Dear Eskinder,
Colette and I had a marvelous time in Ethiopia, thanks to your outstanding organization of our journey. It was a very short stay, with a great amount of ground to cover, and I can only say it gave us a taste for more!

We will both recommend your country and your company very warmly to our friends.

I would especially like to thank you for showing me around Addis, and smoothing things out for me while shopping (and shipping!) I enjoyed our talks very much!

Please give my regards and heartfully felt thanks again to Antsokia and Yared, who greatly contributed to making our stay so enjoyable.

Habtamu is a wonderful guide in Lalibela.
He knows his “stuff” and delivers it patiently, in excellent English with a finely-honed sense of humor.

Besides that, he is everything a guide must be: reliable and courteous, informed and informative, timely and on time, fair and honest.

Dear Eskinder,
Holidays have been wonderful and especially Ethiopia was a highlight of the trip, thanks especially to your kind attention to every aspect of our trip.

Eskinder,
How can we ever put into words our gratitude for your assistance to us in Ethiopia?!! Even on the last airplane ride, Faye turned to me and said exactly what was on my heart. “I still find it hard to believe that I actually was in Africa!”

It is our prayer that God would somehow allow us to return the favor and have you someday visit us in Canada.

We wouldn’t be doing coffee ceremonies with you, but if you came in summer we would certainly host a few barbeque suppers, which is the closest Canadian tradition I can think of in comparison.

God was gracious to keep us healthy and safe during our journey. The few stomach upsets and insect bites were minor in comparison to the amazing experience of seeing so much beauty and making many new friends.

This trip is really about the people of the country. Being in Lalibela at the same time as the pilgrims … brought home the real value of the places …

It was a fascinating trip though, amazing sights and history and people.

Don’t go on this trip without a sense of adventure, a sense of humour, a lot of patience and the ability to just accept Africa on its own terms.

The place is safe enough and the local guides are excellent.

Water and electricity supplies are unreliable. Don’t expect a hot shower every day, even at the best hotels. The food is fabulous, providing you stick to the local dishes.

Eskinder,
We have taken far too long to contact you to express our gratitude for organising our visit to Ethiopia but it is amazing how time flies when you get home.

We enjoyed our trip tremendously and working our way through the photographs and editing the video reminded us of how enjoyable it was.

Thank you again Eskinder for your efficient organising, your cheery greeting at the airport and various locations along the way, your willingness to be flexible and your kindness in allowing Clare’s friends to share our transport.

We are sorry that we couldn’t have a meal together on our last night, we had so much to tell you!

We will certainly contact you if we are able to return to Ethiopia again one day. We wish you well with your endeavours to help with environmental and economic development in your fascinating country.

The rock-hewn churches around Lalibela are not only outstandingly beautiful but a stunning human achievement which has stood the test of time.

The Simiens provided breathtaking scenery, with something a little other worldly about the shape of the mountains in the distance.

We were particularly keen to book with a locally-based company, and we were glad we did because Eskinder, who runs Highway Tours, could not have done any better.

He set up an itinerary which we felt was just right for the amount of time spent in each place, and his guides and drivers were all first class.

Eskinder himself was so concerned that everything went well in Harar that he took a 12-hour coach ride both ways just to check out his new driver there.

We had been wanting to go to Ethiopia for a long time and we were glad we finally went. There are so many outstanding and memorable places to visit…

The people are all so welcoming, and there is absolutely no sense of any danger, either to yourself or your belongings. The finishing touch is the food which will be an unexpected delight for those not previously acquainted with Ethiopian cuisine, though you will need to develop a liking for injera.

Highway Tours really took time to specifically organize something me and my husband spoke of, even though it’s out of the ordinary for tour companies to do something like that.

Eskinder took great care of us and my husband and I will always remember what a great time we had contributing to Ethiopia !

Do not go for just ANY tour company! In a foreign place, you just don’t know who you will end up with or what kind of events will be worth your money. My husband and I are really happy we chose Highway Tours.

I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH WHAT A GREAT TIME WE HAD IN ETHIOPIA. From the food to the intimate tours – there was detailed attention put into every aspect of our trip. It was within budget AND we had an AMAZING time !

We had the opportunity to participate in socially aware events such as the World Food Walk. We visited natural scenery and local villages. Ethiopia has really tried to keep its originality.

Our tour company was great – they organized amazing hikes at unbelievable locations. You will have memories and pictures for a lifetime !

5 out of 5!!!!
Our trip was GREAT! Our organizer was SO considerate and thoughtful. We really have Eskinder and the whole Highway Tour company to thank for our incredible time !

Hello Mr. Eskinder,
Recently I printed out my pictures from our wonderful tour of Ethiopia and relived the fascinating and enriching tour with your company.

We were so pleased with the care an attention from Highway Tours. Your web site and your prompt and complete responses to our questions put us at ease as we anticipated our tour.
Every anticipation and expectation was more than met.

Ethiopia deserves a greater share of the world’s attention.
The rich rewards are so great one forgives the inconveniences of travel in this part of the world. I was amazed by the vibrant green teff and rice fields, the beautiful mountains with wild flowers, and the smiling and helpful people we met in the hotels and airports.

The guides along the way met us at each airport, escorted us to the hotel and to the various sites we wished to see.
I especially enjoyed the unplanned experiences they provided such as the coffee ceremony with Meleza in the home in Bahirdar, and seeing the bread and injera preparations along the city street.

The boat ride across Lake Tana to the 14th century church was a delightful experience. Seeing the hippos bathing in the head waters at the Blue Nile was an added delight. The drive from Bahirdar to Gonder was an opportunity to see the towns and countryside with bright yellow muscal flowers blooming along the way.

In Gonder our guide Getachew was a rich source of history and fascinating stories about the region and the antiquities.

He’s a bright story teller.

All along the way the weather was ideal, pleasantly warm.

The Tukul Hotel in Lalibela was so nice with books on birds, history of the area, and novels to exchange.. The excavated churches there were amazing and caused me to repeatedly ponder, “How did they possibly do that ?”

As we left Axum the town was being visited by hundreds of white clad pilgrims coming for the Meskel festival. Many were carrying huge bouquets of yellow Meskel flowers and many wore haloes of greenery on their heads.

It was a sight out of National Geographic.

The Ethnographic Museum in Addis was another highlight as was the National University Museum to see the skeleton of “LUCY”.

The concluding dinner and musical at the Abyssinian restaurant was a fitting close to the memorable tour you provided for us. Eating injera with you and Girma while watching the musicians and dancers was an unexpected delight. Thank you for all your efforts on our behalf.

As we parted Rae asked you, “What were your goals for your company ?” You replied, “To make friends with my clients.”

You more than succeeded!!

We are enjoying the coffee and I thank you again for that lingering delight of Ethiopia and your kindness to us.

First of all, I want to apologize for not getting back to you sooner. As you know I have been in Tanzania for the past month. Internet access was almost impossible while I was there.
Now I am home……

Thank you for a wonderful Ethiopian experience. And yes, I have been enjoying the Ethiopian coffee you gave me. Thank you for that also. Please edit and use this in any way you want…

I have traveled on every continent except Antarctica and this tour was my best tour experience ever. Ethiopia has many unknown treasures which were a delight to discover.

The guides did all that one would expect, and then more. It was their extra efforts which set them apart from ordinary guides.

Mr. Eskinder’s personal attention made me feel that he wanted us to have a good time and my tour wasn’t just a job for him.

I highly recommend his company. If anyone would like to contact me for more information, please feel free to do. so
[Contact Highway Tours for Mr Schmidt’s email address]

We only had a limited time in Ethiopia and made arrangements very late in our Africa trip planning. In spite of these challenges, Highway Tours did a fine job and we had a great tour. We visited Bahirdar, Gonder, Lalibela, and Addis Ababa over a period of six days.

We flew some parts of the tour and traveled by road on others. The Highway tours staff was prompt, attentive, and knowledgeable.

Accommodations and food were better than in many other third-world countries. We rested and ate well.

In spite of our short time in Ethiopia, Eskinder and his staff did an outstanding job of introducing us to the history and culture of this ancient and unique civilization.

We visited the magnificent rock churches of Lalibela, the ruined palaces in Gonder, the island churches and the Blue Nile in Bahirdar, and the museums in Addis Ababa.

