guide for a bout an hour. Saw hippos and lots of different birds. Headed back after that but stopped on the way for a beer in the sun. The tour guide Kede and driver Belay were great. Couldn't have asked for better! Highly recommend this tour to anyone looking for a day trip from Addis. Great job guys!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
