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02/04/2022
16/03/2022

Fact ❗️

19/12/2021
Addis to wunchi!!
02/12/2021

Addis to wunchi!!

Lake wunchi, Ethiopia land of beauty!!
29/11/2021

Lake wunchi, Ethiopia land of beauty!!

27/09/2021

BODI TRIBE 🇪🇹

In the Bodi tribe (Ethiopia), the most desired men are those with the largest bellies. The bigger your belly, the more attractive you are.
Bodi men compete to be the fattest in the village by drinking a gruesome mixture of blood and milk while living in isolation for SIX months
Ethiopia’s Bodi or Me’en tribe, the bigger the better is the case. The Bodi people, live in a remote corner of Ethiopia’s Omo Valley and is home to young men who do all it takes to be crowned the fattest man.
and fed special meals and concoction for six months and after that, emerge to show off their newly engorged physiques and for a winner to be chosen. The champion “fat man” is then feted as a hero for the rest of his life.





We thanks  God for giving us year 2014E.C we are in debated of thanks, let’s make our year 2014, be your mercy annum; fu...
09/09/2021

We thanks God for giving us year 2014E.C we are in debated of thanks, let’s make our year 2014, be your mercy annum; full of cherish and happiness, our weakness be filled!!

River Nile course!!!
23/08/2021

River Nile course!!!

Get back!!
18/08/2021

Get back!!

Addis Ababa in summer!!
29/07/2021

Addis Ababa in summer!!

Ethiopian  Cultural food  raw meat!!
16/06/2021

Ethiopian Cultural food raw meat!!

Entoto park current view!!!
24/05/2021

Entoto park current view!!!

Beautiful mind & smart people....!!
13/05/2021

Beautiful mind & smart people....!!

Borena-sayint national park!
02/04/2021

Borena-sayint national park!

Nature is enough....!
24/03/2021

Nature is enough....!

Ethiopia is a mysterious country and a land of mysteries where its historic, cultural and spiritual relics and antiquiti...
17/03/2021

Ethiopia is a mysterious country and a land of mysteries where its historic, cultural and spiritual relics and antiquities have not yet well unearthed and unexplored. The country is an ancient country, its name, Ethiopia, is mentioned thirty-three times in the Holy Books-Bible and many times in the Qur’an. Certainly, no country in sub-Saharan Africa can trace its origins as far back.

Ethiopia is also the land of the Queen of Sheba, a place of legendary rulers, fabulous kingdoms and ancient mysteries. Mother Nature was in a playful mood when she created Ethiopia, the result is a land that varies greatly from one region to the next. With more than 80 languages and some 200 dialects, each ethnic group, preserves its own unique customs, tradition, and costumes. But for all this exotic variety, the people of Ethiopia are as one in their friendliness and hospitality.

Ethiopia is old beyond imagination, dating back to the very beginnings of mankind and is also home to many ancient hominids remains yet discovered.

Ethiopia’s first modern encounter with the ancient world was in 1974. It made headline news everywhere. Anthropologists around the world took note: “Lucy or Dinknesh; had been discovered in North-eastern part of Ethiopia.

Ethiopia has been called “The Roof of Africa” for its most outstanding topographical feature: a huge central plateau, the Ethiopian Massif. Formed in the Tertiary era by volcanic activity, this great massif occupies more than half of the total surface area of the country, and has an average elevation of between 1,800 and 2,400 meters (5,700- 7,700 feet). Nine peaks rise above 4,000 meters (12,800 feet) and eleven above 3,000 meters (9,600 feet). These high flat plateaus are dissected by deep valleys through which rivers run.

The Rift Valley crosses the massif, dividing the country into two parts: the highlands of the west, known as the Abyssinian Massif, and those of the southeast of Harar Massif. These highlands gradually descend until they create plains that give way to immense semi-arid lands.

Ethiopia’s geological past has played a crucial role in making the country today a vast and generous endowed natural haven for many kinds of wildlife and avifauna, more than 850 species of birds are found in Ethiopia, of which 21 are found exclusively in Ethiopia.

