Bati and Kemissie
Bati and Senbete Markets Bati is an Oromo town in northern Ethiopia, located 415km north of Addis Abeba and 40 km east of Kombolcha. Where the highlands and the lowlands meet, people from different ethnic groups are brought together. The Oromo, Amhara, Guraghe, Argoba, and Afar, with their camels and distinctive knives, converge to buy, […]
Tigrai
Recognized as the cradle of ancient Ethiopian civilization, Tigrai is a vast region in the northernmost part of the country which shares common borders with Eritrea in the north, the State of Afar in the east, the State of Amhara in the south, and the Republic of the Sudan in the west. The region covers […]
Wukro and Its Surroundings
Abraha we Atsbeha Rock-Hewn Church The small town of Wukro, a 47km drive north of Mekelle is close to Abreha we Atsbeha church, one of the best and largest of the rock-hewn churches of Tigrai. It is supposed to have been built in the 4th century by the two royal Axumite brothers, Abreha and Atsbeha […]
Negash Mosque
Negash is a small village located 60 km east of Mekele, the capital of Tigrai region and 10km north of Wukro. You can visit Negash as a day trip from Wukro. It lies on a plateau commanding a view of the spectacular mountains of Gheralta. It serves as enduring reminder of the warm welcome extended […]
Gheralta and its Surrounding
Gheralta , northwest of Mekele, capital of Tigrai Regional State, is the home of a quarter of the rock -hewn churches of Tigrai. Some are famous for their stone workmanship, ancient paintings, and old manuscripts, and others for their magnificent views and difficult ascents. Such great churches as Abune Yemata (Guh), Mariam Korkor, DebreTsion (Abune […]
The Monastery of Debre Damo
Perched 11km north of the Axum- Adigrat zigzagging road, Debre Damo (admission for men only) is thought to date back to the 6th century reign of King Gebre Mesqel. Within its premises is found what’s likely to be the oldest standing church in the country (10th or 11th century AD), which is also a great […]
The Temple of Yeha
The magnificent Temple of the Moon at Yeha is located just 27km past the historic town of Adwa, the site of a decisive Ethiopian victory over invading Italian forces in 1896 that changed the course of history by affirming that Africans were indeed capable of defeating the superiorly armed European colonialists. Yeha’s huge and remarkable […]
Axum and Surrounding
The ancient Axumite civilization, whose capital was the town of Axum, the oldest town in Ethiopia and a world heritage site, was one of the greatest empires in existence during the height of its power, its lands reaching all the way from the Ethiopian highlands across the Red Sea to present day Yemen in Southern […]
Church of Tsion Mariam
The present church, built in the mid-17th Century under the Emperor Fasilidas, is located south of the original five-aisled church built at the time of the Axumite Empire. The outline of the 4th century building, considered to be the oldest church in Africa south of the Sahara, can be traced in the 3.4m high podium […]
Eastern Ethiopia
The eastern part of Ethiopia to the east of the capital starts with the town of Debre Zeit (Bishoftu) to a 100 km larger town of Adama (Nazareth), which can be visited as a day trip. These parts including the Sodere Resort are covered on the Day Trips from Addis Abeba section of this book. […]
The Afar
Erta-Ale Active Volcano Erta Ale is a continuously active basaltic shield volcano in the Afar. It is in the depression, a desert area spanning the border with Eritrea, and the volcano itself is surrounded completely by an area below sea level making it a relatively low-elevation volcano. Erta Ale means “Smoking Mountain” in the local […]
Awash National Park
The park is situated 227 km east of the capital in the dry acacia savanna of the Rift Valley in the Afar and Oromia regional states. It takes about four and half hours drive from Addis Abeba. The Park is bisected by the Dire Dawa road between Metehara and Awash Saba and takes its name […]
Dire Dawa
“The Queen of the Desert” is what many prefer to call the city. It is located 445Km east of Addis Abeba. Dire Dawa was founded in 1902, when the railroad from Djibouti reached the area. Its growth has resulted largely from trade brought by the railroad. The city is home to most of the ethnic […]
Cave Paintings in Dire Dawa
Lega Oda Cave The cave, which is found around 38km Southwest of Dire Dawa, features rock paintings and evidence of a stone tool industry. It has been the subject of interest of many researchers. The cave is situated in the side of a limestone hill and subdivided into two floors. The upper floor is about […]
The Walled City of Harar
Harar is located about 525km east of Addis Abeba, at an elevation of 1,885m. The city can be divided in to two parts: Jugol, the historic center, and the new town before reaching the Jugol. The wall surrounding this sacred Muslim city was built between the 13th and 16th centuries. It is a 3.5km long […]
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