Ethiopia

Quick Facts

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Capital

Addis Ababa

Population

65,890,000

Government

Federal Republic

Religions

Islam, Christianity (Ethiopian Orthodox), Animism

Languages

Amharic, Tigrigna, English

Calling Code

+251

Nationality

Ethiopian

Local name

Ityop'iya

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Introduction

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Brutal war and terrible famine have given Ethiopia an image of being one of the world's most troubled countries. Sadly, it's a pretty correct perception. But Ethiopia's ancient history makes it a wonderful travel destination despite the country's bristling problems.

Ancient Ethiopians, the locals will tell you, were Jews who settled here well over 5000 years ago. Archeologists make even bolder claims, stating that Ethiopia is the 'cradle of life'; it was here that they found Lucy, the oldest human fossil discovered. Through its history, Ethiopia was attacked and sometimes invaded, but achieved the remarkable distinctions of being Africa's only nation never to be colonized and maintaining its Christianity when practically every other east African nation accepted Islam. The proud, independent spirit which has driven the nation for milleniums underpins the Ethiopian attitude. Hopefully, this will translate into progressive developments gearing towards a brighter future.

Brief History

Geography

Regions

Ethiopia is divided into nine administrative states.

• Afar
• Amhara
• Benishangul-Gumuz
• Gambela
• Harari
• Oromia
• Somali
• Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region
• Tigray

Cities

• Addis Ababa
• Dire Dawa
• Axum
• Bahir Dar
• Dese
• Gondar
• Nazret
• Mekele

Sights and Activities

Semien Mountains National Park

Semien Mountains National Park is a spectactular mountain range in the north of the country including one of the highest peaks in Africa, Ras Dashan. The park is also home to some rare animals like the Gelada baboon, the Simien fox and the Walia ibex, a goat found nowhere else in the world, and the Ethiopian wolf. It was one of the first UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978, but unfortunately has been placed on the UNESCO World Heritage danger list in 1996, mainly because population of some species was declining rapidly.

Aksum

Aksum is one of the cultural highlights of Ethiopia and the ruins of this ancient city form the heart of historical Ethiopia, found in the north of the country. The ruins date back to the first century A.D. but much of it is of later times during which the Aksum Kingdom was one of the most important kingdoms in this part of the world.

Omo National Park

The Omo National Park is both of cultural and natural significance for the country. The park is located in the south of the country and the lower valley of the Omo river is on the UNESCO list due to its importance regarding fossils of the earliest human settlements in the world.

Lalibela

Lalibela is another cultural highlight of Ethiopia and mainly known for its 11 medieval monolithic cave churches dating back to the 13th-century. They are located in a spectactular mountainous region in the heart of Ethiopia and Lalibela is extremely important regarding Ethiopian Christianity and keeps on being an important place for pilgrims.

Other Sights and Activities

Events and Festivals

Weather

Although Ehtiopia lies within the tropical zone, large areas in the country are far from tropical, that is hot and humid. Ok, some parts can get extremely hot, especially in the northeast and eastern lowlands, but much of Ethiopia is located at an elevation of 1000 to over 2500 meters above sea level, including the capital Addis Abeba. In Addis, temperatures average between 21 (July-August) to 25 (March-May) degrees Celsius during the day, dropping to a rather chilly 5 (December) to 10 (April-August) degrees Celsius at night. The rainy season lasts from late May to September, with July and August seeing much more rain than any other month, around 300 mm each month. October to January is fairly dry. This weather applies to most of the higher parts of Ethiopia, but of course temperatures can be a few degrees lower or higher depending on elevation (Addis is at roughly 2400 meters). Also, the western parts of the highlands tend to be (much) wetter. Like mentioned above, the (north)east is dry and hot yearround with less than 500 mm of rain a year, but some years are almost completely dry, with severe droughts and starvation being a real threat.

Getting there

Plane

Ethiopian Airlines is the national airline of Ethiopia and has its base at Bole International Airport (ADD) near the capital Addis Ababa. International flights include those to and from Abidjan, Accra, Bangkok, Nairobi, Frankfurt, Entebbe, Washington DC, Stockholm, Paris, Rome, London, Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Johannesburg, among cities mainly in Africa. A number of other cities like Amsterdam (KLM), Sana'a (Yemenia), Istanbul (Turkish Airlines) and Jeddah (Saudi Arabian Airlines) have connections as well. Cairo, Dubai and Amman have flights to Ethiopia as well.

By Train

Trains travel between Dire Dawa and Djibouti City. Trains leave three times a week in both directions and it takes around 13 hours to cover the route.

By Car

Ethiopia may be entered by vehicle at any of the open borders with Djibouti, Kenya, Sudan and Somaliland.

By Bus

Borders between Ethiopia and Eritrea remain closed, but you can travel to Djibouti, Kenya, Sudan and Somaliland by bus.

By Boat

There are no foreign entries to Ethiopia by boat.

Getting around

Plane

Ethiopian Airlines has service between Addis Ababa, Arba Minch, Dire Dawa, Kabri Dar, Lalibela, Mekane Selam, Mek'ele, Mizan Teferi, Asosa, Axum and Bahir Dar, among a few others.

By Train

The only train line that actually runs trains is the one between Addis Ababa and Djibouti, via Dire Dawa and Harar.
It is a long, slow and even uncomfortable train link.

By Car

Several main roads are in reasonable condition. Other than those few roads, conditions are much worse and 4wd cars are almost always recommended if you want to explore more of Ethiopia, except the parts close to Addis Abeba. You can rent cars at international firms at Addis and several airports. Cars with drivers who double as guides are also possible and recommended. You need a national driver's licence or international driving permit and be at least 18 years old. Traffic drives on the right.

By Bus

Government buses and private (mini)buses ply most routes between cities and regional towns. Services are slow, uncomfortable and sometimes are delayed when the weather strikes. Try to book tickets a day in advance.

By Boat

No scheduled passenger services run within Ethiopia, although the occasional tour on several rivers like the Nile are an option.

Red Tape

Money

Work

Study

Language

Eat

Sleep

Drink

Health

Safety

Keep Connected

Internet

Internet is slow and is better early in the morning or middle of the night.

Phone

Post

The postal service in and out of Ethiopia is quite reasonable to send souvenirs back. Ethiopian postal service is perhaps asonishingly quite reliable viz other countries in Africa.