Why Ethiopia?

Contrary to its international image as a land of desert and famine Ethiopia boasts extraordinary Natural, Cultural, and Historical wealth.

Ethiopia provides great combinations of attracting destinations a country with one of the richest histories on the African continent, a land of contrast and surprises, of remote and wild places, has climate and scenery as pleasant as that in southern Africa. Have birds and animals as interesting as any thing in east Africa. Have tribal groups as fascinating as any in West Africa and, Ethiopia turns out to be a country far richer than many imagine.

Ethiopia has so much to offer visitors
Historically and culturally Ethiopia is one of the oldest Christian civilizations in the world and with the longest archeological record of any country on earth. It is also credited with being the original home of humanity with the discovery of fossilized remains of hominid species, Stone Age paintings and evidence of cereal cultivations at different archeological sights. Ethiopia is the land of queen of Sheba, the final resting place of the Ark of the Covenant, cradle of man kind (Lucy was discovered here). The historic route covering the big four in the northern circuit includes the ancient town of Axum with its carved monuments, Christian festivals and relics; Lalibela, with its wonderful rock hewn churches, Gondar with its palaces and castles; Bahir Dar and Lake Tana, on the shore of the lake providing an ideal place to explore the lake, its medieval monasteries and Blue Nile Falls; the walled Muslim city of Harar and the railway town of Dire Dawa in the Eastern part of the country.

Religiously it was one of the countries adopting Christianity and establishing good relations with Islam in earlier time. The arrival of Christianity was a turning point in Ethiopian history. Christianity was to have an enormous influence on the country’s social and cultural life including its art and literature. Currently almost half of the Ethiopian population is orthodox Christian. Followers of Islam avoiding persecution in Arabian Peninsula arrived in Ethiopia in the 7th C AD. They were given good protection and hence good relations between the two major religions continued.

Ethiopia’s elevated central plateau covering half of its surface area and supporting over half of its population is the most extensive fertile land in east Africa. The highlands have a remarkable biological endemic species including large mammals such as Red fox, mountain Nyala, Walia Ibex, Gelada Baboons, Menelik Bush Buck. Semen Mountain ranges is one of Africa’s largest ranges studded with at least a dozen peaks topping 4000m mark. This includes Ras Dashen (Dejen) the highest peak in Ethiopia and the fourth highest in Africa. Bale mountain Ranges are peaked by mount Tullu Demtu the second highest point in Ethiopia. The main attractions of both mountain ranges are wild scenery, Endemic species of flora and fauna. The country has also Deserts stretching from the base of the central plateau to the Kenyan, Somali and the Red Sea boarder but they are sparsely populated and have negligible impact on the life of most Ethiopians. Most of these deserts are unlikely to be visited by tourists but some such as The Danakil region (off the beaten track destinations) is emerging as one of popular attraction sights in Ethiopia. The deserts also do support many species of fauna and flora.

The Great Rift Valley Lakes: is home to a wealth of bird and animal and plant life. The high rugged simien mountains in the north and the Bale Mountains in the southeast are also home to some unique wild life and rich flora and are ideal for trekking while some of the country’s fast flowing rivers are becoming famous for Rafting

National Parks: the country has nine national parks and four sanctuaries where most of the 277 species of wild life and more than 850 species of birds can be seen. The simien mountain national park is registered by UNESCO as a world heritage site and is home to three of the endemic mammals. Ras Dashen (Dejen) the highest in Ethiopia and the fourth highest peak in Africa with an elevation of 4620 is also located within the national park. Other national parks include Bale Mountains, Abijatta Shala, Nechi SAR, Mago and Omo, Yangudi Rasa, Gambella and Awash.

Ethiopia has a unique place in Africa because
Ethiopia’s isolation- Right up until the second half of the 19th C the country remained almost unknown to outsiders and it wasn’t until the second half of the 20th C that visitors began to set foot here.

Ethiopia almost the only African country to have escaped European colonialism, has retained much of its cultural identity which has ensured

That its culture has remained remarkably intact, unpolluted and undiluted by outside influence

That the country retains its own particular language and script, food and drink

That it has its own calendar (Julian calendar is still in use when the rest of the Christian world adopted Gregorian calendar in 1582). ,clock ,churches and saints

Even today the attractions of Ethiopia remain little known. Ethiopia is still being visited by the very few. A trip here will afford the traveler a real sense of discovery. Ethiopia is Africa’s best kept-secret. It is the continents Dark side of the moon.

Ethiopia is one of the best recommended and emerging destinations of Africa