There are also 103 separate mammal species, 9 of which are endemic. The diversity of animals and birds owes its origins to the parallel diversity of the Ethiopian environment Mountains and plains, valleys and deserts, rivers and lakes. The existence of so many endemic creatures is due to the country’s spectacular geological and geographic contrasts, which have created numerous unique habitats and specialized ecological niches replicated.

As a major source of water between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, Ethiopia has been called the “water tower” of Northeast Africa. The combination of its high altitude, 14 large rivers (many of them international), numerous lakes and other sources of fresh water, has created an extensive natural irrigation system to various regions of the Horn.

The calendar is another unique feature-it has 13 months. Using the Julian calendar, Ethiopia has twelve lunar months of thirty days, plus one month of five or six days, depending on the leap year. The Julian calendar began 7 years and 113 days after the Christian age, making the first day of the New Year September 11.

If you only have the image of Ethiopia, you need to visit to see the reality as it is said “forget the image experience the reality”.

Source-www.passionethiopiatours.com/ index.php/aboutethiopia/ethiopia-a-land-of-mysteries

Merkato the largest open Market in Africa!!
13/03/2021

Merkato the largest open Market in Africa!!

Ethiopia!!Dozens of bleeding-heart “baboons” are scattered across the misty mountainside, plucking double fists full of ...
13/03/2021

Ethiopia!!

Dozens of bleeding-heart “baboons” are scattered across the misty mountainside, plucking double fists full of grass and stuffing them rhythmically into their ever-hungry mouths.

The shaggy brown figures work intently with bowed heads and hunched backs, quietly making sure their turf comes with plenty of personal space.

Ethiopia is the only place in the world to see these gelada monkeys, which aren’t actually baboons but look like them because of bright red skin patches on their chests. Here in Simien Mountains National Park, these gentle creatures were once killed for their fur and their numbers plummeted.

Then UNESCO declared this area a World Heritage Site and people started coming to trek through the lush highlands and see the walia ibex, Ethiopian wolves and gelada monkeys.

The monkeys are the easiest to find since they hang out in large social groups along the long and winding road through the park. This generation knows who to trust.

They run from the local children, but graciously tolerate the faranj (foreigners) who come calling with big cameras and quiet cooing. They apparently recognize the smell of kindly local guides and scouts — armed park rangers — who protect them while showing them off.

“Don’t walk towards them,” warns my guide Melaku “Mali” Tesfa. “Better to avoid eye contact. They are not aggressive at all, but the males are very proud. Go slowly. They are not used to food. If you give them food, they will have to be killed.”

Inching through the grass, I envelope myself in monkeys, who calmly readjust, making sure their backs are to me at all times. A few sneak peeks before returning to the important business of ingesting multiple kilos of grass a day. Some engage in brief, snarling turf wars with each other and babble quick, coded messages to the group.

Two, each with babies clinging to their tummies, plunk themselves down on a large rock, lovingly grooming each other while keeping a watchful eye on me as I hunker down on a similar rock a comfortable distance away.

How lucky to see bleeding-heart baboons in the wild like this.

How lucky to see beautiful Ethiopia in the early years of tourism.

“Thank you for coming to Ethiopia,” Tesfa tells our group as we spend 13 days zig-zagging between Addis Ababa and Lalibela with Intrepid Travel, a small group adventure travel company. “Please tell the people what you saw, and tell them to come and experience the reality. Forget the image and experience the reality.”

The image, to those of us who remember the 1980s, is of a devastating famine and the musical fundraiser Band Aid mounted by Bob Geldof and the world’s best musicians. But that was one moment in time decades ago in one part of this large and geographically diverse country.

It’s fair to say that most people can’t conjure up any image of Ethiopia, beyond a coffee ceremony or platter of colourful, berbere-spiked stews spread out on injera. I’ll admit that I got Ethiopia wrong. I told people I was going to experience Africa without the animals — and then was dazzled by the bleeding-heart baboons and colourful birds at every turn

Lucky for me that Tesfa, with degrees in history and tourism, is an avid birder and photographer who has been guiding people throughout his country for a dozen years.

