My wife and (and another couple) just returned from a 25 day tour of Ethiopia . The trip was wonderful and exceeded in every respect our high expectations. Ethiopia is a magnificent country. There is much to see and do. The people are friendly and kind. We had only good experiences.
Prior to traveling, we researched our program carefully, reading several guidebooks and reviewing comments made by recent tourists to Ethiopia on Lonely Planet and several other travel web sites. We decided to divide our time between the tribal areas of southern Ethiopia, the early Ethiopian Orthodox Christian sites and previous capitols of the North and the Simian Mountains . All of also have interests in birding and photography.
Although it is possible to fly between the major tourist attractions in Ethiopia , we elected to drive, so that we could see the countryside, meet as many different Ethiopians as possible, learn about their culture and how they live and to be able to visit some of the national parks.
After an overnight in Addis, we drove south for birding around Debre Zeit and Lake Lugano . Ethiopia is a birding paradise. It is a flyway for birds from Europe . We continued to look for birds throughout the trip. In total, we identified 337 different species, including 17 endemics.
Our trip continued to Arbaminch and Nechisar National Park. We took a boat trip on Lake Chamo to see the flamingos, crocodiles and hippos. In the South, we had contact with several Ethiopian tribes including the Oromo, Dorze, Hamer, Karo, Borema and Kanso. On several occasions our guide arranged for us to visit their homes. The people were uniformly gracious hosts. These were unforgettable adventures.
In the North, our itinerary included Lalibela, Axum and Gondar, all sites of early Christianity in Ethiopia. The magnificence of the churches hewn out of rock in Lalibela and the chanting of the priests during Sunday services were some of the highlights of the trip. We also marveled at the ancient stellae in Axum and the royal castles in Gonda . Throughout all of these areas, there are many small, often isolated monasteries. We marveled at the ancient but well-preserved frescoes, paintings and illuminated manuscripts, some dating to the 6th century. These are sites which should not be missed.
In the Simian Mountains we had fun photographing the very social and playful Gelada baboons and were fortunate to see the endangered Walia ibex. The scenery there is breathtaking. Along the roads we traveled were many farms and small villages. They appeared to have remained unchanged for centuries. We also visited a couple of schools, which are bringing those children lucky enough to attend into the 21st century.
We had arranged our tour so that we could be in Gondar for Timkat, the celebration of the Epiphany, one of Ethiopia ’s major Christian holidays. We felt welcomed as a part of these celebrations. The traditions, pageantry and sheer raw energy of the participants were like nothing we had ever seen before.
Our final destination was Lake Tana , where we continued birding and also took a boat ride to one of the islands to see a 16th century monastery with very well preserved frescoes. Returning to Addis, we viewed the Blue Nile Gorge and hiked around the Blue Nile Falls .
The success of our trip was in large part due to our amazing guide, Solomon Berhe, of Solomon Berhe Tours (www.solomonberhetours.com). We initially chose Solomon because of his reputation as the best birding guide in Ethiopia. However, Solomon was much more. He speaks perfect English as well as several of the native languages of Ethiopia. He knows Ethiopian history and culture and is enthusiastic about his country and its prospects. We were all very comfortable with Solomon and trusted his good judgment and recommendations implicitly. We have only the highest praise for Solomon.
Ethiopia is a developing country. It does not have all the amenities some Western travelers might expect, but it has much to offer the interested tourist. Go to Ethiopia. You will have amazing experiences.