Afrinkong
Escarpment and Rift
The Rift Valley cuts the whole country in half, with highlands either side of it.
East Africa · Afrinkong
Ethiopia
The roof of Africa.
The only African country never colonised, with its own alphabet, calendar and church — rock-hewn churches at Lalibela, the Simien escarpment above four thousand metres, and the Danakil below sea level.
Where it is
Africa · East Africa · Ethiopia
The land in brief
- Spans
- 1,600 km E–W, 1,280 km N–S
- Latitude
- 15°N to 3°N
- Borders
- 6 countries
- Sea
- Landlocked
- Best time
- After the rains the highlands are green and clear, October through March.
Also in East Africa
BurundiThe southernmost source of the NileDjiboutiWhere three plates pull apartEritreaArt deco Asmara, and the Dahlak islandsKenyaWhere the safari was inventedRwandaLand of a thousand hills
Compare Ethiopia with another countryAll fifty-four, worked through the same twenty-seven categories.When to come
JFMAMJJASOND
After the rains the highlands are green and clear, October through March.
01Highlights
What Ethiopia is known for.
Six of the twenty-seven, and the ones most people come for. The rest are below — and none of them is filler.
Wildlife
Gelada and Walia Ibex
The gelada lives nowhere else on earth, and grazes the Simien escarpment in troops of hundreds.
Mountains
The Simiens
Ras Dashen is 4,550 metres; the trek to it runs along the escarpment for days.
No Coast, and No Loss
Landlocked since 1993 — the water here is the Rift lakes and the crater lakes of Bishoftu.
Harenna and the Church Forests
Harenna's cloud forest in Bale, and the church forests that are the last woodland of the north.
Its Own Everything
Its own alphabet, its own calendar with thirteen months, and its own church since the fourth century.
02Experiences
25 ways to spend the time.
Every country we cover works through the same twenty-seven categories, so you can hold two of them side by side and compare like with like rather than one brochure against another. Compare Ethiopia with another → The two not listed here are the hero picture and the case for going, which has a section of its own below.
Landscapes
- Escarpment and RiftThe Rift Valley cuts the whole country in half, with highlands either side of it.
- The SimiensRas Dashen is 4,550 metres; the trek to it runs along the escarpment for days.
- The Blue Nile FallsTis Issat — the water that smokes — where the Blue Nile leaves Lake Tana.
- Lake TanaThe source of the Blue Nile, with monasteries on its islands still in use.
- No Coast, and No LossLandlocked since 1993 — the water here is the Rift lakes and the crater lakes of Bishoftu.
- Harenna and the Church ForestsHarenna's cloud forest in Bale, and the church forests that are the last woodland of the north.
Wildlife
- Gelada and Walia IbexThe gelada lives nowhere else on earth, and grazes the Simien escarpment in troops of hundreds.
- Bale and the Ethiopian WolfThe Bale mountains hold the last five hundred Ethiopian wolves, on the Sanetti plateau.
- Community ConservationGuides and scouts drawn from the villages inside the parks, which is why the wolves are still there.
- Trek and ClimbThe Simien traverse, Bale's plateau, and the Tigray churches that need a rope.
People and culture
- Its Own EverythingIts own alphabet, its own calendar with thirteen months, and its own church since the fourth century.
- Omo ValleyThe lower Omo holds sixteen peoples in one valley, and the visits should be arranged carefully.
- Timkat and MeskelTimkat in January at Gondar, and Meskel bonfires across the country in September.
- Weaving and SilverHandwoven shemma cotton, and Coptic crosses in silver, each region with its own shape.
- Injera and Doro WatSourdough injera under everything, and fasting food that has made vegans of visitors.
- Highland TravelCool highland air, short flights between the historic sites, and no malaria at altitude.
- Coffee, ProperlyCoffee was found here, and it is still roasted, ground and poured in front of you.
Places
- Addis AbabaFounded 1886, at 2,355 metres, and the diplomatic capital of the continent.
- Round Houses and Rock ChurchesThe tukul, and the rock architecture of Tigray cut into cliff faces you have to climb.
- LalibelaEleven churches cut down into solid rock in the twelfth century, still in use every day.
- Aksum and GondarThe Aksumite stelae, and the seventeenth-century castles of Gondar built by Fasilides.
Ways to travel
- Trekking CountryMulti-day treks in the Simiens and Bale, and the Danakil at a hundred metres below sea level.
- Lodges on the EscarpmentLimalimo and Bale Mountain Lodge — small, sited well, and built by people who stayed.
- Faces and EscarpmentsThe light at four thousand metres, and portraiture that has to be asked for properly.
- TigrayRock churches in cliff faces reached by hand and foot, with almost nobody else there.
03Why go
The case for Ethiopia.
Why Visit This Country
Nothing Else Like It
No colonial period, its own script, its own calendar, and its own year that starts in September.
Hidden Gems
Tigray
Rock churches in cliff faces reached by hand and foot, with almost nobody else there.
Eco Tourism
Community Conservation
Guides and scouts drawn from the villages inside the parks, which is why the wolves are still there.
Heritage
Aksum and Gondar
The Aksumite stelae, and the seventeenth-century castles of Gondar built by Fasilides.
04Go deeper
All of Ethiopia, four ways in.
Who would take youAfrinkong
The ground is ours right across Africa: your vehicle, your driver for the whole journey, and the days shaped around what you came for.
In Cameroon, Uganda and Namibia you travel with companies of our own as well.
Plan your journey →
Begin
Your Ethiopia starts here.
Tell us the month, or simply the thing you want to see, and a guide who works there will answer.