Gonder
The Gonder of yesteryear was a city of extreme brutality and immense wealth. Today the wealth and brutality are gone, but the memories linger in this…
Gonder
The Gonder of yesteryear was a city of extreme brutality and immense wealth. Today the wealth and brutality are gone, but the memories linger in this…
Northern Ethiopia
The Blue Nile looks like a sluggish beast as it meanders out of Lake Tana, but not far out of Bahir Dar you’ll see the Nile in a very different mood. The…
Addis Ababa
This massive and ornate cathedral is the second-most important place of worship in Ethiopia (ranking behind the Old Church of St Mary of Zion in Aksum)…
Harar
Harar’s old walled town (known as Jugal) is a fascinating place that begs exploration. The thick, 5m-high walls running 3.5km around town were erected in…
Lalibela
Reached via a series of trenches and tunnels (one is long, narrow and pitch-black) that starts from Bet Gabriel-Rufael, this church may have started as…
Southern Ethiopia
Omo National Park has long been one of the most remote parks in Ethiopia and travelling here can be incredibly tough – but never less than fascinating…
Western Ethiopia
Gambela National Park is Ethiopia's greatest wildlife show-in-waiting, and being difficult to get to doesn't change that. It has vast herds of migrating…
Eastern Ethiopia
The little-explored territory and salt lakes scattered around Asaita are something of a holy grail for serious adventurers. This area remains one of the…
Harar
Located north of Fallana Gate, this is one of Harar's two hyena feeding stations. A highlight of any visit to Harar, this impressive spectacle begins…
Northern Ethiopia
Although no trace of the 13th-century monastery remains (a casualty of the Muslim–Christian Wars), the modern site is impressively set beneath a waterfall…
Aksum
A site known as Wuchate Golo is one of Aksum's four ancient quarries, the birthplace of the famous stelae. Several stelae (all unmarked) were almost…
Harar
One of Harar's two infamous hyena feeding sites, it is located about 1.5km east of Erer Gate (near the garbage dump). This site is usually more productive…
Aksum
The rectangular, men-only old church at the southern end of the complex of churches here is a remarkable example of traditional architecture built by the…
Lalibela
Its entrance flanked by a sloping sliver of rock known as the ‘Way to Heaven’, this imposing twin-church marks the main entrance to the southeastern group…
Lalibela
A trench at the southern end of the Bet Maryam courtyard connects it to the twin churches of Bet Golgotha and Bet Mikael (also known as Bet Debre Sina)…
Northern Ethiopia
The most interesting relic of Gorgora’s former days as a short-lived capital is the attractive Debre Sina church. Built in 1608 by Emperor Susenyos’ son…
Addis Ababa
The Washa Mikael Church is a few kilometres east of Addis Ababa's town centre. Though local priests date it back to the 3rd century AD, it most probably…
Rock-hewn Churches of Tigray
In a pretty valley south of Hawzien and signposted off the Megab-Wukro road, Maryam Papaseit is one of the most accessible and rewarding churches in the…
Aksum
Despite being the crudest of tombs, roughly hewn into solid rock instead of constructed with fine masonry, this place has a slightly magical feel…
Aksum
On the way up to the tombs of Kings Kaleb and Gebre Meskel, you’ll pass a small shack containing a remarkable find that three farmers stumbled upon in…
Lalibela
Geneta Maryam is thought to have been built around 1270 by Yekuno Amlak, who restored the Solomonic line. With its rectangular shape and 20 massive…
Lalibela
Lying west of Arbatu Ensessa, around 32km from Lalibela, Bilbila Giyorgis is attributed to King Kaleb. It resembles Bet Abba Libanos in design. According…
Lalibela
Hewn into a rock face, Bet Abba Libanos is unique among Lalibela’s churches because only the roof and floor remain attached to the strata. Many of its…
Lake Tana & its Monasteries
The Blue Nile outlet, a 20-minute boat ride east of Bahir Dar, has far greater geographical significance than it does natural beauty, although there's…
Northern Ethiopia
Around 200km from Addis Ababa, one of Ethiopia’s most dramatic stretches of road begins its serpentine descent to the bottom of the Blue Nile Gorge, 1km…
Rock-hewn Churches of Tigray
Also known as Adi Kesho, after its location, this is one of Tigray’s oldest, tallest and finest rock-hewn churches. Its exterior and interior walls are…
Rock-hewn Churches of Tigray
Though not visited very often, this is considered one of Gheralta’s finest churches. The cruciform plan is hewn into a dome-like rock and it has good…
Lake Tana & its Monasteries
The thatch roof atop the church at Azuwa Maryam helps make it the best-looking church on Zege (currently Bete Maryam is the only other church with thatch)…
Aksum
The museum inside the St Mary of Zion Church complex contains an impressive haul of treasure, including an unsurpassed collection of former Ethiopian…
Simien Mountains National Park
The 15-minute walk from the roadside to the lookout across the chasm to Jinbar Waterfall is well worth taking. The views are vertiginous and they're at…
Rock-hewn Churches of Tigray
Just a couple of minutes’ walk from Maryam Korkor is the seldom-used church of Daniel Korkor. It sits atop a paralysing precipice, offers astounding views…
Gonder
Around 2km northwest of the piazza lies Fasiladas’ Bath, which has been attributed to both Fasiladas and Iyasu I. The large rectangular pool is overlooked…
Northern Ethiopia
Yeha is considered the birthplace of Ethiopia’s earliest known civilisation nearly three millennia ago. Many features here, such as the immense,…
Addis Ababa
Wading into the market chaos known as Merkato, just west of Addis' centre, can be as rewarding as it is exasperating. You may find the most eloquent aroma…
Eastern Ethiopia
Easily accessible from Addis Ababa, 756-sq-km Awash National Park is one of Ethiopia’s most visited parks. However, if you’re here for the thrill of…
Rock-hewn Churches of Tigray
Impressively located halfway up a 300m-high sheer cliff face, this church is reached by a 15-minute climb using steps, tunnels and little bridges. The…
Empress Mentewab’s Kuskuam Complex
Gonder
It mightn't be as well-preserved as the Royal Enclosure, or as sacred as Debre Berhan Selassie, but what this royal compound, known as Kuskuam, lacks in…
Tombs of Kings Kaleb & Gebre Meskel
Aksum
Set on a small hill 1.8km northeast of the Northern Stelae Field and offering views of the jagged mountains of Adwa are these two tombs that local…
Southern Ethiopia
The main wildlife-watching circuit crosses the Bridge of God to the park’s namesake savannah, but the road is so atrocious that many tour companies prefer…
Southern Ethiopia
Around 100km east of Robe, the fast-flowing Web River runs through a deep gorge and then cuts straight through a limestone hill. Though underground for…