At a cooking demonstration in Lalibela we admire two lammergeier (bearded vultures) as we learn to make tej (honey wine) and injera (a fermented pancake-style bread) with Sisaynesh Gebeyaw. At the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela we spot a red-billed firefinch. At a pagan temple in Yeha, there is a brilliant yellow weaver. Along the road, there are hooded vultures. By the time we spot a Hemprich’s hornbill, I have bought an African bird book.

Wherever we go, Tesfa has been multiple times before and shows us the best angles for our shots.

What really astounds me is how rich Ethiopia is in religion, culture and history. It was never colonized — it calls the five years under Italian rule an occupation. It’s famously the home of Lucy, several hundred pieces of bone fragments at the National Museum of Ethiopia from a 3.2 million-year-old fossil skeleton of a human ancestor.

Religion — namely Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity — is woven into virtually every moment of daily life. But there are Muslims, Catholics, Protestants and even Jews among the 105 million Ethiopians. I land in Addis Ababa in September during the Meskel Festival and brave a gauntlet of security patdowns to see the country celebrate the finding of the True Cross with top clergy, deacons, priests and a massive bonfire at Meskel Square.

In Lalibela — widely considered the crown jewel of Ethiopian tourism — I see a dozen churches in one day. They are nearly all rock-hewn churches, carved in place out of the rocky landscape. The most spectacular is the famous Church of St. George’s, or Bete Giyorgis. You literally stand on the rock and look down into a hole at an ancient church.

Lalibela is a magnet for Christian pilgrims, and many of the people in my trip have come specifically to see the religious sites. UNESCO attributes the rock-hewn churches to King Lalibela, who wanted to construct a “New Jerusalem” in the 12th Century.

In the city of Bahir Dar, I take a boat across Lake Tana. It’s Ethiopia’s largest lake and its waters are the source of the Blue Nile. I find my way to the Ura Kidanemihret Monastery and one of the country’s beautiful round churches, its interior walls filled with colourful murals.

I’ve seen many a waterfall around the world, but the Blue Nile Falls (Tis Abay) is one of most memorable. Half the fun is the challenging hike to get to it, up and down rocky hills, past a gauntlet of people who want to sell you walking sticks, become your unofficial guide, help you when you stumble and sell you local crafts.

I learn that the city of Aksum is widely believed to be home to the Ark of Covenant, a chest that holds tablets engraved with the Ten Commandments. No one, except for a solitary monk, gets to see the treasures but we solemnly stare at the decidely unglamorous building where it supposedly resides. “Many people have said why don’t you show it,” acknowledges Tesfa. “It’s not about money. It’s about faith. We believe we have it.”

Aksum is also home to UNESCO-backed ruins with monolithic obelisks, also known as stelae. Made from single pieces of granite, the giant stelae were long used as tombstones.

And yet, despite all this history, I gravitate to the here and now, and so it’s the Ethiopian people, animals and roads that I will remember.

Our group of 12 worldly travellers pile into a minibus each day as we drive from Bahir Dar to Lalibela. A precious few roads are paved. Most are gravel and dotted with the deepest potholes I’ve ever seen. Cars are scarce, so we mainly share the road with tuk-tuks, jammed local minibuses, zebu (hu**ed cattle), goats, sheep, mules, horses and donkeys.

Ethiopia is not for the faint hearted. Yes, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was just awarded the Nobel peace prize for helping thaw relations with Eritrea. But we get a crash course in the multiple levels of police that we see and hear about the ongoing devastation of inter-ethnic conflicts.

We learn that khat, a mildly narcotic plant, is messing up farmers’ lives and causing terrible social problems. We are warned not to create a culture of begging by giving kids the pens, candy, soap and money they beg for along the road. Everywhere we turn, people try to help us — for a price. They ask to shine our shoes, help us along steep or rocky paths, care for our shoes while we are inside churches.

