Ethiopia
Ethiopia is like nowhere else on the planet, a beautiful country blessed with a peerless history, fabulous wildlife and some of Africa's most soulful peoples.
Nature's Bounty
Ethiopia is one of Africa's most beautiful countries and its landscapes are epic in both scale and beauty. Here is a place where you can trek more than 9800ft above sea level (the Simien and Bale mountains) or visit the lowest place on the African continent, the Danakil Depression. In between, there are lush highlands and stirring deserts, vertiginous canyons and sweeping savanna, vast lakes and high plateaus. If you look hard enough, you'll also find landmarks of great significance, from the source of the Blue Nile to, again, the mesmerizingly desolate Danakil Depression, peppered with an astonishing 25% of Africa’s active volcanoes.
Historical Wonders
Ethiopia, one of the oldest countries in the world, successfully resisted European colonialism throughout the centuries – it has retained much of its cultural identity and its story is one of Africa's most fascinating. It all begins with Lucy, one of our most celebrated ancient ancestors, moves effortlessly into the realm of ancient Aksum with its oblelisks and echoes of the Queen of Sheba, and then takes on power and passion as Christianity, with mysterious echoes of Ancient Israel, takes center stage. The ancients here left behind some extraordinary monuments to faith and power which serve as focal points for so many wonderful journeys.
Outdoor Adventures
Ethiopia is one of Africa's most beautiful countries and its landscapes are epic in both scale and beauty. Here is a place where you can trek more than 3000m above sea level (the Simien and Bale mountains) or visit the lowest place on the African continent, the Danakil Depression. In between, there are lush highlands and stirring deserts, vertiginous canyons and sweeping savanna, vast lakes and high plateaus. If you look hard enough, you'll also find landmarks of great significance, from the source of the Blue Nile to, again, the mesmerisingly desolate Danakil Depression, peppered with an astonishing 25% of Africa’s active volcanoes.
Peoples with Proud Traditions
When it comes to culture, Ethiopia has an embarrassment of riches. There are the Surmi, Afar, Mursi, Karo, Hamer, Nuer and Anuak, whose ancient customs and traditions have remained almost entirely intact. A highlight of any trip here is witnessing one of the many festivals that are an integral part of the traditional culture, from age-old ceremonies marking rites of passage to Christian celebrations of singular passion, the impact upon those who witness such events can provide travel memories to last a lifetime.
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Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Ethiopia.
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Bet Giyorgis
When you think of Lalibela, you're thinking of Bet Giyorgis. Resting off on its own, St George’s Church is Lalibela’s masterpiece. Representing the apogee of the rock-hewn tradition, it's the most visually perfect church of all, a 15m-high three-tiered plinth in the shape of a Greek cross – a perfectly proportioned shape that required no internal pillars. Due to its exceptional preservation, it also lacks the obtrusive roofing seen over the other churches. Inside, light filters in from the windows and illuminates the ceiling’s large crosses – beauty in simplicity. Peer over the curtain to see the maqdas’ beautiful dome. There are also two 800-year-old olive-wood boxes (one with opposing corkscrew keys) that locals believe were carved by King Lalibela himself and now hold the church’s treasures. Some of the cavities in the walls surrounding the church hold mummified corpses, and note the exquisite 16th-century canvas depicting St George slaying the dragon. Plan to visit a number of times, including in the hour before sunset for good photos from above.
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Abuna Yemata Guh
There's nowhere on earth quite like Abuna Yemata Guh. Although less impressive architecturally than most, the church is spectacularly sited within a cliff face, halfway up a sheer rock pinnacle 4km west of Megab. The first 45 minutes of the climb is mildly challenging, with a couple of tricky sheer sections requiring toehold action; guides carry ropes (Birr150) for the final push. The last two minutes require nerves of steel to make the final scramble and precarious ledge walk over a 200m drop. Even if you don't make it all the way, it’s still worth getting to where the ledge begins as the views from the baptism chamber are astounding. Inside are beautiful and well-preserved frescoes that adorn two cupolas, while the bones of monks from the open-air tombs lie around.
