Axum
Best time to be there
There are two seasons: the dry season prevails from October through May; the wet season runs from June to September. Temperatures are determined by altitude, with highlands (including Addis Ababa) rarely exceeding 25º C. In the lowlands it can get considerably hotter exceeding 40ºC, while in the Danakil Depression it can approach 60ºC
Fly to
Addis Ababa
flying time
9 hours
time difference
GMT + 3 hours
Itineraries
Classic Ethiopia
Highlights - Boat trip on Lake Tana; Famous cave churches in Lalibela... Read more ...
Ethiopia Wildlife
Highlights - take a walk in the surrounding area to look for the endemic gelada baboon;Check out Lake Ziway famous for its birds... Read more ...
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One of the holiest towns in Ethiopia, Axum is believed to house the most holy of Christian relics, the Ark of the Covenant, expropriated from Jerusalem by the Queen of Sheba's son, so the legend goes. Today the Ark is kept protected from public view except and the closest that you can get to seeing it is a glimpse of the Tabot, a replica of the Ark, paraded around at the festival of Timkat, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church's celebration of Epiphany.
From the 10th to the 1st centuries BC, Axum (also spelled Aksum) was the capital of the great Axumite Empire, which is considered one of the last of the great civilizations. It was a thriving hub of commerce with Red Sea and Indian Ocean ports and the earliest Christian kingdom in the world.
Aside from the Ark and the legends that surround it, modern Axum retains little of its former grandeur, but it is still the spiritual heart of the country. It is a deeply religious city (both Ethiopian Orthodox and Sunni Muslim) and is where Christianity arrived in the fourth century.
Axum is also a delight to archaeologists, with ruins of ancient tombs, stelae, palaces and churches seen everywhere. Amazingly, 98 percent of the ancient city remains to be excavated. For all this historical and religious richness, the city of Axum has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
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Guest Testimonial
This is my first booking with A & K and the whole experiance was outstanding. I would say it was 110%.
- NC, Bath
World Travel Awards
World Travel Awards
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A&K Philanthropy
Sam's Brothers Clean Water Project
Provides local communities with access to clean, bacteria-free water in rural Cambodia, where waterborne illnesses are responsible for more than half of all deaths.
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