We also saw a lot of the countryside and, because of the openness of the guides, learned about the culture and daily lives of Ethiopians.

Two highlights of our visit were (1) a traditional dinner with Highway Tour’s staff in an Addis Ababa restaurant which featured a magnificent exhibition of Ethiopian dances and (2) a coffee ceremony with a local guide in his home.

Dear Eskinder,
Many thanks for a great holiday it exceeds all our expectations. And much of it was due to your organization and guides, with your personal input being the major factor!

We are spreading the word about Ethiopia and about Highway Tours in particular, and I think it quite likely that you may see people from Argyll next year and from further a field.

Again, many thanks and best regards..

We were really excited to see the Ethiopian wolf! Bisangari lodge was beautiful……watching the sunset over the lake, watching the sea eagles and pied kingfishers fish and playing cards with our guides in the tree bar.

Don’t try to do too much. Travelling on hot dusty bumpy roads is really tiring so trying to cover large areas of Ethiopia is really ambitious. We really liked the Dorze, Konso and Ari village tours.

The guides were local to the area, we ate at local places and bought from local shops.

It was a good holiday, one of those holidays that the more you look back on it, the more amazing you realize the country is. However, it was really tiring and the facilities are not always the best, therefore if we did it again we would have travelled less and spent more time in specific areas.

I have to say though that our guide and driver were great and really looked after us.

It takes a certain leap of faith to book a holiday and send lots of money to someone you don’t know. In our case we knew Eskinder was vetted by Responsible Tourism.

We drew some reassurance from his speedy and intelligent responses to our numerous and varied queries, and eventually took the leap.

Anyway, he met us in the airport on arrival, and he and his affiliates looked after us perfectly, and we had a wonderful holiday in Ethiopia.

The country has much more to offer than I realised. In the end, it was the countryside which made the greatest impression on me – but that’s not to demean the history and /or the churches.

The Simien Mountains were breathtaking and the lodge is a haven. Lalibela lives up to and supasses expectations.

We were very lucky to see two important festivals taking part in the churches. It was incredibly special to see the churches as living places of worship and not mere tourist sites.

Ethiopia is an extraordinary country, with a deep, rich heritage and Ethiopians are incredibly civilised, dignified and welcoming.

One of the best trips of my life.

A brilliant country but the trip was really made by our agent, Eskinda I cannot stress how professional and considerate he was throughout the holiday.

The travel arrangements were good and we were met at each airport by English speaking, local guides who were very knowledgeable and proud of their country’s history. The churches at Lalibela are stunning and the stellae at Axum magnificent.

The altitude may affect some people as for the majority of the time we were above 2000 metres and in the Simien Mountains over 3000 metres. In the south the countryside is beautiful but roads with tarmac are few and many hours each day are spent negotiating what are little more than donkey tracks through the mountains.

On the whole the people are extremely kind, helpful and friendly but unfortunately a culture of asking tourists for money is becoming obvious. This was an EXPERIENCE not a holiday. It is not for anyone wishing to see the country from cushioned 5* travel.

It is a fascinating place to visit but only for people who are prepared to accept the differences in culture and standards without being too upset.

My travelling companion and I were 70 and 69 at the time, both reasonably fit and had previously travelled to Nepal, India etc but felt that this was the most challenging trip.

The most memorable part of the holiday was driving through breathtaking landscapes, being on the “roof of Africa” with the Gelada baboons and experiencing the magnificent rock-hewn churches of Lalibela during Leddet.

As well as accommodating our needs and being very reliable and careful on the roads, Abush our driver was also great company and made us feel very welcome and comfortable during our many road trips on the historical circuit.

Ethiopia is a beautiful country with a proud history and magnificent sites.

Eskinder organises his trips in a way that is sensitive to the needs of local people. Our guide for our stay in the Simien mountains showed great knowledge and respect for the local environment.

The car, driver, hotels and guides were all of a high standard and within our budget.

Dear Eskinder,
Thankyou for organising our holiday, which went without a hitch, any moans we had were not of your making.

You have some excellent guides and drivers – particularly Semma – who seems to know the names of every plant, mountain and animal in the Simiens, he is such a nice guy.

Also Girma and Hamtoto who make a good team, Girma is very sensitive about the tribal people and we found our little visits to the non-tourist places with him very rewarding.

Strawberry Fields is a model of excellence and probably a good place to stay, as is the Rastafrin Alex’s place which is immaculate and thoughtfully done.

Harar was a highlight, the Muslim Rowda guest house, characterful and enjoyable, although their bathroom facilities could do with being cleaner and perhaps updating a bit.

Harer is so unique and different to all other towns we saw and will be splendid once the powers that be have restored it. The lack of obvious tourism there is great, the market local and interesting and feeding the hyenas with the Lenny Henry (a great black English comedien) lookalike fascinating.

Our walks in the Simien Mountains were impressive as the scenery is magnificent with steep gorges, Geluda baboons and plenty of bird life.

It was our 2nd trip to Ethiopia but other than the abundance of new roads being built but not yet completed, and many new buildings being constructed in Addis little has changed.

Hotel accommodation in Addis is excellent but the city is very highly polluted by black smoke belching out of exhaust systems. Outside Addis reasonable accommodation is not easy to find and sometimes you will be without running water and/or electricity.

Local people benefitted as we booked directly with Eskinder of Highway Tours, so there were not any “between men” – all our expenditure went directly to the people there.

We would highly recommend using Eskinder because he was so considerate and attentive. He provided us with a tailor made tour and virtually everything went according to plan. The drivers and guides he used were very good, particularly Girma who accompanied us to the South.

The care and attention paid by the tour operator throughout the entire trip was most memorable as was the charm of the people we met and the time spent in the Simian mountains.

The trip we took specified 2 nights at the Simian Lodge and then one night in Debark – we paid a little more to cancel the night in Debark and remain in the Simian Lodge – we would recommend any one else doing ths trip to do the same.

The money we spent on the holiday remained in Ethiopian hands and the hotels guides etc were all Ethiopian.

Driving is the only way to get to some places so obviously there is an impact on the enviroment but the experience of truely seing the country and an appreciation of the lives of ordinary Ethiopians was really memorable.

Our driver, Yaret, is one of lifes gentlement, in particular who remained with us throughout our trip was unbelievably helpful as was the owner of the company who maintained regular contact with us during the trip.

Guides were organised in advance at every location and all had reasonable to good English and knowledge of the sites we visited. As an introduction to the African continent for me it was the best experience imaginable.

Just a few of my memorable moments were experiencing the procession of the Ark at Lalibela, being fed holy honey by a priest in an ancient church, sitting surrounded by gelada baboons and interacting with the Hamar people.

Also memorable was shopping in the market in Turmi and photographing Muris ladies with their lip plates. But also the care, professionalism and simple pleasantness of our guides at every location.

Ethiopia is a big country and if you want to see it all, and you will, you must put up with long days travelling. Any hassles from children and young men are mild. Ethiopians are generally polite and friendly and you will enjoy interacting with people.

Forget your preconceptions about famine and desert. Fortunately famine is infrequent and localised. Much of the country is green, lush and productive. Rural people are able to support themselves and their families and have hope for the future. It is a beautiful country with varied terrain. Generally warm to hot but cool at times in the highlands.

Tourism is bringing foreign currency that is much needed for development. Even people such as the Hamar and Mursi need some money and tourists provide this without necessarily having a profound impact on their way of life.

The company’s guides provide good advice on how to behave to minimise negative impacts on the people and places visited.

A wonderful country to visit and an excellent tour company to visit it with. In particular Highway Tours is managed in a very hands-on way by a man dedicated to making the experience as enjoyable and trouble free as possible.

The level of service he provides is fantastic and all the guides who work for him strive to achieve the same standard. He’s very willing to amend the itinerary as new opportunities arise. Just ask and he tries as best he can to make it happen.

Eskinder and his team at Highway Tours ensured that our holiday was packed with exciting and memorable moments throughout. If we had to select one highlight it would be experiencing the beautiful scenary and variety of wildlife in the Bale Mountains, particularly seeing a number of Simien Foxes at close quarters (thanks to the sharp eyes and local knowledge of our guide Girma and driver Yaris).

