Northern Ethiopia anti clockwise route a good idea?

Hi everyone,

My partner and I are going to Ethiopia for 3 weeks and plan to spend most of that time in the North. I read that the bus journey from Laliblela to Addis is 2 days. As we are there for only a short time I would rather fly this leg. If we visited this region in a clockwise route we wouldn't know what day we would arrive in Lalibela.

So my thought is to do the route anti clockwise and fly to Lalibela from Addis at the start after 2 nights in Addis.

My questions for those in the know is will this work?
Is there any logistical or other reason not to do the route this way?
Is buying flights early worth doing or do the prices remain the same close to departure? We have international flights with Ethiopian Airlines and I heard this gives you a discount for domestic flights.
We travel quite fast normally so in 3 weeks could we fit in another destination near to Addis at the end?

I'd really appreciate any comments anyone may have. Thanks in advance.

we've not yet got to Ethiopia but we've just booked internal flights and achieved the discount which is substantial. It took an email to the London office followed up by persistence on the phone. I can't tell you much else yet but we are thinking of doing the flight back from Axum to Lalibela then to Addis. Only booked the Addis to Mekele leg so far.

In Addis you can go to one of the Ethiopian Airlines offices and book the flight to Lalibela. You will get the discount if you can provide your international Ethiopian Airlines booking reference. It's a short flight and a 25 minute bus ride to Lalibela.

I guess the trip should be as easy counter clockwise as it is clockwise. You could also go clockwise and buy a ticket from Lalibela to Addis at the Ethiopian Airlines office once you arrive in Lalibela.

If you have three weeks you can make this trip on busses only. You can compare prices and decide.
Part of the journey would be on sealed roads, while the rest on gravel bumpy roads, if you're fine with that.
If you fly, you'd miss some stunning views and landscapes.

It's not a problem to move along the Historical Road using the anti clockwise road.
Keep in mind that the Historical Road is not only the four main cities.
You have so much to see and to do that you can visit for a while.
With three weeks, try to have a realistic program. You can visit properly for three weeks. It could be only in the North.

Michel

Thanks everyone for your replies.

It sounds as if there is no reason not to do the route anticlockwise.

Is there an Ethiopian Airlines office in all the major places/cities? If we buy a flight a few days before is that economical price wise or is it better to get in advance?

We are keen to travel by bus for the rest of the time so as the see the country but the 2 days from Lalibela to Addis doesn't sound fun and the stopover at Dessie and trying to find a hotel there seems like it could be stressful (captive audience!). Has anyone done this journey by bus? Any feedback?

You have Ethiopian offices outside the capital city, in the main cities.
I did the journey by bus (and in fact I travelled all the Historical Road by bus or public transports)
It's easy to find hotels, it's not a problem at all.
Try to buy the Bradt guidebook. It's the "bible" for the independent traveller.

Michel

Thanks Michel.

Last question...

Is it possible to visit Simien Mountains and do some shorter walks? I have a bad knee so 2-3 days of walking wouldn't be possible for me but I'd love to spend some time in the park doing maybe 3-4 hour walks for a few days.

thanks

Reply to last question: if you are worried about your ability to do a full day's trek between camp sites, you need to pre-organise a guide who will listen to your requirements and cater for them and - probably - have a car available in case you need picking up. This is all very possible but would be best fixed up in advance. Any of the good guides recommended on this forum would be able to do this for you, and it would be wise to contact two or three to see which you prefer. Personally I'd go for Alex (alebachew_2005@yahoo.com; http://simienmountains.com) who has always listened to my requirements, made suggestions, and then provided exactly what I want.

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