Addis Ababa

The name of this sprawling capital city means “New Flower.” Founded by Emperor Menelik II in 1887 and situated at between 2300 - 2500 meters, Addis Ababa is the third highest capital in the world. Today it's one of African's largest cities with a population of about 2 million and the continent's premier diplomatic center as the headquarters for African Union located here. Impressive monuments of colonial architecture are scattered among stretches of sun-bleached shacks. Addis Ababa , besides its many attractive sites, lies at the centre of an area rich in places of interest, most of which can be visited either as a half or full day trips.

Bahirdar

Taking the historic route north from Addis Ababa, the first stop is Bahir Dar, 578 km north of the capital, accessible by road and air daily, is located on the southern shore of Lake Tana close to the Nile outlet. Ethiopia is associated first and foremost with desert and drought – not a little ironic, when you consider that the fertile Nile basin, on which Egypt depends, receives 90% of its water from the Ethiopian highlands particularly this Blue Nile River.

Gondar

The next stop on the historic route, with its strategic hilltop location at an altitude of 2,200 m in the Southern foothills of the Simien Mountains , is the graceful city of Gondar , site of numerous castle-like palaces, dating back from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Axum

The northern Ethiopia ancient city of Axum , regarded as the cradle of Ethiopian culture and Christianity, is the country's oldest extant urban settlement. From around 200 BC to 700 AD, Axum was the seat of an empire that extended across the Red Sea to Arabia, traded with India and China , had its own alphabet, constructed great engineering works and which, in the 4 th century, was one of the four great powers of the world.

Lalibela

Perched at an altitude of 2630 m, among wild craggy mountains and vast rocky escarpments, Lalibela is a strikingly singular town famed for its 12 th century rock-hewn churches. No matter if you've visited other rock-hewn churches in the rest of the world; nothing will prepare you for these.

At the end of the 12 th and beginning of the 13 th centuries, King Lalibela of the Zaghwe dynasty built a series of rock hewn churches, carved into the rugged mountainsides. There are 11 churches in the town named after him, with others in the surrounding countryside.

Danakil Depression and Ert’ale,

The Danakil Desert is located between the Ethiopian plateau and the Red Sea. The salt plain near Dallol is the lowest part at 116 metres below sea level. In prehistoric times, the territory was in the form of a gulf. According to geologists, this is a sea bed that emerged for a brief moment in the history of the planet; the Afar depression will in fact form a future ocean with the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

This geological anomaly means that the entire area is very unstable. There are numerous active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes, together with secondary manifestations such as the stupendous colors of the salt surfaces, caused by the geysers with their various different chlorides. This inhospitable territory is home to nomadic sheep-herding Afar people.