About Ethiopia
Ethiopia is a country located in the north eastern part of Africa in the region of Red Sea and Golf of Aden. It is an old nation having a long history of more than 3000 years.
The Country
Ethiopia has a diverse mix of ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. It is a country with more than 80 different ethnic groups each with its own language, culture, custom and tradition. One of the most significant areas of Ethiopian culture is its literature, which is represented predominantly by its ancient language Ge’ez from which modern Amharic andTigrigna languages are derived.
Our History
Ethiopia is a country located in the north eastern part of africa in the region of red sea and gulf of aden. it is an old nation having a long history of more than 3000 years.
Axum
Axum is an ancient town in northern Ethiopia and it was the seat of the kingdom of Axum. It is now a tourist town and religious center best known for its antiquities tall granite Obelisks.
Bahir Dar
Bahir Dar is a beautiful town with tree-lined avenues and set on the shores of the deep blue Lake Tana.
It’s also the gateway to the blue Nile Falls and the monasteries on lake Tana and the surrounding peninsulas.
Lake Tana is the largest water body in Ethiopia, is dotted with 37 islands of which 20 shelters churches and monasteries.
Debre Damo
Debre Damo, located 48 kms from Axum, is the oldest monastery of the nation which dates back to the early Axumite times.It is closed to female visitors. even for men. It needs some courage to access the monastery, as one need to use a rope to climb the 24 mts (78 ft) high cliff.
Gonder
Gonder is 180km north from Bahir Dar, 700km north of Addis Ababa and nestles in the foothills of the Semien Mountains on a altitude of 2200 meters above sea level. Gonder, founded by King Fasiledes in 1936, was the capital of Ethiopia for nearly 200 years. This fact is reflected by the number of palace buildings in the castle compound.
Harar
Harar is located in the eastern part of the country and part of the historic circuits. The walled city of Harar is an ancient city with rich and colorful history.
Harar is 523 kilometers east of Addis Ababa, the capital. the most dominant feature of Harar is its strong encircling wall, which embraces the town, its exciting market places, and its 99 Mosques. Harar is the fourth holiest city after Mecca, Madina and Jerusalem.
Lalibela
Lalibela, a medieval settlement in the lasta area of Wello, lies at the centre of an extensive complex of rock churches. Lalibela has 11 remarkable rock-hewn monolithic, semi-monolithic and cave built churches, built by one of the Zagwe Dynasty rulers, King Lalibela in the late 12th and early 13th century.
These notable structures are carved, inside and out, out of one solid rock, and are the unofficial eighth wonders of the world
Yemrehana Krestos
The church of Yemerhana Krestos is located some 42kms by road north of Lalibela in the massif of Abune Yosef. according to the Ethiopian tradition it was built by the saintly Zagwe King Yemerhana Kirstos between 1087-1127 a.d.
Sof Omar
Sof Omar, a tiny muslim village in Bale (south east of Ethiopia), is the site of an amazing complex of natural caves, cut by the web river as it found its way from the nearby mountains.
Abyata-Shala Lakes National Park
Abyata-Shala lakes national park is formed by the twin lakes of Abyata and Shala. it has a total area of 887 square kilometers (550 square miles) in size, of which 482 square kilometer (300 square miles) is water. Both lakes are terminal lakes but very different in nature. The park was created for the many aquatic bird species that use the lakes, particularly great white Pelicans and greater and lesser Flamingos. The surrounding area is mainly acacia woodland, some of which is very degraded by man.
Awash National Park
Awash National Park, 211 kms east of Addis Ababa cover 827 square kilometers (319 square miles). The park takes its name from the Awash river which marks the park’s southern boundary. The rivers last gesture is the salt lake, lake Abbe, on the Ethiopia-Djiboutian border.
Bale Mountains National Park
Lying south-east of Ethiopia, Bale Mountains National Park covers 2400 square kilometers (1488 square miles) covering wide range of habitats and ranging in altitude from 1500 to 4377 meters (4920 to 14357 feet) at Tulu Dimtu, the highest point in the southern Ethiopia. The spectacular Harenna escarpment running from east to west divides the area into two major parts. to the north is a high altitude plateau area known as the Sanetti Plateau (4000m) formed of ancient volcanic rocks and dissected by many rivers and streams that have cut deep gorges into the edges. in some places this has resulted in scenic waterfalls and alpine lakes.
Dalol (Denakil Depression)
The Denakil or Dalol depression is one of the earth’s hottest and most inhospitable places. It’s more than 100 mts below sea level which makes it the lowest place of our planet. At noon-time, temperature soars to above 500c.
It is also one of the very few places in the world that has high active volcanic activity. Jet it is one of the most fascinating places on earth.
Semien Mountains National Park
The Semien Mountains are a must for all those interested in wildlife, scenery and spectacular landscapes; the park has been declared a world heritage site by UNESCO.
Semien Mountains National Park – the mountains high lands constitute one of the major mountain massifs in africa. The region includes many summits above 4000 meters in the highest point in Ethiopia, Ras Dashen, at 4620 meters, the fourth highest mountain in Africa. Its dramatic topography is the result of the erosion of basalt lavas, which have been calculated to be nearly 3000 meters thick.
It is home to the endemic mammals of Walia Ibex, Semien Fox, Gelada Baboons and many species of birds and plants apart from its spectacular scenic beauty.
Omo National Park
Omo National Park, located in the south-west on the west bank of Omo river, is 870km south-west of Addis Ababa. It is one of the most beautiful national parks in Ethiopia.
The Omo National Park covers 4,068 square kilometres of wilderness bordered by the omo river, is home to an amazing range of wildlife. 306 species of birds have been identified here, while large herds of Eland, some Buffalo, Elephants, Giraffe, Cheetah, Lion, Leopard, Burchell’s Zebra, are quite common.
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Nech Sar National Park
Situated 510km south of Addis near the town of Arba Minch, in between lakes Abaya and Chamo.
A wide variety of plains game roams freely amongst 514m2 of savannah, dry bush and groundwater forest, which are also the habitat of 188 recorded species of birds. Animals to be seen are Bushbuck, Swayne’s Hartebeest (endemic), Burchell’s Zebra, Grant’s Gazelle, Guenther’s Dik-Dik, Greater Kudu, Anubis Baboon, Grey Duiker. birds seen include Red-Billed Hornbill, Grey Hornbill, Fish Eagle, Kori Bustard, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill and more.