Eritrea Expedition

Day 1 – Arrival in Asmara

Day 1 of the expedition is the arrival day.

We will pick you up from the airport, followed by checking in at the hotel.

We will give an introductory briefing on this Eritrea expedition, followed by dinner and drinks.

If you came earlier, know that Eritrea is the most pleasant city in Africa, a place where you could just chill, stroll around and drink coffee.

Overnight in Asmara.

Day 2 – Keren animal market

Day 2 of the expedition will be a Monday, which is the day that Keren animal market takes place, probably the best livestock market I have ever seen.

We will take our time visiting the market, including plenty of free time for taking pictures, interacting with locals and just discovering it on your own.

After lunch, we’ll visit the rest of town and surrounding areas.

Overnight in Keren.

Day 3 – Back to Asmara, Asmara City Tour

Usually, we would do this tour on day 2, but we moved it to day 3 so we can all attend the animal market.

Wide, palm-lined boulevards, art deco, more Fiat Cinquecentos than Italy itself and a great coffee scene.

Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, might be the most charming city in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Things we will visit include: Fiat Tagliero building, Cinema Roma, Cinema Imperio, Saint Joseph Cathedral, Medemer Market, and the famous bowling center, among other things.

Overnight in Asmara.

Day 4 – Decamhare and Adikeyih

Early in the morning, we will travel to Decamhare, a town southeast of Asmara that served as the industrial hub for Italian Eritrea, and once rivaled Asmara to be the colony’s capital.

At its peak in 1938 almost half the town’s 12,000 inhabitants were Italian citizens.

Decamhare is known for its vineyards and flour mills and, despite considerable fighting in the War of Independence, Decamhare still has good examples of colonial architecture.

Then, we’ll continue to Adikeyih through a valley of beautiful sycamores, making our way into Qohaito.

Overnight in Qohaito.

Day 5 – Qohaito, Soho tribe and Senafe

Quohaito is a pre-Axumite archaeological site about 20km from Adikeyih, located at 2,600m on the edge of the Great Rift Valley.

Later, we will continue to the town of Senafe, close to the Ethiopian border, from where a rough 20km track leads to the country’s second-highest mountain, Emba Soira 3,018m.

We will also discover some pretty ancient rock art, as well as meet members from the Soho tribe. Then, at the end of the day, we’ll go back to Asmara.

Overnight in Asmara.

Day 6 – Massawa

In the morning, we’ll drive to the Red Sea coast, to Eritrea’s main port city of Massawa.

With its strategic position on the Red Sea Coast, it was much coveted by foreign powers and has been occupied by the Portuguese, Arabs, Egyptians, Turks, British and Italians.

It gained prominence back in the 16th century when it was captured by Ottoman forces, who developed the old town using traditional Ottoman architectural styles, often with coral instead of bricks.

We’ll visit the old Ottoman town, the Italian legacy and have some great seafood.

Overnight in Massawa.

Day 7 – Massawa and the Rashahida tribe

Rashahida people are an ethnic group that lives across the coast plain of the Red Sea, from Port Sudan to Massawa.

They are the descendants of Arab tribes from the 19th century and are nomadic people and are characterized by their colorful dress and camel breeds.

They are Sunni Muslims, and a world apart from anything we’ve seen in Asmara and Keren.

We will visit them, learn from them and also have lunch with them.

If possible, we’ll also visit Adulis, once among the greatest ports of the ancient world, linking the Roman, Egyptian and Greek Empires.

However, February will be the rainy season in that area so the road tends to be very muddy and, impossible to drive on our bus. We’ll see. Otherwise, after lunch, we’ll head back to Asmara.

Overnight in Asmara.

Day 8 – Departure

Time for a last cappuccino before your transfer to the airport for your onward flight.