Once the capital of a great civilization, Axum might have been awarded UNESCO World Heritage status, but most of its current-day crop of hotels would struggle to garner any kind of prize!   

That said, the Remhai - a large, modern hotel on the outskirts of town - is one of the better accommodation options here. Its setting and design are fairly standard, but in terms of comfort, facilities and value for money, it easily qualifies as one of the top 5 hotels in the country.

There are over 50 clean and well-presented rooms here, with good, king-sized beds, mini bars, TVs (with a few English language channels), as well as running water and electricity 24 hours a day. There are two bars, a swimming pool (which unusually for Ethiopia is full of water) and a restaurant with a very good Western menu. The food was excellent on our last visit, and many travellers claim the Remhai offers some of the best meals in Ethiopia.  There is also an internet café, a small souvenir shop, sauna and gym.

Please note that during religious and cultural celebrations (particularly the festival of Maryam Zion), Remhai Hotel becomes something of a focal point and loud parties can run throughout the night. As a result the Remhai is fine for night owls, but not ideal for travellers who need a good 8 hours sleep or an early start!
The northern historical circuit constitutes a 3000 km round trip, beginning in Addis Ababa and moving clockwise through Debre Markos, Bahir Dar, Gondar and Axum – its western flank – and peaking in Adigrat, before moving south again, through Mekele, Lalibela, Woldia and Kombolcha, and finishing back in Addis. There are plenty of places in between and off track, including – for example -the Simien Mountains,  the Blue Nile Falls, Lake Tana and the Mesket area. While most of these are served by either tarmac or good dirt roads, a few areas of interest are accessed only by dirt tracks and paths, requiring that travellers use 4 x 4 vehicles, mules or - in some cases - foot.  

The northern historical circuit as a whole is best visited between October and March, the long rains beginning in June, becoming increasingly heavy through July and August, before thinning out towards the September. Temperatures average around 16 °C. However, when looked at in more detail, the climatic picture for the northern circuit makes for more complicated viewing: the area is vast, the west wetter than the east, the north-east much drier, local temperatures and levels of precipitation dictated by altitude. Experienced travellers can pick and choose places of interest throughout the year – even in July and August.

At 2,400m, Addis Ababa is the world’s highest capital. Temperatures are extremely constant - 16 to 18°C - and precipitation levels range between a paltry 10mm in November to a reasonable but by no means impossible 280mm in August. Clearly, it is possible and - given its status and the fact that it is here that journeys to destinations throughout Ethiopia begin and end - necessary to visit Addis throughout the year, though July, August and some of September would be the months in which to avoid it rain-wise.

After Addis Ababa, and moving clockwise, the next place of real significance is Bahir Dar, from which it is possible to visit Lake Tana’s island monasteries and the Blue Nile Falls. At an altitude of 1840m, Bahir Dar is lower than Addis, and therefore warmer, with temperatures that range between 18 and 22°C. Precipitation levels rise significantly in June (185mm), peak at 430mm in July, are in the top 300s in August, fall to 300mm in September, and continue to hover at just below 10mm in October, all of which makes November through to April the best months to visit.

In Aksum, the hotel choices are minimal. The best is probably the Remhai Hotel (251-34-7753210; e-mail: remhot@telecom.net.et), a modern, concrete-block building with 74 rooms on the eastern outskirts; it has satellite television, sporadic Internet service and a decent restaurant. Doubles are $30.

The alternative is the Yeha Hotel (251-34-7752377), part of the government-owned Ghion Hotel chain (251-11-5513222; www.ghionhotel.com.et). It is a pleasant place near the stelae, with 63 rooms, a good restaurant and that necessity in rural Ethiopia, a stand-by generator. Doubles begin at $40.