Proclaimed the World's Best Tourist Destination in 2015 by the European Council on Tourism and Trade, Ethiopia is nonetheless a largely undiscovered gem! Situated in the Horn of Africa and split by the Great Rift Valley, Ethiopia is a treasure trove of ancient and tribal cultures. Here you’ll discover the ancient royal capital of Axum, strewn with ancient remains and granite obelisks, ruined castles, rock-hewn churches and monasteries dating back to the early days of Christianity, as well as encountering some of Africa’s most fascinating tribes in the lowlands of the southwest. It’s an incredible and unique country – fiercely independent, Ethiopia has never been successfully colonised or conquered, and at one time boasted Africa’s most powerful empire. It’s also a country of astounding landscapes: dramatic mountains – including the baboon-infested Semien Mountains and Bale Mountains – the remote, harsh and remarkably unique Dallol Depression, desert-like wilderness, vast lakes, and the birthplace of the Blue Nile.
Axum
Ethiopia’s first former royal capital was once found at the crossroads of three continents: Africa, Arabia and the Greco-Roman World. At its height, it was the most powerful state between the Eastern Roman Empire and Persia, and today the ruins of this ancient city – the legacy of the wealth and importance of the great Aksumite kingdom which lasted between the 1st and 8th centuries AD – is an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Dallol Depression
One of the most remote spots on earth, the Dallol Depression is a unique land formation within the Great Rift Valley system, resulting from the presence of three tectonic plates in the Horn of Africa. It’s both the hottest place on earth, and one of the lowest places on the planet. Here, the Awash River dries up in a chain of salt lakes, and you’ll also find the Dallol sulfur springs.
Simien Mountains
Here you’ll find Ras Dashan, the highest point in Ethiopia, as well as an abundance of Gelada Baboobs, Semien fox, Walia ibex, and even some Ethiopian wolves. They form part of the Ethiopian Highlands – Africa’s largest continuous area of its altitude, rarely falling below 4,921ft – and are an UNESCO World Heritage Site, with almost unique geological origins (only comparable to South Africa’s Drakensberg Mountains).
Gondar
Rising above the present-day city, which is nestled in a bowl of hills, the mighty remains of the once-great royal city of Gondar still evokes the heyday of Emperor Fasildas’s reign when he made this city – ideally situated at the crossroads of three caravan routes – his royal capital in 1636. Here you can travel back in time and explore proud castles, particularly the majestic Fasil Ghebbi
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