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…
Must-see attractions in Northern Ethiopia
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,…
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…
Dungur (Queen of Sheba’s) Palace
Aksum
The structure at Dungur is popularly known as Queen of Sheba’s Palace, though archaeologists are divided over whether it was the great woman's palace or…
Aksum
This well-laid-out museum inside the Northern Stelae Field contains an interesting variety of objects found in the tombs, ranging from ordinary household…
Rock-hewn Churches of Tigray
In a grove of trees on the other side of the same mountain as Abba Yohanni, this architecturally interesting 15th-century church, is entered through a…
Northern Ethiopia
In the mountains about 5km due east of Adwa, the monastery of Abba Garima is said to have been founded by one of the Nine Saints in the 6th century. It’s…
Lake Tana & its Monasteries
The original 14th-century (some say 12th-century) church at Debre Maryam was rebuilt by Tewodros in the 19th century. It’s unattractive both outside and…
Rock-hewn Churches of Tigray
Only partly hewn, this wood, stone and mortar church, now out of service, is built on a steep ledge and is more interesting from the outside than in,…
Lake Tana & its Monasteries
Though the 17th-century church at Kebran Gabriel is beautiful, it’s no longer open to the public and the museums (one each for men and women) have nothing…
Lalibela
Lying 7km from Lalibela, just off the airport road, is this simple but attractive church (apart from the outer security wall). It’s attributed to King…
Northern Ethiopia
Of Tana’s four far-northern monasteries, all west of Gorgora, Mandaba Medhane Alem, which hosts ancient biblical manuscripts and some of Ethiopia’s most…
Rock-hewn Churches of Tigray
This crooked cruciform sandstone church is semi-monolithic and boasts beautiful cruciform pillars (notice the swirling sandstone laminae), cubical…
Rock-hewn Churches of Tigray
One of the best museums in Ethiopia's north, Wukro Museum begins with some displays on generators and electricity in Wukro, which are interesting enough,…
Lalibela
This excellent new museum has beautifully presented displays about Lalibela’s history, both past and present. The exhibits range from cultural artefacts…
Gonder
Though its early history is murky (it was likely built in the 17th century, though some say the 18th), this attractive palace once served as a retreat for…
Northern Ethiopia
Though there’s little solid evidence about its history, this tall castle peering out over Lake Tana could have been built in the 1580s by Emperor Za…
Northern Ethiopia
Though local guides insist the small stone-arch Portuguese bridge near Debre Libanos was erected by the Portuguese in the 16th century, it was actually…
Rock-hewn Churches of Tigray
Atop a small but panoramic hill and behind an ugly 1960s facade sits this better-than-average rock-hewn church. It has thick cruciform pillars, small…
Rock-hewn Churches of Tigray
High atop the mountain and not visible from the ground below, this rectangular chapel has six freestanding pillars that support a ceiling carved with…
Lake Tana & its Monasteries
On top of the Zege Peninsula’s highest point, 10 minutes' walk from Bete Selassie, the church at Tekla Haimanot is similar but smaller than Bete Selassie…
Aksum
It’s worth taking a wander around the old quarter surrounding the Northern Stelae Field and stretching west to Ta’akha Maryam. It’s in these dusty streets…
Rock-hewn Churches of Tigray
Of all Tigray’s rock-hewn churches, Mikael Imba, possibly dating from the 11th century, most resembles those seen at Lalibela. A three-quarter monolith,…
Bahir Dar
If you can tear yourself away from the lake, visit the large and lively main market. It’s busiest on Saturday – market day – when people stream into town…
Rock-hewn Churches of Tigray
This tiny church, with its stooped doorway, is hewn into the top of a small bleached hill and is thought to date from the 8th century. It’s known for its…
Rock-hewn Churches of Tigray
Built into a small outcrop rather than a big hill, this church feels like a tomb and may have been one before being converted. The 19th-century ‘new’…
Lake Tana & its Monasteries
It’s said the Ark of the Covenant was hidden at Tana Cherkos for 800 years, which would seem to indicate it’s an interesting destination, but the present…
Aksum
The huge new church of St Mary of Zion was built in the 1960s so women had a place to worship and it displays Haile Selassie’s usual hideous taste. Still…
Lalibela
On the way to Yemrehanna Kristos, around 35km from Lalibela, is this three-quarter monolith church in a wild, overgrown but rather beautiful setting. It’s…
Aksum
On the first seven days of each month (according to the Ethiopian calendar), St Mary of Zion’s replica Ark (the original replica) is paraded through the…