We also have warm memories of Eskinder, who was so friendly, reassuring and took a close personal interest in ensuring we had an enjoyable experience. Our guides and drivers quickly became our friends and good travelling companions and gave us many insights into Ethiopian life and culture.

You can have complete confidence in Eskinder to ensure you have a safe interesting experience in as much comfort as possible. Some roads were in very poor state, but our vehicles were in good condition and our drivers excellent.

Also to ensure our best possible comfort at Dinsho Lodge in the Bale Mountains, Eskinder arranged for new bedding to be purchased! We found Eskinder and our guides very flexible and sensitive to our needs; so let them know what you want and they will do all that they can to deliver. Also, they are all Ethiopian, so let them help you to experience the country in a way that European guides can never do.

We were pleased that in our own small way we were able to benefit local people. Highway Tours is an Ethiopian business, the staff it employs are Ethiopian and in many instances using the income they get to fund higher education for either themselves or members of their family.

All accommodation, meals and other services used on the trip were providing income for local people. Fees paid to the parks and wildlife reserves contributed to their maintenance and as far as possible our holiday was organised to have minimal impact on the environment e.g. walking in wildlife areas, using existing local cafes.

This was an excellent holiday. One of us had previously had a great experience of Ethiopia as part of a UK tour group, but travelling as a couple with an Ethiopian company and Ethiopian companions made for a much richer experience.

We have never had a holiday operator make such effort to ensure our happiness, and we’ve previously had a lot of good holiday experiences! We still have much to see in Ethiopia and will certainly use Eskinder and Highway Tours again.

Dear Eskinder,
Thank you so so so so much.

The trip was really great we all enjoyed our time, I want to thank the guide at Gondar (sorry forgot his name) and Mario in Lalibella, they were friendly, cheerful and great.

It’s a huge thank you, I just wanted to say that the guides at Gondar and Lalibela WERE SPECIAL.

Your country is beautiful, and I hope that the airlines will be better, and I suggest that they try to promote Ethiopia more as a tourist destination (trust me) nothing is missing except some promotion and punctuality in the flights.

Again, Thank you thank you and don’t hesitate to contact me if you need anything from Egypt.

Of course I’ll send you some photos, and feel free to use them.

Best Regards,
Mamdouh

I decided to go on a hunch and went without any expectations or ideas what I’d signed myself up for. Much to my delight and surprise, I brought back some of the best travel memories ever about the country and its people.

Ethiopia can’t be summed up in a book, much less in a few paragraphs. All I can say from my 11 days of travel in Addis Ababba, Gondar, Lalibella and the Omo Valley is I had only a taste of a tiny portion of what Ethiopia has to offer.

I was most impressed with its rich history, unique culture, beautiful scenery and the diverse tribal peoples. The rock-hewn churches in Lalibella are awe-inspiring; the Ethiopian food is just delicious; the different peoples of the Omo Valley are so intriguing …

The whole experience was very much enhanced by the hospitality and personal touch from Eskinder and his team members. He was very responsive from when I first made an enquiry.

Based on my flight schedules, time and personal interests, he made such a well-thought-out itinerary. I was surprised to see him at the airport welcoming me at 6 a.m. All the local guides and drivers are very professional and did everything they could to make sure I had an enjoyable time. I’ve learned quite a bit from them about the history, culture and the peoples of Ethiopia.

The only thing I didn’t like about the trip was that I had too little time. I’ll definitely come back some other time to visit other regions of the country and get to know about the people better.

Ethiopia is a hidden gem and I’d recommend anyone who is interested to explore a place where it is still relatively under-promoted as a tourist destination.

Our trip to Ethiopia was not only filled with exciting new experiences, but also very relaxing. The guides and drivers were extremely helpful and friendly throughout the trip and we never ran into any trouble that we initially expected.

The Ethiopian people whom we met along the way were all gentle and courteous. To our surprise, many of them speak English and most stores and restaurants have English signs, which made everything much more accessible and convenient than expected.

We visited numerous different tribes and were able to observe their ways of life not influenced by western culture and modern technologies.

The most memorable experience around the Omo Valley was the opportunity to observe the Bull Jumping ceremony of the Hamer tribe.

The local guide, who was a Hamer himself, led us into the valley where the ceremony was held, explained the rituals to us, and always brought us to the best spot to observe what was about to occur.

The visit to Mursi and Karo are another two trip highlights. The photos we took were exactly like what one would see on National Geographics or guide books, if not better.

The Karo people had beautiful scarification and body paints. The mountain where the village was located offers a grandiose view of the Omo River. The honey liquer brewed by the Karos was delicious !

We saw tribal merchants traveling from a distance to bring their goods to the market and we were able to purchase authetic local crafts from them.

After the pleasant experience in Southern Ethiopia, I would definitely love to visit the Northern part of the country, where I could witness the historical heritage of Ethiopia, which is one of the oldest civilization in Africa and one of the only African countries free from colonial influence.

When I do come back to Ethiopia, I would definitely ask for Eskinder’s help to organize my tour again!

Julie and I were looking for a different holiday to celebrate my 60th birthday and found it in a two week guided cultural tour of the Omo Valley, Bale Mountains and Rift Valley Lakes.

The tour was operated by Eskinder Hailu’s “Highwaytours” company. We were driven throughout by a very pleasant and competent driver called Yared and our welfare was overseen by a thoughtful and efficient guide called Girma.

Supplementary to this, local specialist guides were provided to enhance our experience. The tour gave us a brief but thorough insight into the different peoples and landscapes that make up this region of Southern Ethiopia.

Our experience was further enhanced by Girma’s ability to communicate with all of the different tribes with whom we came into contact and nothing was too much trouble for him. He did much of our negotiating and all of our bookings; handling money matters and social interaction with ease.

We both thoroughly enjoyed this tour and would heartily recommend the tour and crew to anyone looking for an out of the ordinary holiday.

Ethiopia is a vibrant and exciting country but visitors should be aware that sanitation is not yet a priority in many areas and the use of toilets can be challenging to say the least. It is also a very large country and two weeks can only brush the surface of all it has to offer.

In conclusion, we wholeheartedly recommend Eskinder Hailu and his “Highwaytours” company for your Ethiopian experience.

My girlfriend and I are usually go-it-alone, grab a Lonely Planet and read it on the plane-type travelers, but after a string of exhausting trips, we decided to let someone else handle the planning.

We were SO happy we picked this itinerary and even more so with Highway Tours. The name of the guy who runs it is Eskinder, and he was incredibly on the ball and not once did we worry that something would go wrong, or if it did we were sure it would get fixed instantly.

We took an internal flight almost every day and in each city the guides were great and friendly and always on-time and waiting for us at the airport.

The hotels were comfortable and the food was really good, and we saw pretty much everything we wanted to see (all amazing stuff).

But what made it all worth it was Eskinder, who is an awesome guy and who on various occasions would personally pick us up at the airport at horribly early or late hours and take us out to great Addis restaurants. It was always unwaveringly friendly service, even when we threw a big travel curveball at him.

I can’t speak of other Ethiopian travel companies, but we feel really lucky to have chosen this one.

The trek in the Simeon mountains – amazing scenery although tough trekking. The gelabi baboons were also wonderful – a rare treat to get so close to a wild animal. Also rock churches of Lalibella are definitely worth a trip.

If trekking ensure you take sufficient thermal gear as its very cold at night. Ensure you have enough battery for your camera (or take a spare) – the trek is so stunning we ran out! It takes ages to get the right shot of the baboons! and too many options on the scenery.

Everyone was careful on the trek to clear up rubbish etc and local people employed to work for us at all stages. Very well organised from logistics – not any single thing to improve on. Eskinder at Highways travel was brilliant – especially when we got stuck due to the snow at heathrow!

Eskinder at Highways travel was brilliant – especially when we got stuck due to the snow at heathrow!

Dear Eskinder,
Having returned to the cold & damp of an Irish winter, I am compelled to write and thank you for organising my recent private tour in Northern Ethiopia.

There is certainly much more to Ethiopia than I expected. From the bustle and sophistication of Addis, the peace and quiet of the countryside and the beauty and history of Bahirdar & Gonder.

The extraordinary trekking and wildlife in the Simien Mountains; the religious and historical centre of Axum; to the history, culture and magnificent scenery of Lalibela; and everywhere the dignity, charm and extraordinary warmth of the Ethiopian people.

