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Wrongly identified as the source of the Blue Nile Lake Tana is one of the two lakes of Ethiopia with historical significance, with thirty-seven islands, twenty of which are home to churches and monasteries.

Tankwa

Monasteries on Lake Tana

Royal treasures and tombs

Church paintings in Tana Lake Islands

A monk in Lake Tana monastery

Lake Tana, wrongly identified as the source of the Blue Nile (the Blue Nile starts elsewhere and flows into and through the Lake), is one of the two lakes of Ethiopia with historical significance, especially in relation to the preservation of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church's documents and relics (the other one being Lake Ziway in the Rift Valley, which is home to three islands with medieval monasteries).

Lake Tana has thirty-seven islands, twenty of which are home to churches and monasteries. The islands with interesting historic churches are Birgida Maryam, Dega Estifanos, Dek, Narga, Tan Cherkos, Mitsele Fasilada, Debran, Debre Maryam. There also are churches on the peninsulas of Gorgora, Mandaba, and Zeghe (renowned for its coffee). Many of these churches have beautiful mural paintings and house church crosses, crowns and clothes of former kings. The churches and monasteries are off-limits to women, except Ura Kidane Mehret (located on the Zeghe peninsula) and Narga Selassie. Kebran Gabriel, the nearest to Bahir Dar, open to male visitors only, was founded in the fourteenth century and rebuilt during the reign of Emperor Iyasu I (1682-1706).

Of the islands, the one with particular historical interest is Dega Estifanos. The island is home to the church of Saint Stephanos (open to male visitors only), which houses a Madonna painted during the reign of Emperor Zara Yaqob. The real historic interest of the island lies in its treasury, which includes numerous piles of brightly colored ceremonial robes and the mummified remains of several of the former emperors of Ethiopia, including Yukon Amlak, the restorer of the so-called Solomonic Dynasty to the throne in 1270, Dawit, Zara Yaqob, Zadenghel and Fasiladas.

Of interest, too, is the 16th century Susenyos Palace near Gorgora, which is said served as a blueprint for the famous Gondar palaces. The palace was built for Susenyos, founder of the Gondar dynasty, by Jesuit missionaries.

Fasiladas Island, near the eastern side of the lake should be of interest to bird lovers, which is a breeding ground for a number of wetland species.