Travel information on Security & Safety for visitors in Ethiopia

Category Archives: Peaceful

Mysterious monasteries as Ethiopia travel gets easier

Mysterious hidden Monastery

Bethlehem church Roof stone and timber

Bethlehem church – timber & stone roof

The mysterious Bethlehem monastery is gearing up to welcome the first tourists. This monastery was reportedly built in the fourth century following the construction of Mariam Sion church in Axum. It is built in the ancient way with blocks of stone for the floor and walls and then a wooden roof, but what makes this church even more intriguing is that it is hidden by typical round wall with a corrugated roof, and so from outside looks like most other churches, although it is anything but!

Bethlehem church -Flagstone marking entrance to basement chambers

Flagstone marking entrance to basement chambers

Even more mysterious is that the monks claim that the Ark of Covenant is kept
beneath the church. They recount the tale of an Italian version of Indiana Jones who some 80 years ago determined to explore the chambers beneath the church. Apparently he came up having experienced an explosion he assumed to be volcanic, left the church and died within a day. The priests sealed the access stone and no one has been back down since.
This monastery is one of the key learning places – a church university for priests who want to study the scriptures and music of St. Yared, and there is a residential compound attached to the church.
We are now able to arrange for guests to stay at Bethlehem, either in a guesthouse or in tents, which will fit perfectly onto a trip between the Tesfa community guesthouses in neighbouring Meket (just south of Lalibela), and Gondar or Bahir Dar.

Travel to Ethiopia gets easier

Bole Airport Addis Ababa

Bole Airport in Addis

With Omicron replacing the Delta variant across the world the threat of COVID 19 has diminished. Although cases may have increased and transmission is rapid, immunity and much lower mortality and hospitalisation seem to follow. Official statistics for Ethiopia show that deaths of people with COVID and active cases have all but disappeared now. In Addis Ababa, where previous spikes in mortality were visible as funeral tents went up along the roads, life has settled down to something approaching normal.
In terms of travel, the Ethiopian Public Health Institute has now revised the directive with the result that travellers do not need to have a negative PCR test if they are vaccinated against COVID (all the mainstream western and Chinese vaccines – all double doses – except J&J, valid two weeks after vaccination) and can provide evidence (one presumes a certificate with the correct stamp on it).
This means the end for most travellers of expensive PCR tests and the worry about having travel plans cancelled due to a positive test.

E-Visas being processed

E-Visa page

Add to this that the online visa applications are being processed speedily now – but do use the correct government website .  Make sure you are using the one ending .gov.et.   You will need the address of your first night in a hotel, and a digital passport photo less than 2MB best as JPEG format. And same size/ format for a copy of the info page of your passport.  If you do not hear back from them in 72 hours please contact us – they may need a nudge to get it done.

Simien Mnt Lodge - High altitude accommodation

Simien Mnt Lodge

National Park Re-opened

The Simien National Park, which was closed during the conflict, is now open for business and Simien Mountain Lodge, which recently was renovated, is serving clients again. Through most of the last 24 months they have kept their staff on the payroll and remain a beacon of light for tourism in the area. Too many tourism professionals have suffered, while others have looked for alternative income streams that have taken them away from the sector. That this lodge remained open has given some of these people hope that tourism will return.

World class attractions

Sebreatsemu Giyorgis in Lalibela - tabots return to the church

Giyorgis church – Rock-hewn in Lalibela

Now that fighting across the region has stopped, the State of Emergency ended, and flight services resumed, the first trickle of visitors is returning to some of the attractions in the region: Lake Tana with its secluded monasteries; Lalibela with its labyrinth of rock-hewn churches connected by passageways and tunnels; Gondar with its romantic castles, baths and an extra ordinary church, and the Simien Mountain National Park with its high mountains, vertical escarpments and unique flora and fauna. Three of these are UNESCO World Heritage sites, and the fourth, Lake Tana, is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and all are amazing places to visit.

Dawn at Mescha community guesthouse Wof Washa

Mescha guesthouse, Wof Washa forest

Community Tourism

Tesfa Community Treks are also getting going again, as a steady stream of hikers has made their way to the guesthouses in Wof Washa Forest (near Ankober) and to the mountains around Lalibela to explore these stunning areas and experience the lives of the local farmers. Here the local host communities, after two years with virtually no guests, are thrilled to receive visitors again.  Treks can be from 2 nights upwards, and we can do several nights at one guesthouse for those wanting more time with the communities. More details on our website.

Book your trip soon!

I urge you to look at visiting Ethiopia soon. These remarkable places are quiet and peaceful. You can enjoy them without the crowds that were coming in 2019, and in the process help the guides, and other tourism professionals and service givers who are really struggling.  Contact us here or email us on info@tesfatours.com

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State of Emergency lifted – come an experience Ethiopia’s unrivalled hospitality

Coffee ceremony in village guesthouse

Last week the Government of Ethiopia lifted the State of Emergency that has been in place since last October. Since the State of Emergency was set in place, there have been no further disturbances and the country has been peaceful and safe to travel in.

The lifting of this SoE on top of the lifting of restrictions on the travel advice by many countries for visitors to Ethiopia, is all evidence that no one should have any concerns about security when planning a visit to Ethiopia. In fact Ethiopia is a remarkable country and we feel sure you will find the people welcoming and extremely hospitable. As one of our recent groups said

We did two weeks with Tesfa Tours covering Bahir Dar, Lalibela, the Simiens, Gondar, Axum, and Tigray (July 2017). We are 100% satisfied and can say that many of our ‘high’ expectations were exceeded!

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Shepherd boys along the trail in the highlands

We had heard that Ethiopia’s hospitality is unrivaled and now that we have experienced it for ourselves we completely agree. The people are genuine, caring, thankful, and full of joy. We all agree that Ethiopia is one of the most fantastic countries in the world and that there is no group better than Tesfa to show it to you!”

Nate, Dan, Matt, and Cal (USA)

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News Flash: Restrictions on Diplomats traveling out of Addis dropped

Rugged Trekking means more ups and downs, and higher altitudes

Peaceful and quiet in the Mountains of North Wollo – but the Tesfa Communities are not getting enough guests through thanks to negative travel advice.  (Boya Mikael guesthouse)

As part of the State of Emergency the Government in Ethiopia announced that diplomats needed permission to travel more than 40km out of the capital. In practice diplomats have been getting this permission with no problem, and now the government have withdrawn these restrictions.

This should go some way to convincing foreign governments that travel in Ethiopia is safe.  Tourists have been travelling around the country, and although numbers are down due to some being put off by the negative advise, the tourists that are visiting have been commenting that all seems peaceful and normal.

Now we are all waiting to see if the foreign governments can react quickly and lift their negative advise that is restricting the flow of tourists, stopping new bookings and harming the economy of the nation and livelihoods of many that rely on tourism!

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Peaceful elections today

All is very quiet and calm in Addis Ababa today. There is not the usual clamour of weddings with hooters being beeped as cavalcades cross town. In fact there is little noise at all, and Addis seems like a quiet village. Today – Sunday 24th May, is election day all across Ethiopia.  These elections are destined to be as peaceful and quiet as any election. The polling stations are recognisable by a flag, a few police and badged officials. But even there all seems very quiet and calm

Even the electioneering over the past weeks was quiet, with rallies and campaigners here and there – but not much emotion or excitement. This may in part be due to the fact that there has been no doubt as to who will win.
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There is no prospect of any trouble or cause of anyone to alter their plans. For any prospective tourists, the elections here once again highlight that Ethiopia is a peaceful and safe country to visit.

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