Ethiopia is simply beautiful. I loved my first visit and cannot wait to return (hopefully, the southern tour at the end of this year).

The tour organised for me by Highway Tours/Ethiopiantour.com was excellent, and your personal involvement throughout was very much appreciated.

Your use of experienced local guides at each destination not only takes advantage of their specialist knowledge/insight but contributes financially to the local economy.

The organisation throughout was exemplary and the quality of guides, drivers, etc. was second to none.

I thoroughly recommend Ethiopia as a holiday destination, and Highway Tours/Ethiopiantour.com as a tour operator for quality and organisation.

Should any prospective visitor to Ethiopia have queries, they are welcome to contact me. Thank you again Eskinder,

Warmest regards,

The churches at Lalibela and the Simien Mountains are both stunning destinations and for very different reasons. The Simien are spectacular – a bit like half the Grand Canyon – and with interesting wildlife.

Lalibela is extraordindary, especially around New Year, in the preparation for Orthodox Christmas.

By booking through Highway Tours (speak to Eskinder) we avoided a middleman and the whole cost of our holiday went to Ethiopians.

The service offered was of a very high standard and he (Eskinder) clearly cares hugely about all aspects of the trip.

Eskinder,
We have recovered form our jet lag now, and are safe and sound back in Caifornia. We all 4 want to thank you, Girma, and Habtamu for and excellent and safe trip.

We were impressed with Habtamu’s safe driving in difficult conditions. Both of them were always cheerful and prompt, on time.

And you were so helpful in making all the arrangements and helped accommodate our needs which were somewhat different than what you were used to, because of the kind of trip we did.

Thank you so much, Eskinder. If we return to Ethiopia, we will contact you again for arrangements.

Our main purpose was to experence the ancient churches, monasteries and other culutural icons. These were awe inspiring and beyond anything we expected. The landscapes will also live on for us.

We opted for a road only option. We do not regret this as we do not like either airports or flying. However this involved some very long days.

Also temperatures at night can fall to zero and rooms are not necessarily heated. Take plenty of layers and be very cautious about camping.

Like other operators they were let down by hotels they had booked in Lalabella and coped very well on our behalf. Other independent or small group travellers were less fortunate.

Dear Eskinder,
Thank you very much for organising our recent trip to Ethiopia. It took a lot of skill on your behalf to arrange such a full itinerary at relatively short notice ( less than a month).

The standard of bookings were good and your use of local guides allowed us a much greater appreciation of your amazing country.

We would both totally recommend you and highway tours to any friends.

Highlights for us were trekking in the Simiens and the awe inspiring churches of Lalibella.

Please find attached several photos of us having a great time.

The most memorable parts of our holiday were the extraordinary landscapes of the Simien Mountains, the churches and monasteries of Lake Tana and the wonderful rock-hewn churches of Lalibela.

Also memorable was the boatrip on Lake Tchamo with its ‘crocodile market’ where we saw more than 50 crocs and some hippos and also there was the outstanding service provided by Eskinder, the tour operator.

We had asked for two night stays in various places and we were very pleased we did so. If doing the trip again we would probably ask for even less road travelling and some built-in times to relax (perhaps visiting fewer places but having more time to take it all in).

Dollars are more useful than pounds sterling. Be prepared for cold nights in the mountains and hot days generally. Assume hotels outside Addis to be sometimes lacking in some basics such as hot water or electricity, even if they are supposed to be 3-4 stars.

People in the north are usually happy to be photographed if asked but in the tribal areas most locals definitely do not want their photos taken and will stop you taking photos if you try, even from a distance. Important to respect their wishes in this matter.

Meat is usually very chewy but fish tasty. Expect to taste the best coffee you have ever had but it is usually very strong – worth asking for extra hot water or have a ‘macciato’ (with milk).

Most people are welcoming to tourists and clearly tourism is bringing financial benefits to the population. Inevitably, however, locals, particularly children, have cottoned on to the fact that it is worth begging from tourists.

Sadly the effects on the local tribes in the Omo Valley are not entirely beneficial. The Mursi, for example, charge for every photo and their whole lifestyle is now related to their daily tourist visits.

We rate this holiday very highly. Eskinder is a wonderful tour operator – he worked very hard for us, doing his best to make the holiday as memorable (for the right reasons!) as possible. He clearly wanted to know how everything had been, the good and the bad points.

He is everything that we were hoping for, and more. He looked after us very well. The whole holiday that he had organised seem to go very smoothly.

All of it was wonderful, the most amazing part was the tribes in the Omo Valley, it was like being transported to another world and time.

The trip was great although some distances travelled by car were long, I would suggest looking at some internal flights.

Having said that, you would miss the wonderful & vibrant everyday life just walking along the streets and in the villages, there is always something to marvel at.

The locals benefited from travellers happy to support local shops by buying local products, all at amazingly low prices.

There are no big groups of tourists on buses, how refreshing, and people traveling in these parts seem well aware of any impact on the environment, no rubbish thrown around.

The scenary and the climate were spectacular and the general feel of Ethiopia is great, much cleaner than I expected.

One of the main benefits to booking directly with Highway tours, is the cost, compared to UK travel companies I guess it was half the price.

We seemed to receive the same trip as other travellers, but with a much more personal service, just the 2 of us in a 4 x4 whilst others were travelling in mini buses.

Some local lads are starting to demand money from tourists, which is a little daunting and could be off putting to future travellers.

The most memorable or exciting part of our holiday would be different for the three of us. I think for my daughter it would be the fact that a lepard visited our camp in the Simien Mountians.

For my husband it would most likely be the birds – he has never seen so many different types in so short a time followed closely by the rock hewn churches. It is truly amazing to stand in a place of worship that has been carved out of a single piece of stone!

For me I think it would be the people. I am amazed that the people in the north eat, dress and farm the same way that they did 2000 years ago, and the tribes in the south must be living in the same way that they were thousands of years ago.

Some of the places we went, the people had never seen a white child before. So our daughter caused a lot of excitment (she is 6) but never did we not feel safe. I think because the people in Ethiopia really love children we had many funny/sweet exchanges everywhere we went.

None of the hotels we stayed in were part of a chain they were all locally owned. We had local guides everywhere we went which was truly wonderful, not only did this give us an insight into the local customs it also put some money into the local areas.

It’s hard to say what was the most memorable! The contrast between North and South Ethiopia is startling so we would not wished to have missed either, the North with its history and architecture, including the amazing rock churches, and the South with its culture and different tribal groups.

If you don’t have a lot of time, then go with the reputable tour company, for example, Highway Tours, as we did.

This meant that they took charge of all guides and scouts when visiting sites and made life easy and relatively hassle-free.

All the guides and drivers were people local to the area being visited so we felt that the financial benefits of our holiday were quite wide-spread. Gudies were very informative about local customs etc. so we didn’t offend.

However, of course we stood out and we did use internal flights – perhaps less harmful than the diesel fumes being pumped out by trucks on the road!

The whole trip was really fantastic. One of the most interesting things in Ethiopia is diversity. There were four main destinations. Each one worth a travel: Nile Blue falls, Simien Mountains, Lalibela, and Omo Valley.

We had a great expectation about Lalibela and Omo Valley. Blue Nile, lake Tana, and Simien Mountains were very exciting surprises.

First of all, you need to go both North and South. They are so different and so interesting. That means that you need to have enough time. Our only regreat: we would have be able to spend more time in each place. Probably some places are rather different depending on the month of the year.

We travelled in September and we were very lucky: everything was green and beautiful. The trip has to be planned to be able to visit some local markets: they are unforgotable.

Tourism is a very effective way to development, mainly when a country has so many things to offer.

The tourist is doing a significant financial effort but you can see that your money is creating a lot of jobs and is shared by a lot of people who are having their living on an activity where both parties have significant benefits.

We are in love with Ethiopia! We decided to go there for various reasons with unclear expectations or none, but the whole experience was beyond any thought.

From the very first day in Addis we felt so touched by its gentle people, the colourful landscape of the city. It is so worth it to stay a couples of days in Addis and explore its churches, its streets, and perhaps have your first contact with a coffee ceremony, injera and a St George beer.

We flew to Bahir dar from Addis, the flights are quite cheap and the time you save is definitely worth it.