(Source:https://o.canada.com/travel/why-ethiopia-is-the-next-african-country-you-should-visit)

Dendi Lake Rockshelter is situated about 100 km southwest of Addis Ababa on the west-central part of the Ethiopian Plate...
08/03/2021

Dendi Lake Rockshelter is situated about 100 km southwest of Addis Ababa on the west-central part of the Ethiopian Plateau in the Ginchi Woreda, in Oromia State. The dumbbell-shaped Crater Lake is Northwest- Southeast oriented, and has its surface set at elevation of 2,836 meters (9,305 feet) above sea level.

The lake is about 5km long, 2 km wide narrowing down to only about 220m at the center where the two craters form an opening to merge which otherwise could have been two separate lakes. The surface area of Lake Dendi is about 8km².

The lake, which has a shape similar to the figure eight, has extraordinary land structures and contour around it. The vast surrounding landscape encompasses both stunning flat and green lands and it is filled by sky blue and highly sweet water naturally renewed by flow of rainwater from the surrounding mountains. The huge flat green area also increases the fresh splendor and beauty of the landscape that make Dendi Lake a unique spot for nature lovers.

This Crater Lake is one of Ethiopia’s undiscovered treasures and can only be described as absolutely breathtaking.

Mount Dendi is a volcano located near the city of Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia. It has an 8 km (5.0 mi) wide caldera, and its highest point is Mount Bodi at 3,260 m (10,700 ft). It fully contains Lake Dendi. It is the second highest volcano in Ethiopia, only 13.5 km (8.4 mi) from Wonchi, Ethiopia’s highest volcano.

Located on the border with Wonchi woreda, the notable landscape features include the Chilimo forest, a wooded area 2,400 hectares in size near Ginchi, which is a remnant of the dry Afromontane forest on the Ethiopian Central Plateau.

The Dendi Caldera is located on the Ethiopian Plateau, approximately 86 kilometers southwest of Addis Ababa. (A caldera is a geological feature formed by the near-total eruption of magma from beneath a volcano. Following the eruption, the volcanic structure collapses into the empty magma chamber.

This collapse typically leaves a crater or depression where the volcano stood, and later volcanic activity can fill the caldera with younger lavas, ash, sediments, and pyroclastic rocks (rocks made from fragments of shattered volcanic rock).

Much of the volcanic rock in the area is basalt erupted as part of the opening of the East African Rift, but more silica-rich rock types, characterized by minerals such as quartz and feldspar, are also present.

The approximately 4-kilometer-wide Dendi Caldera includes some of this silica-rich volcanic rock: the rim of the caldera is mostly made of poorly consolidated ash erupted during the Tertiary Period (approximately 65–2 million years ago).

Two shallow lakes have formed within the central depression. Radial drainage patterns commonly form around volcanoes, as rainfall can flow downslope on all sides of the cone and incise channels. There are no historical records of volcanic eruptions at Dendi, but the Wonchi Caldera, 13 kilometers to the southwest (not shown), may have been active as recently as AD 550.

The Ethiopian Herald March 6/2021

“A city that is set on a hill”, a verse in the gospel of Matthew says, “cannot be hidden.” That was an ethical reference...
05/03/2021

“A city that is set on a hill”, a verse in the gospel of Matthew says, “cannot be hidden.” That was an ethical reference, but about 2,500 miles westwards from where Jesus presumably said those words, is literally a village on a mountaintop in Ethiopia, wrote Nii Ntreh, Face2Face Africa Journalist and an Associate Editor after visiting the place, one of the oldest villages in Ethiopia.

Shonke Village, stone-built homes, is a village located some 23 km away from Kemise Town, in Jirota kebele, in the current administrative district of Dawa Chefe, Oromia Zone of Amhara State, Ethiopia. The village was part of former Chefe Golana Dewerahmedo Wereda of the same Zone and was also part of southeast Wollo Province, in the Pre-1992’s administrative division.

Shonke, the 900-and-something-year-old settlement (according to the Islamic calendar) is in the Amhara State. It is situated on one of the highest areas in a country with a significant number of high points. This means the people of Shonke live in an area farther in the skies than the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in the UAE.

