Explore Ethiopia
Ethiopia
One country, many contrasts.
Ethiopia is a land of full of contrast, a land of remote and wild locations, and a land that is home to culturally rich and friendly people. A people who are believed to have descended from some of the World’s oldest civilizations. This very land is the home of the fabled Queens of Sheba. The birth place of coffee and is believed to be the home the Biblical Ark of the Covenant. A Trip to Ethiopia is profoundly historical. A homecoming for all peoples of the world. This is because it is in the Ethiopia rift valley. A volcanic scar that bisects this great land, where hominids first walked on two feet.
Ethiopia has its own script, notational system and calendar. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is the oldest in Africa – Christianity was made the state religion in the Axumite Empire in 330 AD, before Rome.
Ethiopia has the most extensive historic sites in Sub-Saharan Africa, experts estimate that perhaps as little as 10% of the total has so far been discovered and excavated. The oldest hominid remains have been found along the Awash River valley (Lucy, 3.2 million years old, Selam 3.3 million years old, Anamensis, 3.8 million years old, Ardi, 4.4 million years old) – at any time more than 40 institutions from a dozen countries are excavating in the Afar Region, where most paleo-anthropologists now agree the human race has its origins.
There is every variety of scenery, with tropical rain forests, high moor land with Afro-alpine flora, lakes, savannah and deserts. In elevation it ranges from 120 metres below sea level in the harsh salt flats of the Danakil depression, to the 4550 metre peak of Ras Dashen in the Simien mountains.
There are more than 80 ethnic groups and as many languages.
Topography
With an area of 1,112,000 square kilometres, Ethiopia is as large as France and Spain combined. From the north and running down the centre are the Abyssinian highlands, to the west of the chain the land drops to the grasslands of Sudan, to the east to the deserts of the Afar and the Red Sea.
South of Addis Ababa the land is dominated by the Rift Valley Lakes. The main rivers are the Blue Nile, the Tekezze, the Awash, the Wabe Shabele, the Omo, and the Baro. 80% of the land in Africa over 3000 meters is found in Ethiopia.
Ethiopian People
The Ethiopians are a mixture of African and Middle Eastern peoples forming several distinctive nations and tribes. In the west, the tall people of the Niotic tribes straddle the border with Sudan. In the South and East are various Cushitic-speaking peoples, such as the clannish cattle-rearing Oromo and the Nomadic camel-keeping Somalias who straddle the southeast border. In the North are Semitic-speaking and sedentary Amharas and Tigrians who define the Christian heartland. More than 80 different languages are spoken in the country with many more dialects. Ethiopia is a land of wonder and enchantment: a country that boasts one of the richest histories on the African continent.
Economy
85% of the population get their livelihood from the land. Coffee (the word originates from the name of the province of Kaffa, in the south west of Ethiopia, the birth place of coffee) provides the bulk of foreign currency earnings, although the rise in importance of other products has meant a fall in its share.
Ethiopia is the third biggest coffee exporter in the world. The export of oilseeds (Ethiopia is the fourth biggest exporter in the world), pulses, spices, gold, flowers, livestock, skins and hides (Ethiopia has the largest domestic livestock population in Africa), textiles, chat, and animal feed makes up the rest of Ethiopia’s foreign currency earnings, with tourism making an increasingly important contribution – recent figures, pre Corona, put tourism ahead of coffee exports on terms of foreign currency earnings.
Health and medical
The possession of a valid Yellow Fever vaccination certificate is no longer mandatory but visitors coming from countries where Yellow Fever has been reported may be asked. (Some countries, such as Australia and Thailand, will ask for a Yellow Fever vaccination certificate if you have visited Ethiopia in the previous 6 months.) Immunisation for Hepatitis A and B, Tetanus, Typhoid and Polio is recommended.
Malaria: in many sites malaria is not a problem because of the elevation – this is true of Axum, Gondar and Lalibela for example, but it can occur in Bahir Dar at the end of the rainy season and after unseasonable rains. Lowland areas along the Awash River, the Omo Valley, Rift Valley and Gambella are subject to malaria outbreaks.
You can keep mosquitoes and other insects at bay with repellent creams and sprays.
Visitors should take a simple first aid pack, which would include: different size plasters, antiseptic cream, anti-histamine cream and/or tablets for insect bites, aspirin and/or panadol, sun barrier cream (while temperatures are moderate the sun is strong) and anti-diarrhoea tablets such as Immodium for emergencies (they will not cure the problem but will control the symptoms).
Generally, visitors should take out standard holiday health insurance in their home countries.
Food
The Ethiopian national dish consists of injera, a flat, circular pancake of fermented dough made from a grain seed called tef, on top of which are served different kinds of cooked meats, vegetables and pulses.
The sauces are generally spiced with berbere, a blend of herbs and spices (including hot peppers) which gives Ethiopian food its characteristic taste. Vegetarians should try “fasting food” (for devout Ethiopian Orthodox Christians fast days make up more than half the year), a colourful spread of salads, vegetables and pulses, devoid of all meat and animal products.
One eats national dishes with the right hand (water for washing is usually brought to the table before the food is served), tearing off pieces of injera to pick up the “toppings”.
Addis Ababa now boasts a wide variety of restaurants – you can effectively dine out in every continent of the world – and at hotels in tourist sites European style food such as pasta is always available.
If you are travelling to remote areas, such as the Omo Valley and parts of southern Ethiopia, it is advisable to stock up with tinned and packet food in Addis Ababa.
Drinks
Gassy and still mineral water, along with soft drinks, are now available throughout the country. There are several brands of locally produced beer. Ethiopia produces its own wine and spirits, while imported spirits are also widely available. There are home made alcoholic drinks: tela (home made beer or ale), tej (wine made from honey) and kati kala (distilled liquor from various grains.)
Travel
Ethiopian Airlines operates an efficient, country wide domestic flight service, with some popular destinations having several flights per day. There are discounted prices for those travelers using Ethiopian Airlines for the international legs. The Bombardier Q400 is mainly deployed, with Boeing 727 on some of the busier routes. Baggage allowance is 20 kg.
Over the last few decades Ethiopia’s road network has been vastly improved, and generally the country’s main tourist sites are easily accessed by road.
Money matters
Unless one is carrying very large sums, it is no longer obligatory for visitors to declare currency in their possession on arrival, but should visitors wish to change money back on departure, it will be necessary to produce receipts from banks and authorised foreign exchange dealers. The Ethiopian currency is the birr, the rate of which against the US dollar is fixed essentially by market demand.
ATMs for Visa and other cards can now be found in most banks, and in most of the main hotels in Addis Ababa, and this service has recently been extended to other main urban centres.
Miscellaneous
Visa: Passengers can obtain visa from https://www.evisa.gov.et/
Airlines: the following airlines fly into and out of Ethiopia: Ethiopian Airlines, Egypt Air, Emirates, KLM, Kenya Airways, Lufthansa, Saudia, Sudan Airways, Turkish Airlines, Fly Dubai and Yemenia.
Internet – 4G connection is vastly available thoughout the country while Addis Ababa and other major cities having 5G coverage.
Electricity – 220 volts. Plugs are of the round two-pin variety.
Photography – As a matter of courtesy, permission should be sought before photographing individuals and in many parts of the country, particularly among the ethnic groups living by the Omo River, people will demand a fee. In some sites (in the churches and Blue Nile Falls for example) there is a charge for video photography.
Visitors with a lot of camera equipment may be asked by airport Customs to get a permit from the Ethiopian Media Authority – Convenant Ethiopia Tours can assist with this process prior to our clients’ arrival.