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Simien Mountains National Park
No matter how you look at it, the Unesco World Heritage–listed Simien Mountains National Park is one of Africa’s most beautiful ranges. This massive plateau, riven with gullies and pinnacles, offers tough but immensely rewarding trekking along the ridge that falls sheer to the plains far below. It’s not just the scenery (and altitude) that will leave you speechless, but also the excitement of sitting among a group of gelada monkeys or watching magnificent walia ibex joust on rock ledges. Whether you come for a stroll or a two-week trek, the Simiens make a great companion to the Historical Circuit’s monument viewing. Organising trekking yourself at park headquarters in Debark is straightforward, but it can take up to two hours so it’s best to arrive the afternoon before you plan to trek, or to book through a reputable agency in advance of your visit.
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Northern Stelae Field
Despite the dizzying grandeur of the numerous rock needles reaching for the stars, it’s what’s under your feet here that’s most important. Amazingly, about 90% of the field hasn’t yet been dug, so no matter where you walk, there’s a good chance there’s an undiscovered tomb with untold treasures beneath. This is part of Aksum’s appeal: the thought that fascinating finds and secrets lurk in the depths. That said, these are some of the ancient world's most striking monuments. All of the tombs excavated to date had been pillaged by robbers, so very little is known about Aksumite burial customs or the identities of those buried. Tomb of the False Door In 1972 the unique Tomb of the False Door was discovered. It lies in the western extremity of the Northern Stelae Field and is thought to date around the 4th century AD. Complex in structure, its stone blocks are also larger and more finely dressed than those found in some other tombs. Comprising an antechamber and inner chamber, it’s surrounded on three sides by a passage. Above the tomb, at ground level, a rectangular, probably flat-roofed building would once have stood (measuring some 12 sq metres by 2.8m high). Above the stairs descending into the tomb’s chamber was a stone slab carved with a false door almost identical to those found on the stelae. Look for the iron clamps fixing blocks of stone together like giant staples. Judging from the lengths to which the grave robbers went to gain access, it’s thought to have contained objects of great value. A single stone base that held the sarcophagus can still be seen. Mausoleum The so-called mausoleum has a monumental portal (hewn from a single slab of granite) marking the tomb’s entrance and is carved with the stelae’s curious false-door motifs. The portal leads into a passageway with 10 chambers. In total the tomb covers some 240 sq metres. Part of the tomb was disfigured at some unknown date by robbers, who succeeded in digging through 1.5m of solid masonry. Tomb of the Brick Arches Dating from the end of the 3rd century, this tomb is remarkably well preserved and contains four rock-cut chambers, subdivided by a series of brick arches built with lime mortar. These arches are the same as those that had been in the mausoleum before the grave robbers damaged it. The tomb was first excavated by archaeologists in 1974, and though tomb robbers had beaten them to it by centuries, they still discovered fragments of gold jewellery, beads, bronze objects, weapons and glass objects. Nobody knows who was buried here, but archaeologists surmise that the tomb contained the bodies of an elderly woman, a man and one other person and that the treasures found within indicate that they were people of high standing. The tomb remains closed because archaeologists think further excavation is warranted, but you can clearly see one of the arches through the gate. Tomb of Nefas Mawcha The megalithic Tomb of Nefas Mawcha consists of a large rectangular central chamber surrounded on three sides by a passage. The tomb is unusual for its large size, the sophistication of the structure and the size of the stones used for its construction (the stone that roofs the central chamber measures 17.3m by 6.4m and weighs some 360 tonnes!). The force of the Great Stele crashing into its roof caused the tomb’s spectacular collapse. Locals believe that under this tomb is a ‘magic machine’, the original implement the Aksumites used to melt stone in order to shape the stelae and tombs. The same type of machine was apparently also used to create some of the rock-hewn churches of Tigray.