Bahir dar is an amazing city! we had a very nice guide there and enjoyed every single moment there, specially the trip on the way to the Blue Nile Falls and of course the Falls themselves blew our minds.

I will never forget those kids and the scenery. The monasteries in Lake Tana are a piece of art full of history!

We drove to Gonder, we didn’t like it much this city, but this was the door to go to the Simmien Mountains. We stayed there for 3 days enjoyed the view unfortunately it was a bit misty.

We would advise you to stay at least 5 days to make it worth it. We think that most of the agencies there have overpriced the Simmien mountains trip.

However the scenery is beautiful, the fauna and vegetation unique. Be aware that the temperature can drop up to 0 degree at night. We were quite cold in our first night at the second camp and did not have the appropriate equipment.

From Gonder to Lalibela by plane, since we arrived we liked it! A different landscape and different experience. A small town full of cultural icons, impressive ancient churches, indeed a spiritual place.

I was most impressed by its rich history. We visited other southern cities such as, Shashamane where we meet very nice families, Awasa lake, Lake Langano etc.

We enjoyed the whole trip so much! The trekking and stay in the Simien mountains was amazing for the stunning geology, wildlife and flora.

Our two nights in Awash national park were a hit too but seeing a hippo just a few metres from our boat on Lake Tana after returning from the island monasteries was a real highlight!

Eskinder’s travel arrangements were faultless and our guides and drivers were kind, helpful and very knowledgeable.

I contacted him a few times before finalising the trip and Eskinder usually responded within a few hours and came up with an itinerary that suited us all as a family of 4 with 2 children aged 11 & 12.

To allow us to see as much of the country as possible in the limited time we had, we made 4 internal flights with Ethiopian airlines and we found this to be safe and straight forward too.

It definitely benefitted local people because for one it was an Ethiopian tour company and Eskinder booked local guides, drivers and hotels. Environmental impact was unfortunately inevitable because of the distances we were covering.

We all agree that this was truly one of the most stunning countries we have visited (especially after the rainy season when all was lush and green)

The whole trip was really special. On my list of favourites are Lake Tana, the Blue Nile Falls, the Simien mountains, of course Lalibela (truly astonishing!!!), Dorze and Konso villages and the Key Afar market (fantastic).

The steles scattered in the fields around Axum and the castles and churches at Gondar and the Mursi and Karo people were marvellous and unforgettable too.

Lalibela probably deserves a special mention: it is hardly known internationally, but it is a top-ranking town of art and history (and I should know, as I’m Italian). What really makes it different is that the art and history is still absolutely alive. You do not just do sightseeing, it’s not just a beautiful museum, it is part of people’s everyday life.

Our guides were also memorable, in the best possible way. Trust your guides, they are committed to show you how beautiful their land is. Ask and they will be happy to give information, explain and also just chat. Enjoy the moment, try out everything, don’t be afraid.

Let yourself be surprised by all the very unexpected and excellent things this land has to offer: a truly riveting history, breathtaking historical and natural treasures, kind and cultured people. Bring comfortable shoes as sandals might not be the best choice.

Read as much as you can about the country and it’s history. I found the Bradt guide to be very good, and while there I gave in and also brought and read “The Sign and the Seal” by Graham Hancock. The book is very informative, interesting and entertaining.

It surely benefited local people as many are striving to set up a touristic infrastructure, and mostly are succeeding very well. My impression is that right now tourism in Ethiopia has all the potential to become a very important source of income and of contact with the rest of the world.

The spactacular mountain scenery was something unexpected and awesome. The people were very friendly.

Labilela rock hewn churches and the history was very interesting and fascinating. Overall a fantastic experience.

Toilets at Simien mountain camps were plain disgusting, dirty, soiled, impossible to use. Remember to take a good stash of toilet paper.

Local people benefited, but it is upsetting for some tourists when children demand money in some locations e.g. it was even suggested by a student who posed as a guide at Blue Nile Falls that we give children $20 after wiping mud off ones shoes without an invitation to do so.

Apart from the few annoyances as described above, the tour was well organized with a very good reliable driver and the local guides were mostly very knowledgable.

Highlights of this holiday for me was the inspiring friendliness of everyone we met. It was a total feast for the eyes and unravelled lots of grey matter that was festering in my brain !

The varied landscapes that we passed through were immense, and in my view unsurpassed in their natural beauty. From the bustling streets and markets of Addis to the tranquil lake Tana, on to the jaw dropping Simeon mountains that make you feel insignificant in natures raw power.

Lalibella was truly special and thought provoking, with a visit to Harer near the end of the trip the last piece of icing on this very large and expansive cake. What an amazing two weeks…. such memories will linger on for the rest of my life.

Tips for this trip would be to just go with the flow. Talk to as many locals as you can. Be flexible with the agenda, the guides and drivers are very friendly. Time out to sit and ponder over coffee is a must. Don’t hesitate book this trip with Eskinder you will not regret it… I promise !

As far as I am concerned all money spent went to the local people in Ethiopia. Tipping is important and should never be missed. Tourism in Ethiopia should be encouraged they have so much to offer and brings much needed revenue to a whole host of people with very little impact on the vast environment.

The entire holiday experience was very diverse from the rift valley, the lakes, the tribes, to the Omo Valley. Visiting the tribes was definitely the highlight for us.

The experience of the drive as well as meeting & interacting with the different tribes was great and the driver/guide were very helpful. Without them it would not have been possible to have had the same experience.

We extended the trip by a couple of days and Highway Tours was very good in tailoring the trip to our needs. This allowed us to tour in a more relaxed manner and spend more time at each location which made the holiday more enjoyable.

Everything was very well organised and was run very well.

The way the holiday was organised and the way the tribes were visited felt like the local community was benefitting and that any fees paid went back into the community.

Because the country is so varied, there were several high points. In the North, Lalibela stands out on account of its beautiful situation high in the mountains. And also of course, the series of famous rock-hewn churches it contains.

What impressed me most was that these churches were not simply empty museums, but active sites of worship. When I was there, pilgrims were already arriving from all over Ethiopia to celebrate Christmas. It was a wonderful sight.

In the south, the highpoint for me was the visit to the Karo village, beautifully situated on a high plateau overlooking a bend of the mighty Omo river. The Karo people were very friendly and forced me to think deeply about things (and values) that were really important in life.

Just sit back and enjoy it. A lot of work has been done in the background to make sure everything appears smooth and effortless. There is also an element of flexibility built into the holiday, so if you see something you didn’t expect and want to investigate, it is usually possible to arrange it.

It’s not easy to pick out any one thing that stood out above all else, this trip was a feast for the mind from start to finish. Its now a good couple of months since our return and I’ve had time to begin digesting the memories. With that in mind, I guess it has to be the people we met along the way, so many wonderful people.

All our guides were excelent without exception but not just the guides… all their support staff, cooks, drivers, kitchen assistants, hotel and resturant staff etc … the local people wherever we went, the waving smiling children … I could go on forever. Yep, above all else, the people realy did it for me.

My top tips… Take a large empty bag in which to bring home a few Souvenirs. Keep smiling (hard not to !) the locals seemed to warm very quickly to a friendly face. Try not to be too intrusive with your camera, if you want photo local people just ask politely.

If at any point you feel yourself wilting from culture overload, dont be afraid to tell your guide you’d rather like to chill out over a coffee or a beer, they are more than happy to go with the flow.

Short answer, Yes … local guides, locally sourced food, Souvenirs made by local people, local airline, local drivers and all our tips went to local people. Just the way it should be.

Take full advantage of the tour operators knowledge and experience when planning your route. We chose to drive all of the Historic Route but flying parts of it would certainly save time, if that is an issue. Our trip was 24 days. As well as the Historic Route, we drove to Harar with an overnight stop at Awash NP, highly recommended, then flew back to Addis.

We went for the Timkent Festival which was fantastic and well worth while.

The tribes in the south have barbaric cultures of which we saw by chance, the whipping of the Hammer women til they bleed, the Muri tribes and their plate women – who by the way just sit around waiting for the tourist to come to take their photo for a fee – I would rather stay single!!

All was a new experience and different from the other 20 or so African countries we have visited. The most amazing thing aws that it was not a dry dessert but wonderful farmlands!?

Don’t give gifts or money to these people as we are converting them into beggars and dependents, There is heaps of fertile land and water to provide for all – maybe a little more education wouldn’t go astray but the government seems to be self centred and forgets what it’s job is in some locations?

