Half Day Addis Ababa City Tour: Entoto Hills & National Museum & Merkato Market

Tour Highlights

  • Visit Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital through museums, markets, religious sites, and lively city culture
  • Visit Entoto Hills, enjoy panoramic views over Addis Ababa and learn about the city’s early royal history
  • Visit Entoto Maryam Church, one of Addis Ababa’s historic Orthodox churches connected with Emperor Menelik II
  • Visit Entoto Park, an important stop for local culture, scenery, history, and photography
  • Visit National Museum of Ethiopia, Lucy and important archaeological collections that trace Ethiopia’s ancient human history
  • Visit Merkato, one of Africa’s largest open-air markets, known for spices, textiles, coffee, and daily city life
  • Visit traditional markets to see local trade, crafts, livestock, spices, and regional products
  • Look for wildlife such as Menelik’s Bushbuck in suitable habitats along the route

Detailed Itinerary

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Day 1: Addis Ababa Half Day City Tour

This is the highlight of Addis Ababa half day city tour. Addis Ababa means “New Flower.” This half day city tour covers Entoto Hills (NOT ENTOTO PARK), National Museum, Entoto Maryam Church and Merkato Market.

You will be met at the airport or Hotel and begin sightseeing of Addis with our first stop to Entoto Maryam Church; it’s one of the oldest Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Churches on the Entoto Hills. It was built in 1877 by Emperor Menelik II characterized by octagonal domes. Several royal artifacts of the emperor and empress also found in this church including some traditional costumes of the crowns, their royal bed, jewels owned by the royal family, and a mirror presented by Queen Victoria to Empress Taytu. Our second stop Entoto Hills (NOT ENTOTO PARK) for a panoramic view of Addis with an altitude of 2900 MASL. Our third stop Descend down and drive to National museum, it contains many precious local archaeological finds such as the fossilized remains of early hominids, the most famous of which is “Lucy,” the partial skeleton of a specimen of Australopithecus Afarensis. Recently added to the basement gallery is a display on Selam, found between 2000 and 2004. This archaic fossil is estimated to date to 3.3 million years ago. Our fourth stop drive to Merkato, established by the Italian around 1937 it’s a large open-air marketplace in Africa, Covering several square miles and employing an estimated 13,000 people in 7,100 business entities. Finally you will drive back to your hotel end of the tour.

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