The people of Shonke are called the Argobba, which translates into “The Arabs came in”.

The community is entirely Muslim community tracing their ancestry to Arabs who run away from wars in the Gulf region to hide in Abyssinia, Ethiopia’s ancient name.

When Prophet Muhammad started Islam, there were clashes. So, He picked some of those under attack and sent them to Ethiopia.

As refugees, these Arabs were protected at that time by the village’s only two gates which were always guarded. The gates still stand to this day.

As dwellers uttered, Shonke’s Islamic culture is well-known. In the 19th century, it became an Islamic education and sufi-order center that was home to notable sufi saint-scholars. One of them was Shaykh Jawhar bin Haydar bin Ali, a famous sufi mystic who is known as the Sheikh of Shonke.

Wof Washa (meaning Bird Cave Forest)!!Set high in the mountains of Amhara State, just 130km north of capital Addis Ababa...
05/03/2021

Wof Washa (meaning Bird Cave Forest)!!

Set high in the mountains of Amhara State, just 130km north of capital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s oldest state forest, Wof Washa (meaning Bird Cave Forest), is diverse in both animal and plant life.

Located within the Ankober-Debre Sina Escarpment, an Eastern Afromontane Key Biodiversity Area (KBA), the forest is one of the oldest proclaimed state forests and is rich in biodiversity.

The area covers some 6000ha of the Rift Valley escarpment. The forest is on very steep slopes in (mostly east-facing) narrow valleys, with altitudes ranging from 2,000 m to 3,730 m.

Wof Washa is one of the most blessed forests with a remarkable number of common, rare and endemic plant species and wild animals. It is hugely bio diverse and home to a number of wild plant and animal species that are unique and some of them are even endemic to Ethiopia and East Africa. Many of the species are habitat specific and can be found in limited areas in the forest.

Studies conducted to determine the floristic composition of the forest revealed that about 252 species of plants were so far recorded in the Wof-Washa Dry Afromontane Hotspot Forest: 13 percent tree species, 7 percent shrub species and 80 percent herb species.

Among these, 29 plant species about 12 percent are endemic to Ethiopia while 7 species (3 percent) are nearly endemic. The number of plant species in the Wof-Washa Dry Afromontane Hotspot Forest increased to 394 species: 50 (13 percent) tree species, 72 (18 percent) shrub species, 254 (64 percent) herb species, and 18 (5 percent) liana species. This shows that the taxonomic inventory conducted in the forest is not yet completed.

The common woody plant species in the Forest include jumiper and oil trees, oregano (Thymus serulatus), megfra (Lobellia rhynchopet), and Guassa (Festica abyssinica).

Wof Washa Forest is also known for a number of bird species. Some of the endemic bird species in the forest include Ankober serin (Serinus ankoberensis), abyssinian catbird (Parophasma galinieri), abyssinian long-claw (Macronyx flavicollis), Ethiopian siskin (Serinus nigriceps), spot-breasted lapwing (Vanellus melanocephalus) and wattled ibis (Bostrychia carunculata). Moreover, the escarpment of the Wof-Washa Dry Afromontane Hotspot Forest was regarded as one of Ethiopia’s important bird areas.

Likewise, the Wof-Washa Dry Afromontane Hotspot Forest provides shelter, food, and breeding sites for a number of wild mammal species including anubis baboon (Papio anubis), gelada (Theropithecus gelada), Menelik’s bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus meneliki), common duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia), colobus monkey (Colobus guereza), grivet monkey (Ceropithecus aethiops).

klipspringer (Oreotragus oreotragus), spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), leopard (Panthera pardus), rock hyrax (Procavia capensis), common jackal (Canis mesomelas), common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus), African civet (Civettictis civetta), porcupine (Hystrix cristata), serval cat (Felis serval), Abyssinian genet (Genetta abyssinica), caracal (Felis caracal), Starck’s hare (Lepus starckii), honey badger (Mellivora capensis), and bush pig (Potamochoerus larvatus) are the other blessings of the area.