The whole trip was memorable. Highlights include: the climb to Maryam Korkor church in Tigray. Gheralta Lodge. Boat trip Lake Tana. Complimentary cultural evening organised by Eskinder of Highway tours for our last night in Ethiopia.

Wild life, the mountains, canyons, gorges and the glimpses of rural life. The charming people especially in Tigray. The vibrant colours of the houses. Rock churches in Tigray and Lalibela. Staying in a traditional guest house in Harar.

Lots of wonderful memories. Excellent trip, efficiently organised by Eskinder. The itinerary was well planned and adapted to our specific requirements.

There was a good selection of hotels including the outstanding Gheralta Lodge and Rowda Webr Guest House in Harar. We appreciated the range of sightseeing options and activities, the knowledge of our local guides which gave an insight into the country and its history. Our driver and tour leader inspired confidence and we felt safe and well looked after at all times.

The fantastic scenery especially in the north,the climb to maryam korkor church,diverse cultures,rural areas where there are no tourists,of course lalibela,simien mountains,omo tribes,key afar market,shala and awash national parks,also some great accomadation ie gheralta,awash,lalibela and arbaminch.

If you have the time travel by road.Some of the roads are not too good ie debark to axum,but the scenery is stunning.
We had a main guide and driver for the whole trip who were brilliant,plus local guides at the main sites.

We travelled north,south and east over 20 days covering over 4500 kms by road with just two internal flights,if we had the time to cut these out we would have done.

The two days in Lalibela was by far the peak and summit of my trip to Ethiopia and a dream come true. However, apart from the visits, the best thing by far about being in Ethiopia was the people.

I had such fun with them and they are an extremely friendly nation – the guides, in particular, were fantastic, knowledgable and always keen to show you some extra places. Also worth mentioning is the agent, Eskinder, who went flat out to ensure that everything ran smoothly and was always able to go the extra mile for his customers – a real hero.

Prepare yourself for a completely different culture to your own, be open minded, be ready to have some amazing experiences and see some amazing sites. Importantly, don’t worry – the guides and agents are fantastic and will go out of their way to make sure that you enjoy yourself and have a great experience.

As I stayed at local hotels, ate in local restaurants and shopped locally, I feel that the local people definitely benefitted in some way. Regarding environmental impacts and conservation, I can’t really comment apart from that I know our party didn’t disturb any of the natural environments with litter or such things.

Very good organization – excellent choice of National Parks and excellent guides – and a very good careful driver
Take a plug for bathroom wash basins – some hotels fairly basic. Yes to a small degree – money into local economy via accomodation and meals.

Excellent – would recomend Highway Tours to anyone wishing to go to Ethiopia who is interested in wildlife and the National Parks.Some wonderful memories, I would not hesitate to recommend it to a friend

Seeing the diversity of culture, history and geography in the north of Ethiopia.All places visited were special in their own way but Lalibela was especially stunning.

Travelling by road can be difficult because of all the works that are in progress (especially Gondar to Axum). Flying is efficient and cheap.

The Ethiopians themselves are the most memorable part of our holiday. They are genuinely kind people, passionate, proud
of their heritage and country and fun-loving!

Eskinder, who owns and manages the travel company is an inspiration and his level of personal service is unbeatable.

We had fantastic local guides, but special mention goes to a young gentleman called Rafael who was our guide from Axum to Gheralta region — his enthusiasm was infectious, his knowledge was impressive, his English was v good.

Credit also goes to Sama from Gonder who showed us the non-touristy attractions of Gondar and gave us memorable moments in the Simien Mountains.

All very exciting: churches on Lake Tana & in Lalibela, the castle of Gondar, stelae in Axum + visiting the Karo, Dorze, Mursi tribes and witnessing the bull-jumping ceremony of the Hamer people.

100 per cent.Very well organised by Eskinder in Highway Tours, who went above and beyond to ensure that everything ran smoothly – not an easy task as there was eight of us, but Eskinder and staff managed with great ease. A pleasure to travel with this company. We’ll be back.

Impossible to pinpoint any one individual part; the whole experience was memorable. History, culture, scenery, meeting the people – deliberately or accidentally – were highlights and if one person has to be named then it must be Eskinder, the master mind behind the whole operation.

Go with an open mind; don’t expect French cuisine, German motorways, North American customer service or British Health and Safety standards. Ethiopia is rich in rewards but a desperately poor country at the same time.

It is in need of external investment to improve things for its peoples and tourism is one way to help this. Strongly recommend the Bradt Travel Guide to Ethiopia – the best guide book we have ever used.

Good morning Eskinder:
Thank you again, for making my visit to Ethiopia so enjoyable.

Listed below is my evaluation:

Hotels-
Lalibila= Outstanding- great food- fantastic location
Florida= Excellent- easy transport to Castles, etc
Summerland= Very Good, impressive City of Bahirdar
Global=Average, good restaurant, very friendly and helpful staff
Brana=Good, hot water only available in shower not in sink

Local guides –
Lalibela= Outstanding, very good knowledge, great presentation skills, information without over loading the visitor, with too many details
Axum- Excellent= Lots of knowledge, passionate, perhaps. Less details, which can be confusing to the visitor
Gonder-Outstanding, excellent presentation skills allowing the visitor to appreciate the history of the castles
Bahirdar- Knowledgeable, friendly, .. the sites (Lake Tana, Blue Nile, and waterfalls), perhaps over shadow the guides..

My list of the top sites-
#1= Blue Nile/waterfall
#2= Lalibela/churches
#3= Gondar/Palaces
#4= Axum/Steles
#5= Addis/Lucy Museum and Merkato

Things to consider-
I had some confusion identifying the tour (owner/main guide) and the actual tour guide and the local/site tour guide

Currency transfer- not available, at airport -if Ethiopian Airlines international flights not operating- need to do bank exchange prior to departure at airport

I sincerely appreciate your time and efforts in showing me Addis and the many fantastic sites/museums. I want to compliment you on your co-ordination of my tour. I always felt comfortable that I would get to the next destination and be met by one of your personnel. Flights on Ethiopian Airlines were very good, no problems and enjoyable.

I had a great time in Ethiopia!! Told my wife she should have come, she would have enjoyed the tour. Thank you again, for making my visit to Ethiopia so enjoyable.

David

Dear Eskinder,

How very good to hear from you.

We got back home safely, though it was a long flight and the journey through Addis Ababa airport was long, tedious and frustrating.

I have written a review of the trip on the Responsible Travel web-site and also on Trip Advisor — both very positive. You certainly deserve to do so. Catharine and I had a fantastic time in Ethiopia and we can’t thank you enough for all you did for us. We will rememeber it for a very long time.

It’s difficult to pick out a highlight from such a trip. The stone churches at Lalibela and the stellae at Axum were extraordinary, but the most memorable bits for me were seeing and meeting the Konso, Hamar and Mursi tribes in the south.

The most memorable or exciting part was while in Turmi, we were able to watch the Hamer festivity where the boy marks his passage from boy to adult by jumping the bulls. Not fixed, or touristy. For me, easily the highlight of the trip!

I do feel the locals that live across the river from the Karo people (south of Turmi), are exploiting the tribe. Didn’t get the impression they cared much about them. But we had to pay them in order to see them.

I had the chance to travel 19 days with this company (which was recommanded by an Italian friend of mine who also travelled 2 weeks (party of 3).

Travelling in Ethiopia (out of Addis Abeba) is a great experience especially when the ground handler in charge of your trip is a professionnal such as Mr Eskinder. My wife & I were pampered.

You should keep in mind this is Ethiopia, an East Africa country & still a Nation building up & you should not expect an American or European standart of service but still I was surprised of the level & quality : Transportation was perfect( good driver & car ), transit, planes, hotels, pick up ,nothing negative to mention.

Food is an issue: mainly you have a lot of Italian food (good quality) & the Ethiopian traditionnal food. No bad surprises (no tourista) just stick to basic local dish : Sheero & Wat & ingera vegetarian dish.

Excellent avocado juice & basic african fruits. Try to avoid fresh vegetables,insteed eat cooked vegetables. There are a lot to discover within this old Christian country.

