Africa's oldest independent nation — rock-hewn churches at Lalibela, the otherworldly Danakil Depression, Simien gelada baboons, and a coffee culture that started it all.
Eleven medieval churches carved downwards into solid rock. Still active places of worship. A UNESCO site, and unlike anything else.
Africa’s ‘roof’ — 4,000m peaks, dramatic escarpments, and the gelada baboon endemic to nowhere else. Multi-day trekking territory.
One of the hottest, lowest places on earth. Sulphur springs, salt flats, lava lakes at Erta Ale. Specialist guides only.
Hamar, Mursi, Karo, Dassanech — communities living traditional lives in southern Ethiopia. Visited with cultural respect, not as spectacle.
Ethiopia is coffee’s origin. The traditional coffee ceremony — three rounds, fresh-roasted beans, incense — is a ritual we love.
Their year is currently 7 years behind ours. The clock starts at sunrise. The calendar has 13 months. You’re in a different world.
Dry, cool in the highlands, comfortable everywhere. January’s Timkat festival is spectacular. Book ahead.
Shoulder months. Lalibela accessible, Simien trekking conditions still good.
Highland trails muddy and dangerous, many regions inaccessible. Photography also suffers under heavy cloud.
11 medieval rock-hewn churches. Still in active religious use.
4,000m peaks, gelada baboons, multi-day trekking.
Hottest place on earth. Lava lakes, sulphur springs, salt flats.
Ancient capital. Stelae, the alleged resting place of the Ark of the Covenant.
Hamar, Mursi, Karo tribes. Cultural visits done with respect.
Ethiopian wolves, Africa’s rarest carnivore. Sanetti Plateau.
‘Africa’s Camelot’ — 17th-century castles in the highlands.
Three rounds, fresh roast, incense. Where it all began.
Ethiopia is too varied for one-size-fits-all. Northern Historic Circuit, Simien trekking, Danakil expedition, or Omo Valley immersion — each is its own trip. We design around your interests.
And it has 13 months — 12 of 30 days and a 13th of 5 or 6. New Year falls in September. The clock starts at sunrise (1 o’clock = our 7am).
The Australopithecus afarensis skeleton discovered in the Afar region in 1974 — one of the oldest, most complete early hominid finds ever.
Italy tried twice. They failed in 1896 at the Battle of Adwa — making Ethiopia the only African country to defeat a European colonial power and retain independence.
Tell us what you're drawn to — the churches, the mountains, the tribes, the volcanoes — and our Ethiopia specialist will design the journey around it.