Adadi Mariam Rock –hewn church, which is one of the few rock hewn churches in the southern part of Ethiopia, is located ...
05/03/2021

Adadi Mariam Rock –hewn church, which is one of the few rock hewn churches in the southern part of Ethiopia, is located at the distance of 73Kms from the capital—Addis Ababa. According to oral history, Adadi Mariam, which is similar to Rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, was built by king Lalibela who reigned from 1181-1221.

The name ‘Adadi’ was given due to two reasons. One is derived from the name of a tree, known as elephant grass, which is up to one and half to three meter high, white and grew on the acme of the church. The name of the tree is “Anfar” in Amharic and “Adi’ Adi” in Oromiffa language.

Since the local people were Oromipha language speakers they used the term “Adi’ Adi”, which gradually becomes Adadi. Second, it is said that during the excavation of the church, the Oromo community of the area observed the white doves coming up and down and they said “Addi Naama” which means “that is white people” and associated them with angles.

There is a strong tradition about the coming of Lalibela to the region of Shewa and excavated Adadi Mariam rock-hewn church. This story is also found in the book known as Tefut in Gishen Debre Kerbie monastery and in S**o Debre Ader (Mahder) church of Zuquala mount. The book of Tefut stated about the founding of the true cross and its coming from Jerusalem and stayed in Adadi Mariam for seven days.

Adadi Mariam rock hewn church is a type of rock-hewn cave church excavated in wards from a more or less vertical cliff. It is also partially separated from the main rock with various degrees of attachment to the rock.

According to Oral traditions, the establishment of Adadi Mariam church is related to the coming of one of the prominent saints of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church, Abune Gebre Menfes Qedus, from Egypt and a visit made by king Lalibela.

Adawa Adawa...125th year back. The unthinkable Miracle victory made by our forefathers!!!
03/03/2021

Adawa Adawa...125th year back. The unthinkable Miracle victory made by our forefathers!!!

The fortified historic town of Harar is located in the eastern part of the country, 525 km from the capital of Addis Aba...
15/02/2021

The fortified historic town of Harar is located in the eastern part of the country, 525 km from the capital of Addis Ababa, on a plateau with deep gorges surrounded by deserts and savannah. The walls surrounding this sacred Muslim city were built between the 13th and 16th centuries.

Harar Jugol, said to be the fourth holiest city of Islam, numbers 82 mosques, three of which date from the 10th century, and 102 shrines, but the town houses with their exceptional interior design constitute the most spectacular part of Harar’s cultural heritage.

The impact of African and Islamic traditions on the development of the town’s building types and urban layout make for its particular character and uniqueness.

The present urban layout follows the 16th century design for an Islamic town with its central core occupied with commercial and religious buildings and a maze of narrow alleyways with imposing facades.

The sun tries to creep in around the shoddy wooden doors, to no avail. Immediately outside the cave, the sun shines brig...
15/02/2021

The sun tries to creep in around the shoddy wooden doors, to no avail. Immediately outside the cave, the sun shines brightly, reflecting off the massive, orange sandstone cliffs.

But head inside, and the rest of the world falls away, and you are left in the pitch black, barely illuminated by the flickering of dimly lit candles, wrote a foreign visitor who got a chance to visit the stony, hidden high in the sandstone cliffs and magnificent church, Abuna Yemata Guh Church.

Abuna Yemata Guh, which is located in the northern part of Ethiopia, Tigray State, was built in honors of one of the Nine Saints of the Ethiopian Church, Abuna Yemata, in recognition of his work in helping to spread of Christianity around the country during the late 5th Century.

Inaccessible for centuries, the site places undisturbed due to its remote location, visited only by wandering monks and devout Christians. This seclusion allowed much of the artwork found inside to remain in near pristine condition.

The Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ State has not yet been known for its magnificent and wonderful cultura...
15/02/2021

The Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ State has not yet been known for its magnificent and wonderful cultural and natural attractions.

The national parks such as the Omo National Park and River, Nech Sar, Mago as well as Chebera Churchura National Park are few among others that make the State inimitable in its endowments and at the same time enticing blessings.