Ethiopian Airline the leading company in Africa have the latest planes while flying into the country or domestic , Roads are new except in few area under construction, it is an easy journey. Guides have degrees & are at disposal for any questions, they know their subjects.

Ethiopians are friendly people & always keen to learn from you. I lived in this country when young & was back there after 30 years & Mr Eskinder team made there best so I could keep the best memories.

Being able to take my children (6,8,10) to Ethiopia was fantastic; they loved seeing the animals- Jago loved the tame ostrich and dik dik, Jasper loved hunting lizards and Leo loved everything.

For me, my heart was filled with joy just to be back in Africa; never a dull moment driving right down to the South Omo valley and seeing the amazing landscapes and people, everyone so friendly and interested in the boys.

Any concerns we had about taking the children to Ethiopia were immediately erased when we arrived and realised that everything was going to be made as easy as possible for us all.

We loved all the places we visited but for me the South Omo valley was particularly amazing, a real privilege to see a part of the world that feels so unchanged by time.

Eskinder’s client service was absolutely excellent. He was impressively conscientious: he kept close track of our progress, was informed by his local agents when things went wrong, and sought detailed feedback from us at the end of the trip when we got back to Addis Ababa.

The guides – local to each location – were all excellent: knowledgeable and informative, and they spoke good English. Eskinder had made a sensible choice of hotels within our specified mid-price range and the constraints of what was available.

I felt if you had Eskinder organizing your holiday you will have nothing to do but enjoy the experience. He took the stress out of travelling by having everything super organized.

We loved everywhere we went adn everything we did on the Northern Cultural route. The countryside is far less interesting (though still pleasant) as you move south of Addis, but the people who seem very used to tourists are much more ‘in your face’ as they beg or sell.

Well designed and well organised. Choice of guides was outstanding, and we never felt unsafe on the roads, although the vehicles were sometimes a bit battered! It was our mistake that we spent one and a half days and 2 nights in Addis Ababa,
but for anyone who does not come from a polished first world country with a fascination for third world poverty and dirt, skip it!!!

I can’t speak highly enough of Eskinder and his team – organisation was efficient and all the guides were excellent. The only reason not to give it 5-star rating is that Ethiopian food is an acquired taste (that I haven’t acquired).

This visit was skillfully organized by Eskinder Hailu of Highway Tours who patiently assisted us in devising an itinerary that fitted the interests of the four of us. He organized internal flights, guides, drivers and accommodation and it all went precisely as planned despite the complexity of flights and tight schedules. Accommodation was fine although the Bale Mountains was pretty basic but the best available.

However, the area is wonderful and well worth spending time
there despite the slightly less comfortable accommodation.

Ethiopia is a beautiful country with lovely people. The deprivation was startling and one had to remind oneself this is how so many people live. Mixing with the locals at markets and villages was very real and exciting.

The local guides were generally very sincere. Be prepared for rough dusty roads and road works and some long road trips.

Because we traveled with Ethiopian, Highway Tours and the wonderful attentive Eskinder we felt everything local was taken into consideration and we had a true picture. It was an amazing experience, we have well managed and with very caring and attentive guides and drivers..

Hi Eskinder,
Just a few words of thanks and appreciation for organising an amazing trip for myself, Leo and Helen.

We were all impressed by your professionalism and personal care. I would like to thank you personally for organising the Doctor, as it made my journey home much more managable (I am well on the mend). I have expressed our feelings on your Tripadvisor site and we wish you growing success with your business in the future, you deserve it.

P.S. I will be in contact with you later in the year about a planned trip to the Omo region.

The most memorable part of the holiday was camping and hiking in the Simiens and travelling through breathtaking landscapes. Also the friendliness and hospitality of the people we met along the way but most of all our driver and guide who looked after us throughout the whole trip.

Travelling overland is not easy – Very long travel days on bad roads. Flying is an option but then you miss out on the marvellous sights and smells along the way.

So many people have asked us – why Ethiopia and we have been able to change mindsets that dwell on devastating famines. The country is so unique in many ways and Eskinder was such a dedicated tour operator….answering numerous emails as we fine-tuned our itinerary, meeting us personally each time we routed through Addis and keeping in touch with our guides as we made our way around the country. I can highly recommend him.

The most exciting part of the holiday was going to a wedding in Gonder which would not have been possible without the local guide, the churches in Lalibela, trip to the Simian mountains, having coffee, local markets in the south.

Tips for other travellers,ry and get small denomination notes (1,5 & 10 birr) for tips, small purchases in markets, coffees etc.

Trip was excellent. Having arranged the itinerary with Highway Tours, the organisation by Eskinder Hailu was excellent and we had no worries about guides, drivers, travel arrangements or hotels and could concentrate on seeing the country and the people.

Dear Eskinder,

I have been meaning to email you our thanks for arranging such a wonderful trip to Ethiopia for us, but since we got back we have had such a lot of things to do that its taken me far too long, so please accept my apologies.

we loved everything about Ethiopia, including injeera, which we really miss! there are a number of ethiopian restaurants in london so we are going to make the time to test a few of them out, hopefully they will be able to recreate some of the delicious meals we had, even if they don’t have quite the right authentic ingredients!

we were talking about our trip today, and we both agreed that one of the unexpected outstanding memories is of the amazing restaurant in Lalibela, Ben Abba – we think you should positively suggest it to future visitors, the building is absolutely fantastic, really world class modern architecture plus the scottish woman who part owns and runs it is lovely and chatty, and the food is great and quite a lot better than at the hotel, nice place though that was to stay.

You were very kind to take us on that tour of the city when we returned to Addis, we didn’t expect that, and we now have our lovely picture as a permanent reminder of our visit, which we wouldn’t have had.

To say thank you properly, we would love to have you to stay with us for a few days when you next visit london, we will reciprocate by showing you the bit of london we live in, which is on the river Thames, and has a real english market at the centre of it, absolutely nothing like the addis mercato, though!!

thank you so much, and we really do hope to see you again but this time in england

best wishes for a great 2014

kind regards

Chris and Roger

Firstly, go with Ethiopian Tours – Eskinder went more than the extra mile to organise our trip, and looked after every detail, the vehicles were all toyota land cruisers, in excellent condition, the drivers all drove well and spoke english, as did the guides who travelled with us. We were able to manage each day as we wished, staying or stopping as we wished.

Guides were great, of special note was our young female guide Kidist, an inspiring example of a women in africa and a privilege have her company.

My guide, scout and especially the cook were wonderful. I had better food on this trek than in any of the restaurants I visited in the 10 days in Ethiopia.

I visited Ethiopia thanks to an inspirational article I was sent about half a year back about the rock-hewn churches of Tigray. I was not disappointed when I visited them, but for me the highlight of the trip was trekking in the Simien mountains.

I would heartily endorse anyone who is physically able to undertake this journey of 2-8 days with a credible tour company (suggest Eskinder of Highway Tours).

We believe it was one of the best holidays we have experienced. It had it all, Lost worlds, Fabulous archaeology, Magnificent Scenery, History by the bucketful, wonderful art and Tribal wonders. But most of all some of the most wonderful and welcoming people on the planet.

We loved the whole trip but, for us, walking with the gelada monkeys in the Simien National park was truly special. We were also amazed by the Lalibela churches and had a fantastic trip on Lake Tana – we saw hippos, crocodile and many types of bird, including pelicans, kingfisher and fish eagles.

Be sure to take sufficient night clothing. Also a blow-up thermarest because the ground is not level and mattresses very thin.

It was a wonderful experience and adventure, being able to see and be present at places and situations that we had only read about. I have to add that Eskinder Hailu (Highway Tours) was a person of utmost integrity and organised a very good experience which was full of good surprises. The driver was very skilled and always cheerful and the guide was knowledgeable who did his best to accommodate our needs.

Each day brought something new–ruins, antiquities, baboons, remarkable rock churches, beautiful landscapes, centuries old paintings,, etc, etc.

Dear Eskinder,

We hope you had a fine time during Christmas and New Year. Our plain back home arrived on time, but it is very cold here in Belgium and we are already missing the Ethiopian sun and that typical fresh wind from Addis.

In the meantime we had a look at our photos and we realised ourselves : “This was a super holiday in a wonderful country with very nice people and all this in the company of 3 new Ethiopian friends”.

