Komaya Heart of Konso Cultural Handicraft Market
Southern Ethiopia
This beautiful hilltop spot is a developing project to provide an income for local craftspeople. There’s a weaving workshop and other craft demonstrations…
Must-see attractions in Ethiopia
Bahir Dar
You can only reach the famous outlet of the Blue Nile by boat, but you can get pretty close along the Gonder road, 2km out of town, where a bridge spans…
Harar
Near the Shoa Gate Market is the Recycling Market where men repair metal materials and beat scrap into useful utensils. The whole area is undergoing a…
Lalibela
Near Arbatu Ensessa, 41km off the Yemrehanna Kristos road, this is an interesting three-quarter monolith known particularly for its ancient frescoes…
Eastern Ethiopia
Below Fantale, a few kilometres north of the village of Metahara, you can routinely see dozens of spotted hyenas exit their dens around dusk.The Birr300…
Southern Ethiopia
Lake Hare Sheitan (Devil’s Lake), about 9km south of Butajira, is an incredibly photogenic circular crater lake with the rim soaring perhaps 150m above…
Harar
One of just two churches in Old Harar, St Mary Catholic Church is a haven of peace and a good spot if you need to unwind. It’s a French Catholic mission…
Harar
Gidir Magala (previously known as the Muslim market) is the main market and the city’s biggest butchery. Watch how the locals hide their meat purchases…
Harar
Emir Nur’s Tomb resembles a spiky green beehive. It’s devoted to the ruler who built the city’s walls, and his wife is also buried inside. You enter the…
Ashawa Market & Livestock Market
Dire Dawa
With its numerous sheet-metal shacks in the back, the chaotic Ashawa Market is well worth a gander. In the wadi behind Ashawa you'll find the livestock…
Northern Ethiopia
The most rewarding of the monasteries is known for its jungle and dedicated monks. The building itself is fairly standard, but the highlight is a lovely…
South-Omo Museum & Research Centre
Southern Ethiopia
Perched on a hill northeast of town (look for the green roof), this museum hosts an interesting exhibition on the region's cultures. There’s also a…
Dire Dawa
Also known as ‘Taiwan’, this is a modern, orderly covered market mostly full of clothing and fabric, though some of the cheap electronic goods that used…
Northern Ethiopia
The oldest monastery, Galila, is a one-hour boat journey southwest of Gorgora. Although destroyed by invading armies in the 16th century, the church was…
Eastern Ethiopia
Lake Babogaya (formerly named Bishoftu Guda) is the site of most of Bishoftu's high-end resorts. With its beautiful backdrop of volcanic Mt Yerer, this…
Eastern Ethiopia
The tiniest of the lakes dotted around town, pretty Lake Kuriftu is notable for the sprawling Kuriftu Resort and Spa that hugs the north shore.
Southern Ethiopia
Usually a stop on the way to the Lower Omo Valley, Arfaide, 20km out of town along the Jinka road, has a large collection of old waga that were recovered…
Harar
Leading southeast from Feres Magala, this narrow, atmospheric street is jam-packed with tailors’ workshops, which is how it came to be called ‘Sewing…
Southern Ethiopia
Chief Kalla Gezahegn is one of the nine Konso clan chiefs. A former civil engineer in Addis Ababa, he speaks fluent English and welcomes (paying) visitors…
Lalibela
Carved into the courtyard’s northern wall at Bet Maryam is the tiny semi-chapel of Bet Meskel. Four pillars divide the gallery into two aisles spanned by…
Harar
Don’t expect a fairy-tale castle. This late-19th-century ‘palace’ is a sharp-edged, charmless building. You can climb to the top floor and soak up the…
Addis Ababa
High on Entoto Mountain, there’s a terrific but windy panoramic view of Ethiopia's modern capital spread out below through the towering eucalyptus trees.
Harar
What is called Queen Taitu’s Palace, next door to Ras Makonnen's Palace, was neatly restored and now shelters a training centre for craft makers.
Aksum
At the top of the stairs in front of the old St Mary of Zion Church is the Throne Stone where the coronation of 261 Aksumite kings took place.
Arba Minch
Lake Chamo supports a very large population of crocodiles and, unlike neighbouring Lake Abaya, the waters are not rusty in colour.
Dire Dawa
Chat is sold all over town, but the trade at the Chattara Market is so frenetic it deserves a look.
Aksum
The main market, with spices and the like, runs all week, but is busiest on Saturday.
Addis Ababa
Built in 1961 by Emperor Haile Selassie, Africa Hall (near Meskal Sq) is the seat of the UN’s Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). The Italian-designed…
Addis Ababa
Rising dramatically from the roundabout Siddist Kilo is this moving monument, dedicated to the thousands of innocent Ethiopians killed by the Italians as…
Gonder
Around 3km north of Gonder, several craft stalls with ‘Stars of David’ and ‘Falasha Village’ signs signal what’s really the former Falasha village of…
Aksum
This is one site where the past very much outweighs the present, at least for now. Early excavations revealed that Ta’akha Maryam was a magnificent palace…
Addis Ababa
Despite only being founded on Addis' centenary in 1986, the Addis Ababa Museum is the city’s scruffiest museum. That said, perusing candid portraits of…
Northern Ethiopia
The museum at Hayk Estifanos Monastery, on a long peninsula 4km northeast of town, dates from the mid-13th century and was founded by Abba Iyasus Moa…
Aksum
Despite the colourful legends, this large reservoir probably wasn’t where Sheba came to bathe. It was an important reservoir rather than a swimming pool…
Arba Minch
Walking between the masses of crocs in their concrete tanks at this government-run facility is more humdrum than it sounds, except during feeding, which…
Northern Ethiopia
Although not as dramatic as the crater lakes in southern Ethiopia, Zengana Lake is still beautiful with its perfectly circular shore. The 3.4km track…
Western Ethiopia
Admission to the Muuziyemii Jimmaa includes a guided tour in English of the museum's seven small rooms. We don’t want to steal the guide’s thunder (such…
Southern Ethiopia
If you’re not in a rush, visit this low-key museum. It has various objects on display in the big round hall – the metal and brick exterior covers a…
Northern Ethiopia
Near Susenyos’ palace is the Portuguese Cathedral he funded. The decrepit state (due largely to a 1995 earthquake) evokes his failed attempt to force…
