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Introducing Ethiopia
Travel Alert: Travel to the Eritrean border area should be avoided. The border itself is permanently closed. The Somali, Kenyan and Sudanese borders are also very dangerous, and any travel by road across these frontiers should be reconsidered. Check Safe Travel for current government warnings.
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Wade through incense into a medieval world hewn from stone in Lalibela, and watch the line between past and present blur while taking part in striking Christian ceremonies that haven’t changed in 1000 years. Ethiopia’s storied and sovereign history has left its wide-ranging and fertile highlands laden with historical treasures, ranging from the ancient tombs and obelisks of Aksum to 17th-century castles and burnt-out Russian tanks. Many are more than a peek into the nation’s past; they are a giant two-footed leap. Ethiopia’s landscapes are no less dramatic, and range from the Simien Mountains National Park and Bale Mountains National Park, which proffer tremendous trekking and innumerable interactions with dozens of animals and birds seen nowhere else on earth, to the Danakil Depression in Northern Ethiopia, an enchanting and unforgivingly hostile environment offering extreme adventure. The remote lowlands in the sultry southwest are also home to untold adventures and house some of Africa’s most fascinating tribes.
Testing, awe-inspiring and heartbreaking – a journey you’ll never forget. You don’t explore Ethiopia for a relaxing getaway, you venture here to be moved. And moved you shall be.
Although it’s anything but desert wasteland or a perpetual home of famine and war, Ethiopia is monetarily poor and travel here is tough, both physically and mentally. However, those willing to take some doses of displeasure with Ethiopia’s bounty of treasure will be pleasantly rewarded.
Last updated: Jun 11, 2009
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