Due to civil unrest, it is not currently possible to visit Lalibela. 

To do full justice to the cultural aspects of this fascinating country, we offer an incredible Ethiopia historical tour extension to the northern town of Lalibela where we explore the unique 12th century monolithic churches, hewn out of solid rock and which took an estimated 25 years to construct, now appropriately considered one of the wonders of the world!

Whilst our main focus during the Ethiopia historical tour will naturally be these amazing monuments, we can also expect some excellent birding. Possible species include White-collared Pigeon, White-winged Cliff Chat, Erckel’s Francolin, Egyptian Vulture, White-fronted Black Chat, Abyssinian Catbird, Little Rock Thrush, Thick-billed Raven, White-backed Black Tit, Hemprich’s Hornbill, the scarce endemic Banded Barbet, Black-billed Woodhoopoe and large flocks of White-billed Starlings.

Top Birds

Many endemics including White-backed Black Tit, Thick-billed Raven, Banded Barbet, White-billed Starling, Rüppell's & White-fronted Black Chat, White-winged Cliff Chat, Erckel's Francolin, Yellow-rumped & Brown-rumped Seedeater, Wattled Ibis, White-collared Pigeon, Abyssinian Catbird

Habitats Covered

arid escarpments

Expected Climate

temperate in highlands

Max Group Size

8 with 1 Rockjumper leader

Tour Pace & Walking

moderate pace, mostly undemanding walks

Accommodation

basic but comfortable

Ease of Birding

easy

Number of Species Expected

+-70

Photographic Opportunities

excellent

What our clients say about us

Julian Parsons
RL - Ethiopia 2024

Julian was a wonderful leader, knowledgeable, enthusiastic and attentive to our needs. The local guide, Bereket, was also excellent and worked particularly hard when we had to find accommodation at short notice. The cultural guide Frui was very knowledgeable and shared both his knowledge and his experience of Orthodox Christianity with us in a very helpful manner. We saw a lot of birds and a good variety of mammals. In addition the food was very interesting and the coffee outstanding.

Gregory de Klerk
EL, Ethiopia 2019

Greg de Klerk was an excellent guide and his lively manner and humour did much to make the trip enjoyable.

Gregory de Klerk
SC, Ethiopia 2018

This tour was our first one with Greg de Klerk. I would certainly go with him again. He is an extremely good birder, quick to locate birds and get all of the tour group on them. He worked hard to get those difficult endemics. His sense of humour added greatly to the group experience. What I most appreciated about Greg was his method of helping us to see the necessary field marks to identify a bird and to explain the difference between a bird and one that looked similar. I was therefore sure of the identity of every bird we had.

Gregory de Klerk
AW, Ethiopia 2018

The guide, Greg de Klerk, did a good job. He was well informed regarding the participants and tried hard to accommodate everyone's needs. He made a good effort to inform us daily as to what birds we might see, which was very helpful.

David Hoddinott
DB, Ethiopia 2023

This tour far exceeded our expectations. The pace was mostly fast, and many days were long with early starts, but we fully expected this for an endemic search tour; but we still managed lots of comradery, jokes, and cocktail time. We fulfilled our tour goal of finding all the endemic island species plus most of the endemic subspecies, including those that are most likely to be split in the future. We also got to sample the local culture and food of every island. Our tour was extremely productive and a very fun trip. We had a very experienced group of participants, and everyone was pleased with the tour. Our leaders were exceptional. Forrest Rowland and Ryan Chenery made an excellent team. Both are very knowledgeable, personable, and funny, as well as expert birders. Their knowledge of the species was profound. They worked hard to find each target and to make sure that everyone got on the birds. On several islands, we also had local leaders/drivers who were top-notch birders. They thoroughly knew their local species habits and vocalizations. The Lesser Antilles are Ryans domain; he expertly planned and conducted the tour. When you lead a group of people to ten different islands in 14 days via airplanes, ferries, and speedboats, you know that various matters will require attention and Ryan adeptly dealt with all issues that cropped up, most of which were not even apparent to us. Thanks, also, to Ryans wife Alexandria, who we got meet on their home island of Barbados, who ran the back-office logistics dealing with confirmations and handling real-time changes, as needed. The team of Forrest, Ryan, and Alex kept everything running smoothly and seamlessly. The Rockjumper home office also did a great job of handling the registration and payment processes and all associated travel paperwork and communications. This was our first Rockjumper tour, but it certainly wont be our last.

Ethiopia - Lalibela Historical Extension II 2024

01 Dec 2024 - 04 Dec 2024 (4 days)

USD1,695 - 1 Space Available

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Tour Leader: Robert Williams

Tour price (Per person): USD1,695 * GBP1,367 * EUR1,596 * AUD2,660

Single Supplement: USD110 * GBP89 * EUR104 * AUD173

Flight costs: USD440 * GBP355 * EUR414 * AUD690

Ethiopia - Lalibela Historical Extension I 2025

27 Jan 2025 - 30 Jan 2025 (4 days)

USD1,895 - Spaces Available

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Tour Leader: Julian Parsons

Tour price (Per person): USD1,895 * GBP1,529 * EUR1,784 * AUD2,974

Single Supplement: USD140 * GBP113 * EUR132 * AUD220

Flight costs: USD430 * GBP347 * EUR405 * AUD675

Ethiopia - Lalibela Historical Extension II 2025

29 Nov 2025 - 02 Dec 2025 (4 days)

USD1,895 - Spaces Available

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Tour Leader: Quinton Paul Josop

Tour price (Per person): USD1,895 * GBP1,529 * EUR1,784 * AUD2,974

Single Supplement: USD140 * GBP113 * EUR132 * AUD220

Flight costs: USD430 * GBP347 * EUR405 * AUD675

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