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Ethnological Museum
Set within Haile Selassie’s former palace, and surrounded by the beautiful gardens and fountains of the university’s main campus, is the enthralling Ethnological Museum. Even if you’re not a museum fan, this one is worth a bit of your time – it’s easily one of the finest museums in Africa, showing the full sweep of Ethiopia's cultural and social history across two floors. The show starts before you even get inside: facing the entrance, look for the intriguing set of 13 stairs spiralling skyward. Each step was placed by the Italians as a symbol of Fascist domination, one for every year Mussolini held power (starting from his march to Rome in 1922). A small Lion of Judah (the symbol of Ethiopian monarchy) sits victoriously atop the final step, like a jubilant punctuation mark at the end of a painfully long sentence. Within the entrance hall you’ll find a small exhibition dedicated to the history of the palace, and the doorway to the Institute of Language Studies library. The museum truly comes into its own on the 1st floor, where superb artefacts and handicrafts from Ethiopia’s peoples are distinctively displayed. Instead of following the typical static and geographical layout that most museums fall into, these displays are based upon the life cycle. First comes Childhood, with birth, games, rites of passage and traditional tales. We particularly enjoyed the ‘Yem Tale’, a story of selfishness, dead leopards and sore tails! Adulthood probes into beliefs, nomadism, traditional medicine, war, pilgrimages, hunting, body culture and handicrafts. The last topic is Death and Beyond, with burial structures, stelae and tombs. The exhibition gives a great insight into Ethiopia’s many rich cultures. Other rooms on this floor show the preserved bedroom, bathroom and exorbitant changing room of Emperor Haile Selassie, complete with a bullet hole in his mirror courtesy of the 1960 coup d’etat. The 2nd floor is home to two drastically different, but equally delightful, displays. The vibrant hall focuses on religious art, with an exceptional series of diptychs, triptychs, icons, crosses and magic scrolls. Magic scrolls, like the Roman lead scrolls, were used to cast curses on people or to appeal to the gods for divine assistance. The collection of icons is the largest and most representative in the world. Senses of another sort are indulged in the small cavelike corridor that sits next to the hall. Inside, the black surrounds leave you nothing to look at besides traditional musical instruments from across Ethiopia. If you're lucky you might have a soundtrack accompany you. It’s well worth coming to this museum twice; once at the start of your journey through Ethiopia and once at the end when you’ll be able to put everything into context. After you’ve lapped up the treasures in the museum, stop by the double-decker London bus next to the university entrance gates. Brought to Addis by Haile Selassie, it’s now a bar and packed with students.
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Debre Damo
Debre Damo is one of Ethiopia's most important monasteries and is thought to date back to Aksumite times and the 6th-century reign of King Gebre Meskel. The monastery’s formidable cliffs make for one of Ethiopia's most memorable experiences (for men, at least – women aren't allowed up). To reach the monastery, you'll need to scale a sheer 15m cliff; there’s a thick leather rope to help you climb and the monks will tie a second line around your torso and help pull you up. The whole experience takes some nerves and a good head for heights. (If you’re short of confidence, don’t look at the laces holding the strips of rope together until after you’ve come down!) It was Abuna Aregawi, one of the most revered of the Nine Saints, who established Debre Damo monastery atop a sheer-sided amba (flat-topped mountain). It may seem like it would have been impossible for the first person to reach this island in the sky, but Abuna Aregawi had God on his side, and God, knowing this was a fine place for a saint to find peace, made a giant snake lower its tail down the mountain, allowing Aregawi to clamber up it to the summit. The remarkable Abuna Aregawi church is likely the oldest standing church in the country (10th or 11th century AD) and possibly all of Africa. Thanks to a major restoration in 1948 it’s in excellent condition, but still has a truly ancient feel. It’s an almost prototypical example of Aksumite architecture and features the same style of doors and windows found on Aksum’s stelae. Notable are the beams and ceiling, famously decorated with carved wooden panels depicting Ethiopian wild animals. Debre Damo has long been used as a safeguard for religious treasures and its collection includes some of Ethiopia’s oldest illuminated manuscripts. The monastery's location once allowed Aksumite monarchs to coop up excess male members of the royal family here, thus removing possible threats to their reign. Today it hosts some 150 monks, who are entirely self-sufficient. They grow their own crops, raise their own livestock (all male) and have water reservoirs hewn deep into the rock. There’s no public transport to Debre Damo, although any transport on the Aksum–Adigrat road can drop you at the well-signposted junction. From there it’s a toasty 14.5km (around three hours) walk. Catching rides to Adwa, Adigrat or Aksum from the junction is tough in the late afternoon. If there’s a group of you, it’s easiest to hire a minibus in Aksum or Adigrat. Debre Damo is usually a first-day stop on Tigray rock-hewn church tours out of Aksum. Passing deep canyons and terraced barley fields, the road running southeast of Debre Damo towards Adigrat, with its distant views of the Adwa Mountains, is a contender for Ethiopia’s most beautiful drive.
