Day Trip From Addis Ababa To Debre Libanos & Portuguese Bridge: Experience Ethiopian Rural Life
4.6
56 Ratings
Debre Libanos
Experience Ethiopian rural life on a day trip from Addis Ababa to Debre Libanos & Portuguese Bridge. Explore local huts, learn about Ethiopian history, visit a monastery, spot endemic baboons, and admire stunning waterfalls.
Duration: 8 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Debre Libanos - Debre Libanos is an important monastic center for Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity. The monastery was founded by the renowned 13th century mystic, St Teklehaimanot.
    Before driving back to Addis, we will stop at the Jemma River Gorge. The Jemma River is one of the tributaries of the Nile, and there is a drop of nearly 1000 metros to the valley below. We will walk downhill to the 17th century Portuguese Bridge. Here we can expect to see plenty of birdlife including the Banded Barbet, the Black headed forest oriole, the White billed starling, the Red Billed starling, the White winged cliff chat, the White backed black tit, white cheeked Turaco and Hemprich’s hornbill. We will also see one of Ethiopia’s endemic mammals, the Gelada or bleeding heart baboon. Leaving the Gorge we drive back to Addis Ababa.
  • Portuguese Bridge - Portuguese bridge near Debre Libanos was erected by the Portuguese in the 16th century; it was actually built at the turn of the 19th century by Ethiopians, albeit in the old Portuguese style. The narrow span makes a pretty picture and the gushing (in the rainy season) cascade just below it is even more impressive
What's Included
  • Driver Allowance
  • Bottled water included
  • Air-conditioned vehicles
  • Fuel surcharges included
  • All entrance fees covered
  • Guided tours at sites
What's Not Included
  • All not Mentioned on The Inclusion
Additional Information

This Tour will give a partial view of the Ethiopian Rural area like experiencing the local hut or grass houses of the countryside and chance of learning about the history of Ethiopia, the Life in the monastery and its museums, and also you will have a chance of seeing the Ethiopian endemic baboons called Chilada, variety of bird life which are abundant to this Place and also seeing the fabulous waterfalls at the Portuguese bridge(which is one of the oldest bridge in Ethiopia built by the Portugal people).

Location
Debre Libanos
Ethiopia German lodge , Addis Ababa
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.6
(56 Ratings)
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Jamal_a
Apr 4, 2024
Interesting rular and nature tour … - Interesting tour. A bit of a drive …. At least you get a chance to get out of the city …. The guide was knowledgeable of the area and the local guides were extremely helpful as well. Ayob was a young ambitious tour guide . Had a great local lunch with the guide. I appreciated the extra efforts by Ayoub (The Guide) in navigating the short hike to the bridge. I really enjoy meeting the friendly Ethiopian everywhere.
Review provided by Viator
Srinivasan_s
Mar 22, 2024
Very good value - The guide, Kenaw, was very knowledgeable and went to great lengths to make the trip memorable. The food was also good
Review provided by Viator
Matthew_l
Jan 5, 2024
Stunning view and cultural tour - Some of the best views I’ve ever seen, guide and driver were very experienced and they know the place well. The church gave me a very different feeling when comparing to other churches I’ve been to and it was eye opening. The mountains… stunning. We also enjoyed a great lunch with a movie-like view, would absolutely recommend everyone to join this tour.
Review provided by Viator
Beykc162eh
Oct 27, 2023
All expectations - My partner and I have taken three different trips with ETT and they are the most professional travel agent we have dealt with. Thanks for making our vacation fun and memorable!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sharew203
Jul 25, 2023
Amazing experience! - We started our trip to Debrelibanos and Portugal Bridges at 2:00 am with our guest Sophia. We were looking at the beautiful natural vegetation and landscape. We entered Debrelibanos at 1:30. We saw a place and an ancient tower and we also saw animals like chilada baboon and had a very pleasant day with sopihiya.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Katherinewg8503jy
Jun 26, 2023
The Portuguese Bridge is stunning! - I had a fun adventure with guides Ibrahim and Amir! The drive to Debre Libanos was stunningly beautiful and Ibrahim taught me Amharic as we drove. We were lucky and got to see the Gelada Baboons. The Portuguese Bridge is more beautiful than I had imagined and I loved getting to explore that area and have lunch overlooking the Blue Nile River. In the morning I was picked up from my hotel, which was very convenient. We drove to their main office and did wait about 1.5 hours before leaving, but I think this delay was mostly related to the other clients having a flight delay. I felt safe as a solo female traveller. Overall it was such a great experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Funyogii
Jun 12, 2023
A great experience going through nature - This tour was probably the highlight of Ethiopia from Addis. My tourguide Haben was terrific and quite knowledgeable. I got picked up in the morning from my place and transferred to the office which is where I met other tourists. Then from there, we started the tour. It was a quite long drive. We went to Debre Libanos monastery. I am not Christian but the architecture over there is quite interesting. The monastery is very orthodox and it has few rules, one of them is something I never heard like no intercourse for 48hrs before heading into church. Then after that, while on drive to Portuguese bridge we spotted few Gelada baboons which are quite fascinating. Near to bridge, we stopped by for authentic Ethiopian lunch which is really delicious and has some great views. Finally we went to the Portuguese bridge and the place where you see waterfalls. This is great viewpoint and great place for picture.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Fairtravell
Apr 2, 2023
Day trip - Hello, just want to thank you for your great planning. We had the amazing Maria as our tour guide and she made us feel. She was incredibly knowledgeable and provided a well-balanced day for us to enjoy. We got complimentary city tour of Addis. You can rent a vehicle for full day Addis Ababa sight seeing at $30 USD including fuel from Ethio Travel and Tours as well.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tiziano_b
Dec 9, 2023
Rocky start, wonderful ending - At the first there were some logistical troubles, but then the tour was amazing. Eyob is a great guide and very easy-going, I learnt a lot about Ethiopian history and music. Yarid is a fantastic driver. Recommended!
Review provided by Viator
Moirad649
Feb 21, 2023
Day trip to Debre Libanos and Portuguese Bridge - We enjoyed our day tour to Debre Libanos and Portugues Bridge. We had a slow start at first as we were dropped off at the tour company's office building and waited for an hour for a different car. The drive to Debre Libanos was long! The monastery is still active and is being used. Unfortunately, we got there 15 minutes or so before church started and we got a very brief and rushed tour of the area. Once church is started nobody is allowed to leave or enter the monastery hence the rushed tour we got. Afterwards, we went to Portuguese Bridge and saw some baboons! Had lunch near the bridge and traditional coffee. Overall, the tour was great and our tour guide and driver were very nice.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 12 guests
1 Adult
May 2024
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