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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
Tips & articles
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Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled Ethiopia itinerary
10 November 2009
A day spent negotiating Harar’s maze of cobblestone alleyways is the perfect start for a journey...
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The Festival of Kristos Samra
10 November 2009
The pilgrims’ walk from the shores of Lake Tana to Kristos Samra church is no more than a few hundred...
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Hiking the Meket escarpment
10 November 2009
At a height of 3500 metres, sharp wind cuts through thin clothes. With the wind comes rain that feels...
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Ethiopia
Our Top Picks For Ethiopia
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1 Lalibela
Take an unfathomable foray into Lalibela’s rock hewn churches – medieveal Ethiopia frozen in stone.
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2 Lake Tana
Say hello to history living today at this lake’s centuries-old island monasteries
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3 Gonder
Slide past 17th-century shadows and dive into the fairy-tale remains of ‘Africa’s Camelot’
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4 Simien Mountains
Unparalleled precipices, bewildering ‘bleeding heart’ baboons and some of Africa’s best trekking
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5 Aksum
The Aksumite kingdom’s ancient obelisks seen here would make any Egyptian pharaoh blush with envy
Fast Facts about Ethiopia
- Time
GMT/UTC + 3
- Population
74.8 million
- Borders
- Seasons
Wet season (mid-March to early October), very hot in lowlands (June to September)
- Telephone
Country code 251; international access code 00
- ATMs
None that accept foreign cards
- Budget
US$10 to US$50 a day
- Capital
- Visa
One-month visa US$20 at airport; Ethiopian embassies charge more
- Languages
Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromo
- Area
1, 098, 000 sq km
- Money
Our favourite Ethiopia Blogs (beta)
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Addis, Addis! (It’s a Hell of a Town)
Blog: Africa Attraction - 20 November 2009
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Coffee vs Infrastructure
Blog: Africa Attraction - 20 November 2009
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Shock Horror
Blog: Africa Attraction - 9 November 2009
It’s funny how the world works. Having completed one of the most dangerous roads we’re likely to take, we arrived in a town full of the friendliest people we’re likely to meet.
