3 Days Danakil Depression Tour
Hike an active lava lake at dusk, sleep on the rim of Erta Ale, cross salt plains with Afar caravans and walk the sulphur-yellow….
Itinerary Details
Tour Timeline
- 01
Mekelle – Gheralta
With our one-day Tigray Churches trekking itinerary, you will visit three churches namely Abuna Yemata Guh, Maryam Korkor and Daniel Korkor. All of which are very different in style but stunningly beautiful in their own way.
To visit Abuna Yemata Guh, walking for about an hour to commence a steep ascent up the side of the Gheralta massif. This steep ascent soon turn into a climb using foot holds and hand holds chipped into the sandstone rock by the passage of many hands and feet. The climb and the walk along very narrow ledges with sheer drops to the side is not one for the faint hearted.
The church itself can be reached by walking out on a ledge one meter wide and with a 200m drop to the left hand side. At the entrance there is a small cave and a wooden door built into the rock.
Of the three rock-hewn churches, Maryam Korkor is the most impressive architecturally. A huge, high ceiling is supported by 12 free standing pillars. Looking at it you could not help but wonder how the architect managed to carve so high from the ground. afternoon drive back to Mekelle.
In the afternoon (after lunch), you will start trekking to the highest point of Gheralta which is 2700 above sea level which have astonishing view to all 4 corners of the remarkable Gheralta mountains. Then you will visit the church of Mariam & Danile Korkor.
Finally, you descend dawn back to Hawzen which takes nearly 1 hour on walking. Finally you will wrap up your day trekking with 40min drive back to Mekelle for overnight.
