4-Day Abune Yosef Conservation Area Trekking Tour from Lalibela

We did this trekking (3 days, 2 nights) and we had fun, the place and the people are really really beautiful. However, we were very disappointed with the company Highland Eco Trekking Tours. The trip wasn't well organized, little information was provided about the places to sleep or to visit, the guide was not very professional and the price was ridiculously high for the service provided. We accepted the price in advance but we were expecting a much better service. Things in Lalibela are cheap but the company charges over 150 Usd/Day and provide low quality food and inexperienced guides. During my tin in Lalibela, I learned there that there are many other companies there that do the same tours at much better prices. So I do recommend the place, it is really worth to see, but I'd not recommend this company. Our trip was very overpriced and it is evident that they got a huge unreasonable profit for that. I like to give opinions face to face but, unfortunately, the owner of Highland Eco Trekking Tours was spending his holidays in Germany while we were there, so we never had the opportunity to talk to him about this.

We did a 4-day tour including 3 days of trekking to Abune Yosef and a tour of the Lalibela churches. The experience of staying with local families and hiking through the beautiful mountains was unforgettable. Our guide, Mareg was friendly, but I would have appreciated if he would help translate more of the conversations when we were with the local family. He really only did this if we asked, but otherwise didn't really help much. The cook prepared plenty of food (western dishes like pasta and soup) so you won't go hungry, but it would be a good idea to bring some snacks for the hike. Also, it can get very cold in the mountains at night so don't forget to pack appropriate clothing! (Down jacket, gloves & hat!) While the landscapes and the people were beautiful, overall we felt that the tour was overpriced for the food and service we received (hence the lower rating). 100 USD per person, per day, seems excessive. Also, we were advised by Daniel that the church entrance fees were not included, but weren't expecting $50 USD per person. An extra $100 USD is a lot to pay when you haven't budgeted for it!

The Company is run by a group of local guides from Lalibela. I joined 2-day Lalibela church tour and 4-day trekking with them and everything was really well organized. . Already when preparing for the trip they always answered my emails quickly and even helped me with arranging my domestic guides. For the tour I had different guides for visiting the churches and the trekking, but all of them where great and really knowlegable. I felt well taken care of. Especially Nahom my trekking guide went the extra mile to make sure I could try out everything like preparing coffee the ethiopian way or baking injera. The scenary on the trekking tour is really beautiful and it is definitely worth doing a longer guided tour. I hope to come back some day. I would definetly take another tour with them