Likewise, the waterfalls of Dorsso and Barta, the magnificent cultural practices of the Hammer, Konso, Dorze, Derashe and Dasanach are the other attractions that the State is known for.

Wolaita Zone, like other parts of the State, is also known for its natural gifts. Ranging from the plants commonly known as enset, false banana, the Zone is also famous for its water falls.

Gambella National Park was established few decades ago aiming to conserve wild animals. Situated in western Ethiopia som...
12/02/2021

Gambella National Park was established few decades ago aiming to conserve wild animals. Situated in western Ethiopia some 776 Kilometer from the Capital Addis Ababa, the park is the habitat of varied biodiversity. It is the second largest in terms of variety and concentration of wild species.

This spectacular blessing covers 4 thousand 575 square kilometers and it is home to 69 mammals, 327 bird species, 7 classes of arboreal and 493 plant species.

Albeit the park is one of the untapped tourist attraction sites and the greatest wild show at a huge number of animals and diversity, illegal hunt is challenging its existence. According to the empirics of the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority, (EWCA) five elephants have been killed over the preceding year alone. The Authority has called on stakeholders engage in integrated cooperation to rescue the park from such precarious threats.

Ethiopia is the “Land of Thirteen Months”. It’s a magical country with ancient and spiritual roots, rich in significant ...
06/02/2021

Ethiopia is the “Land of Thirteen Months”. It’s a magical country with ancient and spiritual roots, rich in significant religious history that has a fabulous story to tell.

The beauty of wild mountains is only surpassed by the awe-inspiring religious architecture that draws visitors to this amazing country. It is where legends of the Ark of the Covenant is kept side by side and in harmony with ancient Islamic mosques.

From thundering waterfalls to its vibrant and modern capital city, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is a place you have to see to believe. Here are 10 of the best and most incredible places to visit in Ethiopia.

1. Simien Mountains

Nestled in the highlands of northern Ethiopia you will find the spectacular Simien Mountains. This jewel of an area makes you feel lost in time with its remarkable rock-hewn churches and medieval castles. These majestic mountains seemed to have been hand-shaped by nature and are home to a rich cultural heritage.

They now draw people here to learn about ancient religious sites and to witness the jagged peaks and seemingly endless vistas. The Simien Mountains are also home to a unique but endangered ecosystem, complete with rare and unusual animals like the Gelada baboon, Walia Ibex and Ethiopian wolf.

2. Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela

Near the small town of Lalibela, there are eleven medieval churches, which are all carved out of massive slabs of volcanic rock. The churches were built in the 12th century under the direction of King Lalibela.

He had a vision of a “New Jerusalem” for Christians who were prevented from making the pilgrimage to the Holy Land because of Muslim conquests across the region. Today it is still a popular pilgrimage site for Coptic Christians.

The most fascinating of the ancient churches is the House of Saint George, or Biete Ghiorgis. This church is famed for its cross-shaped design and network of trenches and ceremonial passages which connect it to the other churches. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is truly one of Ethiopia’s incredible places to visit and will leave visitors in awe of the faith that can move mountains.

3. The Holy City of Harar

Harar is a city in Northeast Ethiopia and is a great seat of Islamic culture. Its walled city dubbed “Africa’s Mecca,” is home to more than 100 mosques and is also considered the “fourth holy city of Islam”. Harar was built in the 16th century to protect the city against religious invaders.

It will not take long to be told about the legendary “hyena man of Harar”. At the Fallana Gate the “hyena man’ will call out to the hyenas by name in Harari. They come up, one-by-one and take a piece of meat from a stick he has placed in his mouth. If you have the nerve, you can also take a turn hand-feeding these wildly beautiful, but dangerous African predators.

4. Gondar

Nestled in the highlands of Northern Ethiopia, you will find the fabled city of Gondar. Once you have reached Ras Dashen, the highest peak in the spectacular Simien Mountains, you will be able to marvel at Gondar, the “Camelot of Africa”. The castle was the medieval home to Ethiopian Emperors and Princesses who led the country for nearly 1000 years.

