Addis Abeba : Debre Libanos, Schlucht des Blauen Nils und Höhlentour

Enjoy the whole trip, because it was what I was looking for. The driver is guide Rafael, he was very attentive and professional in his service, I advise anyone in Adisa Abeba to take such a tour, because you will get to know another side of Ethiopia.

We had a fabulous day with our guide Kiru and driver Grum who created a perfect escape from the city. You’ll have to put up with the three-hour drive over bumpy roads but what you’ll see is worth it! On the way you’ll have views of Ethiopian towns and rural life as well as, on the return trip, the expanding modern city. Our first stop was the Debre Libanos Monastery founded in 1941 on a site made holy by the 18th C hermit xxxx. Our visit was during the holy days around the Assumption of St Mary and there were hundreds of pilgrims trudging up the long hill to pray. One of the monks, whom Kiru knew, gave us a tour so we learned the history of the place and visited the museum, which exhibits artifacts from the monastery’s long history. Immediately afterwards we headed to a fruit and spice market spread out under an amazing centuries-old tree, where we wandered, practiced our ‘Salaam walloo’ and bought some tea and bananas. We loved seeing this slice of Ethiopian country life. A bit further on we stopped to spend an hour with the Gelada baboons that live in the cliffs over the Blue Nile. How amazing to watch up close the interactions in the baboon families. We couldn’t believe how close we were able to observe! Then it was on to the real highlight of the day, the Blue Nile Gorge. Make sure you wear hiking shoes! We (two 70-year olds) found the rocky hike down to the Portuguese Bridge and the hike up the other side along the river to the falls challenging. But the breathtaking view of the dramatic falls when we got up to the precipice was so worth the effort. Our fatigue was rewarded afterwards with a nice cold beer and nice lunch at the home of Meseret where we enjoyed the view of the magnificent gorge and learned about Ethiopian cuisine. On the way back down we stopped at the ‘Cool Bar and Restaurant’ a roadside shanty for the traditional coffee ceremony and delicious coffee. I enthusiastically recommend this exhilarating experience and these engaging informed and fun guides.

We booked this trip (over other tour operators) as it included Entry/Admission to Mount Entoto (expecting to go into Entoto Park as there were multiple photos from other people's experiences), but all we did was stop at a random spot along the road and the guide said there's the view of Addis Ababa. We would have been better saving the additional cost and going with another tour operator who charges less and doing Mt Entoto (and Entoto Park) separately with the money saved. Very disappointed and a lack of understanding / acknowledgement from the tour provider over this.

Our guide (Sam) and driver (Rudolf?) were really nice, I enjoyed their company and explanations. Although I enjoyed what I saw, in the end it was all a little too far, and the road a little too bumpy. I was exhausted by the end of the day from sitting in that small uncomfortable van for so many hours. Lunch was good, but not having any coffee for us at the end was a huge fail for any Ethiopian tour.

I had an amazing tour with our guide, Semere, and our driver, Surafuel! Thank you! If you have the time while visiting Addis, I really recommend booking this tour so that you can see outside of the capital. Amazing scenery, especially around the Portuguese Bridge. You really do miss out on the beautiful nature in Ethiopia if you stay in Addis. It's a long drive (about 2 and a half hours both ways), but the journey is part of the adventure, and the van was comfortable. Great company as our tour was all solo travellers. I felt completely safe the entire trip. We saw the monastery, which is extremely interesting, and you learn a lot about the history of the Orthodox Christian church in Ethiopia. We then went to the Portuguese Bridge, and had a bit of a hike up to see the view of the Gorge and waterfalls. Amazing! And we were the only ones around. We then got lunch (traditional food) at a nearby spot with an amazing view, and stopped again for a coffee ceremony. Great day and great company!

This was great. Would have been better with a guide, and one that speaks English. Long drive there and back with bad roads. But the baboon stop, the monastery and the Portuguese stop especially are well worth it. The food stop was a miss for me though. Little bit of a dive. One one traveler felt comfortable eating there. Overall still well worth it. Pack your food and drinks. I’d go for the Portuguese bridge alone 10/10.

Nice guide, fine trip, raining season would be better to see the waterfalls

We had an incredible day with the awesome guide Semere! Everything from a coffee ceremony to seeing baboons, the canyon and the bridge. Wonderful scenery the whole way!

İt was a great experience to discover beautiful nature of debre libanos. Our driver Abiy is so kind accompanying us sürüngen the trip. Highly recommended.

Great tour. Very friendly tour guides! We went to the market, the church, in the wild and saw the beautiful Gelada Baboons that can only be seen in Ethiopia! We always felt very safe. I can only recommend it!! :)