So thanks again for the planning and handling of this great trip, Eskinder, and for treating us as your very own guest. Our special thanks also goes to Mulugeta, our driver, and of course to Kidist. With her ingredients and recipe, we prepared our self a real “Shiro”.

If you would like some feedback from us on this trip, we will be happy to send you the comments you need or the information you like to have.

And of course, if you want a strong recommendation for other tourist or new clients, please feel free to send them our email. We will provide them with the info they need and certainy recommend you and your agency without any hesitation.

Kind greetings from Belgium !

So many highlights to choose from however the Simian highlands and the Golada baboons were amazing.

Take very warm clothes for Simien Mountains (layers. take a torch each. If getting a one month tourist visas from the Embassy note that they cannot be issued before one month in advance of the last date of the holiday..

Eskinder, we cannot thank you enough for making our time in Ethiopia so memorable, you have a real hands on approach to your business and clients and you have certainly gone the extra mile to ensure that our whole trip ran smoothly.

All the guides and drivers that you organised are so proud of their country and their heritage. They all have a fantastic knowledge of the history of Ethiopia.

My 2nd visit to Ethiopia, visiting the rock churches in the beautiful rural landscape of northern Tigre, the Simien and Bale Mountains (where I observed 7 of the endemic wolves that I have been wanting to see for ages), travelling to the south to the Omo Valley.

I loved the time I spent in Ethiopia. It was made even better by the fact that we were in the hands of such a competent and capable bunch of people. Everybody we came across, from guides to drivers to staff at the pre- arranged accomodations gave us a super service. I would be more than happy to recommend both the destination, this website and my chosen tour company to a friend.

My holiday was to the southern part of Ethiopia, and included a diversity of amazing wildlife and cultural experiences. The Bale Mountains are a stunning wild place, and thanks to our local guide we saw many endemic animals and birds, including 12 Ethiopian wolves. A highlight was our 4 hour walk on the Sanetti plateau, seeing wolves walk by us not too far away in complete peace.

This tour was the perfect way to expose my Ethiopian-born son to all that Ethiopia has to offer. Being only 7-years old we didn’t want a tour that would be fast paced with long drives…

we needed to give time for the kids to play and expend some energy. We worked with Highway Tours to customize an itinerary that had us visiting several tribal villages, but also spending time in game parks and lakes seeing animals we only dream of in Canada.

Ethiopia, I think, realizes how important tourism is to their country – but I wonder how tourism might adversely effect the
Rock-Hewn Churchs in Lalibela and the Different Tribes in the South Omo Valley.

Try to see as much of the country as you can. The south is very different from the north and it is well worth extending your holiday to try and see the Omo valley if you can. The accommodation is much better than we were led to believe and the food was excellent. but perhaps that was because we booked with Eskinder Hailu who made sure we had good accommodation wherever we stayed (even where it was fairly basic)..

Words cannot do real justice in capturing our experience and Eskinder and his team from Highway Travel were fantastic in so many ways- Eskinder made you feel that he genuinely wanted to make the trip a trip of a lifetime- nothing was too much trouble.

The most memorable or exciting part of your holiday was seeing the bull jumping and visiting the Hamer village to watch them dance and it was not a touristy event. Also drawing one of the
women in the Murcii village. And sharing our picnic with the ravens in the Simien mountains

Don’t encourage the children who will certainly beg by giving them ANYTHING. Sweets, pens,books or money. Do not encourage
begging. If you want to give something then entrust someone you really trust with some money to buy something necessary such as shoes.

A couple of the tribal visits in the South were uncomfortable as it felt that the tribes were altering their way of life to get money from tourists, but others were excellent with tourist income used to make improvements for the whole of the community. Visits to the local markets were good – everyone carrying on their usual business and hardly anything done specifically for tourists..

A great holiday … incredible sights and the chance to see several of the tribal groups in the Omo Valley. My driver was safe/careful and provided good companionship on the
journey.

Obviously the three days we spent in Lalibela over Timket were extraordinary – but so was watching our guide in Harar negotiate for a can of camel milk in a local village. We also loved our guest house in Harar.

Do it! Highway Tours were efficient, punctual and employed good guides whose knowledge seemed to increase as the tour progressed. Read the guide books (Bradt is excellent) either before or to refer to during the trip for enhanced appreciation.

The company is run by Eskinder Hailu Senebata who is a delightful man, who answered all our questions most professionally and on meeting turned out to be a most interesting man.

Small problems were quickly dealt with and nothing marred our very happy experience.The guides Eskinder employed locally were all excellent. The weather in February could not have been better.

We loved visiting Yemrehanna Christos, the church in a cave about 40km outside Lalibela. Not many other visitors go there, but Eskinder knows how special it is and always includes it in his tours. We hadn’t heard of it before but it was the highlight of our trip so we are grateful to Eskinder for including it.

The U.K. Government advises against travel to the Dannakil. We were very well looked after, with a police and armed escort. Having a friendly local guide who knows the locals meant we felt very safe.

Eskinder is always on hand by phone (great mobile network nearly everywhere) and will help out with anything.We found Ethiopian airlines good – planes, staff and security. Use Eskinder to sort out local flights – it is much better value and will mean you get to see more of the country in the time you have.

This part of Africa was a fascinating insight into a hugely varied country of lovely people – many leading a very hard life in good humour and without apparent religious or ethnic conflict. Their welcome was invariably friendly and helpful and an effort to make us welcome.

Go with an open mind and do not expect wonderful hotels.The four of us found it a fascinating, mind broadening and sometimes humbling experience rather than as a holiday but we do say go and have a look and appreciate an interesting very ancient country that is now very poor.

Ethiopia has much to see, so much variety, every day is different from the terrain and landscape, the crops and foods, the cultures, the tribes, the agricultural architecture, the history, the legends, the birds, the church, the handicrafts, the hotels and the different peoples. It was an amazing experience, but a humbling one as some of the villagers have very little.

Eskinder, we were very thankful to YOU that you had organised our trip so well. At every airport there was someone waiting and ready for us. Our drivers were all helpful and their cars comfortable. We had the best of the hotels on our journey and we saw and did a wide variety of adventures.

We marvelled that you had earmarked for us places to eat – where we could have fresh salads and fruit – something that you would not dream of doing in India for example (because of bad food handling) and we stayed healthy throughout. So thank you again to you. I am sure that if the country remains peaceful – then tourism in your country will really increase and there will be lots more work for you.

Every day brought new and exciting sights, sounds and experiences – from the vast numbers of people and livestock that walked the roads, to the stunning scenery to the awe inspiring churches.

Make sure you have plenty of small notes and coins and prepare to be hassled by the constant call of ‘take picture ‘ as it is associated with the handing over of 5 birr for the privilege of the photograph or the local children trying to sell you small trinkets. It does get annoying but you have to accept that for many it is the only way they have of surviving through the dry season and it is much better than begging.

If you are travelling south and have the opportunity, fly from Addis to Arba Minch rather than drive – you are not missing that much. Try and see the museum in Jinka before visiting the southern tribes. It was one of the better museums and provided lots of information on the different tribes.

Visiting the tribal markets at Turmi and Alduba, including walking to the Turmi market from Buska Lodge; and sitting
in a Hamer mud hut drinking coffee was the most exciting and memorable part of the holiday.

Walk to the Turmi market from the Buska Lodge; don’t rush to take photos at the tribal villages (walk around and chat with people first).

Dear Eskinder,

Many thanks for enabling us to have such a wonderful holiday in Ethiopia. It was such a well organised trip and we were very grateful that you met us at the airport, took us out and about in Addis Ababa and then drove us back to the airport at the end.

The guides in the other places were superb, had such excellent knowledge and were so pleasant to spend time with. I cannot rate the holiday highly enough!

Many thanks and all the very best!

This went above and beyond all expectations. Such warm, beautiful people everywhere that we went. We ate well, saw and experienced incredible things: all wonderful.

My favorite places to stay: Simien Lodge (so comfortable, with hot warer bottles to take to bed), Lalibela Lodge (beautiful views over the stunning town) and Gheralta Lodge. The Fasil Lodge in Gondar had the most warm and helpful hosts to look after us too.

Dear Eskinder,
Just to thank you and all your staff once again for a wonderful trip which we shall never forget. Your very personal service is much appreciated. It meant a lot to us to be able to spend time with Tom in your wonderful country.