Another site not to miss is Fasiladas’ Bath. This is where the annual Timkat (Epiphany) celebration takes place. The water is blessed by the bishop and splashed on the crowd of pilgrims that come to renew their faith and to take part in the ceremony that replicates Christ’s baptism in the Jordan River. Here is also, Debre Berhan Selassie, which is considered to be one of the most beautiful churches in all of Ethiopia.

5. Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa is the fourth largest city in Africa, the diplomatic home to the African Union. UN Economic Commission for Africa (UN-ECA) and a regional office for a number of international organizations including UNDP, UNESCO and the European Economic Commission (EEC). This vibrant city sits atop the Entoto Mountains and has both an African and international feel. Addis has a mystical aura that seems to act like a portal to the past. It is a place where you can explore the beautiful orthodox churches and museums.

The city is also a place, National Museum, where you will find the 2.3 million-year-old fossilized hominid “Lucy” and where the largest open-air market in Africa is located.

At night, the city comes alive with a vibrant nightlife with restaurants serving exotic Ethiopian cuisine. Day trips from Addis should include the Entoto Mountains, the crater lakes

at Bishoftu Town and the hot springs at Awash National Park.

6. Blue Nile Falls

Close to the city of Bahir Dar you will find the incredible Blue Nile Falls. The locals call it Tis- Isat Falls (translated as “Smoke of Fire”) and it is the most impressive sight on either the Blue or White Nile. The falls stretch a quarter-mile wide during the flood season and drops into a gorge of more than 150 feet deep.

You can see how the falls got their name because it throws up a never-ending mist that drenches sightseers from half a mile away. The rainbows produced are awe-inspiring and creates an Eden-like perennial rainforest of lush verdant foliage. You will not be alone in this paradise; the forest is home to a wide variety of monkeys and exotically colored birds.

7. Aksum

Head to Aksum and you will see more ancient history that you can imagine. Aksum is one of the oldest cities in all of Africa and is rich in legend and mystery. It is believed to be the home of the Queen of Sheba and the final resting place of the legendary Ark of the Covenant. Unfortunately, visitors are not allowed into the church where the Ark is said to be, but you can still check out the ancient Aksumite obelisks found in the Northern Stelae Field.

The largest obelisk was recently returned to Ethiopia by the Italian government where it sat for decades after it was taken to Italy during WWII. In addition to legends of Sheba and the Ark, locals believe that the roughly hewn tomb of solid rock of King Bazen was actually Balthazar, and the magi carried news of Christ’s birth to Ethiopia.

8. Arba Minch

On the shores of Abaya Lake in Southern Ethiopia, Arba Minch is full of natural wonder and beauty. Arba Minch in Amharic means “forty springs,” and the area is rich in many tiny springs that bubble up from the ground. You can see many of them as you hike through Nechisar National Park.

The most incredible sight in Arba Minch is the cliff top holy spot of Abuna Yemata Church. This rock-hewn church is found only after a mildly challenging climb up the sheer cliff wall. It requires a bit of nerve and a lack of vertigo, but your effort will be greatly rewarded. Views from the church are remarkable and inside this ancient holy church, you will find beautiful and well-preserved frescoes that adorn two cupolas.

9. Danakil Depression

If you are up a really hot time, then make your way to Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression. The Depression overlaps the borders of Eritrea and Djibouti and is part of the great East African Rift Valley.

The Afar people call this northeastern part of Ethiopia home and against all odds, have not only existed for centuries but still have a thriving community. But beware, the climate is unforgiving and widely considered the hottest (average temp of 94F), driest (4 – 8 inches of annual rainfall) and lowest spot (400 feet below sea level) on the planet. Having said all that, this unearthly landscape is an incredible place to visit.

The lava lake at Erta Ale is one of only six lava lakes on Earth and will leave you in awe. The multi-coloured hydrothermal bubbling lakes and great salt pans will amaze you and have you question if you are still on Planet Earth. The site is also rich in fossils of ancient hominid. The famed fossil of “Lucy” was found in this area in 1974.

Source: www.travelanddestinations.com

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