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National Museum
The collection on show at the National Museum is ranked among the most important in sub-Saharan Africa, but sadly many of its exhibits are poorly labelled, lit and displayed. Far and away the highlight is the palaeontological exhibition in the basement, the home of world-famous Lucy. Her 1974 discovery in the Afar region of northwestern Ethiopia changed our understanding of human origins forever. This section is well labelled in English, so if your time is limited spend most of it here. On the basement level, you'll find two remarkable casts of Lucy, a fossilised hominid and easily Ethiopia's best-known ancient inhabitant. One lays prone, while the other stands much as she did some 3.2 million years ago, truly hitting home how small our ancient ancestors were. The real bones are preserved in the archives of the museum. Also here is the fossilized evidence of some amazing extinct creatures, like the massive sabre-toothed feline Homotherium and the gargantuan savannah pig Notochoerus. The periphery of the ground floor focuses on the pre-Aksumite, Aksumite, Solomonic and Gonderian periods. The wide array of artefacts includes an elaborate pre-1st-century-AD bronze oil lamp showing a dog chasing an ibex, a fascinating 4th-century-BC rock-hewn chair emblazoned with mythical ibexes, and ancient Sabaean inscriptions. The middle of the room hosts a collection of lavish royal paraphernalia, including Emperor Haile Selassie’s enormous (and rather hideous) carved wooden throne. On the 1st floor, there’s a vivid display of Ethiopian art ranging from early (possibly 14th-century) parchment to 20th-century canvas oil paintings by leading modern artists. Afewerk Tekle’s massive African Heritage is one of the more notable pieces. Another painting depicts the meeting of Solomon and Sheba. Note the shield of the soldier next to Solomon, which is engraved with the Star of David and a Christian Cross. The artist must have forgotten that this meeting is said to have occurred long before the birth of Christianity. The 2nd floor contains a dusty and poorly labelled collection of secular arts and crafts, including traditional weapons, jewellery, utensils, clothing and musical instruments. English-speaking guides are available for free (they should be tipped afterwards) and help to bring things alive.
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Debre Berhan Selassie
Welcome to one of Ethiopia's most beautiful churches. Appealing as it is on the outside with its stone walls, arched doors and two-tiered thatch roof, it's the inner sanctuary of Debre Berhan Selassie, with its glorious frescos, that really shines. But it was very nearly destroyed like most of Gonder’s other churches. When the marauding Sudanese dervishes showed up outside the church gates in the 1880s, a giant swarm of bees surged out of the compound, chasing the invaders away. The ceiling, with its rows and rows of winged cherubs representing the omnipresence of God, draws most eyes. There’s space for 135 cherubs, though 13 have been erased by water damage. Aside from the cherubs the highlights have to be the devilish Bosch-like depiction of hell. Although local tradition attributes most paintings to the 17th-century artist Haile Meskel, this is unlikely because the building only dates back to the late 18th century. The original circular church, created in the 1690s by Iyasu I, was destroyed by lightning. A large stone wall with 12 rounded towers surrounds the compound and these represent the 12 apostles. The larger 13th tower (entrance gate) symbolises Christ and is shaped to resemble the Lion of Judah. If you have a keen eye, you’ll be able to spot the lion’s tail above the doorway in the wall west of the church. Flash photography inside the church is forbidden. Priests offer tours, but a small contribution for the church should be left afterwards.
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'Red Terror' Martyrs Memorial Museum
‘As if I bore them all in one night, they slew them in a single night.’ These were the words spoken by the mother of four teenage children all killed on the same day by the Derg, as she officially opened the small but powerful ‘Red Terror’ Martyrs Memorial Museum in 2010. Over a couple of rooms the museum reveals the fall of Emperor Haile Selassie and the horrors of life under Mengistu’s Derg regime. The museum is well laid out and incredibly moving, nothing more so than the walls of photos and names of just some of the estimated half a million killed under the Derg, or the display cabinets filled with human belongings dug out of mass graves. Some of the skulls and other bones are displayed alongside a photo of the victim and the personal artefacts they had on them when they died. The watch hanging in one display case was given by its owner to his wife just as he was led away by the soldiers of the Derg. His words: ‘Keep this safe. One day you will need it’. When the museum opened, his wife brought the watch here. Excellent English-speaking guides are often available, although you may prefer to just look on in silence. The museum is funded by donations only. Note: As of July 2022, the museum is closed to the public for the time being due to building damage.
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