27 Nov Visiting Ethiopia: Where To Go And What To Do

We’re not surprised you’re looking to travel to Ethiopia (and we know you will want to after reading this post). Africa is still fairly undiscovered, and being so close to Europe, Ethiopia’s an easy choice for someone looking for the true African experience, some adventure, and an overload of colourful, foreign culture and customs.

But where does one begin with planning a trip to the largest country in the Horn of Africa? Well, after an exhilarating week working with The Luxury Collection, we can safely say that we’re going to have you covered from start to finish, and we’re going to answer all your questions about where to go and what to do. Shall we begin?

 

Visiting Ethiopia – Where To Go and What To Do

 

Accommodation

 

One of the first things you’ll need to plan and book, is your nesting spot; the place where you devour the delectable spicy meat dishes (don’t worry, there’s plenty of veggie options too, all you loyal travel vegans), and somewhere to rest between adventures. You’ll more than likely land in Addis Ababa, the capital city and major hub for all flights to Ethiopia. When in Addis, we’ll recommend staying at the Sheraton Addis – a Luxury Collection Hotel designed to offer “African refinement with modern accents” (and some of the best beds we’ve had the pleasure of sleeping in). It’ll be fairly easy for you to travel anywhere in the country from Addis, so we’d recommend making the Sheraton your base, and then venturing off from there.

 

 

Once you head north (visiting the prettiest and most historical parts of the country), there’s several bush lodges and cottages ready to host you. We found Mayleko Lodge in Gondar and Abay Minch Lodge in Bahir Dar to both be quite wildly charming. You could also stay in Africa’s highest lodge (yup, at 3300m above sea level) by booking a night or two at Simien Lodge in the Simien National Park.

*We sadly didn’t make it to the northern parts of Lalibela and Aksum, so can’t recommend lodges up there, but Sora Lodge Lalibela and Hotel Delina in Aksum seem to have some good reviews.

 

Points of Interest

 

Addis Ababa

You’ll want to spend at least a day or two exploring what is known globally as “the political capital of Africa”. Some of the spots we found fascinating:

The Holy Trinity Cathedral – the highest ranking Ethiopian Orthodox cathedral in the city, and also the resting place of the late Emperor Haile Selassie I and his consort the Empress Menen Asfaw

 

The National Museum of Ethiopia – home to the fossil remains of ‘Lucy’, the ape-like hominid who is said to be the origin of mankind, as well as several other ancient artifacts and fossils

 

The Entoto Maryam Church – a beautiful, colourful church on top of the highest peak in Addis Ababa, Mount Entoto

 

Addis Mercato – the largest open air market place in Africa (although it’s so chaotic, we would recommend just doing a drive-by observing from the car, like we did)

 

Bahir Dar

Only an hour flight from Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar is the gateway to the historic route of Ethiopia. You’ll get a good taste of Ethiopia’s natural and cultural beauty here, and we recommend visiting:

The Blue Nile Falls – some of the most amazing views we’ve seen on the continent (just expect a rather long trek, driving for 2.5hr one way from the centre of the city, and then walking 1hr one way to get to the Falls…highly worth the effort though)

 

Lake Tana – the largest lake in Ethiopia, especially beautiful first thing in the morning and an sunset

 

The Monastery of Ura Kidane Mihret – located on the Zege peninsula (easily reached by boat across Lake Tana) and a beautiful display of 14th Century architecture and murals

 

Gondar

You can reach Gondar a.k.a. The Camelot of Africa (and once the capital of Ethiopia) directly from Addis Ababa (if you prefer to skip Bahir Dar) but the drive from Bahir Dar to Gondar was one of the prettiest countryside drives we’ve ever had, so try not to. Once there, you’ll want to stop at:

Fasilides Castle complex – a UNESCO world heritage site, and a backdrop that will make you think you’ve landed in Scotland (when in fact you’re very much in Ethiopia, observing remains of a fortress city built in the 17th and 18th century)

 

Fasilides Bath – home to the annual Timket (or Epiphany) celebration on January 9th, which sees hundreds of pilgrims come to re-enact the baptism of Jesus, by taking a dip in the holy waters (which take around 30-40 days to fill up in this bath)

 

Simien National Park – although technically not in the city of Gondar, this phenomenal mountainous region (home to the famed Gelada monkey) has to be on your must-see list, offering unparalleled views of the Ethiopian Highlands, and well worth the drive out (if you can, try spend more than just a day there, to hike and find the elusive and endangered Ethiopian wolf on our behalf)

 

Lalibela and Aksum

As mentioned earlier, we sadly didn’t make it to these two towns on this trip, but when we go back we’ll hope to visit:

Church of St. George – sometimes referred to as the “Eighth Wonder of the World” this brilliant man-made structure was carved from a type of volcanic tuff and dates back to late 12th century

The Ruins of Aksum – numerous impressive ancient tombs and stelae (and still 90% of the field hasn’t been dug up yet)

 

 

Getting Around

 

Even though we’re Africans (born and raised in sunny South Africa), with 13 African countries under our belt, we will still admit and say that the best way to get around Africa is with a local.

Yes, we’ve heard tales of adventurous tourists traveling solo and getting by with made-up instinctual sign language, but if you want your journey to go smoothly, without accidental misrepresentations of those instinctual hand signals, or you prefer not to be taken for a proverbial ride at markets, or worse, be threatened and left feeling uncomfortable, no matter what African country you visit, we will always recommend going with a local. They just have a certain je ne sais quoi when it comes to conversing, communicating, and getting stuff handled.

On our Ethiopian adventure we traveled by private car with an amazing guide-driver team from Travel Ethiopia (if you can, request that Assefa takes you around) and cannot recommend going with them enough. Of course the concierge at the Sheraton Addis will handle all the bookings for you, while you enjoy the spa facilities (or another cup of that world-famous Ethiopian coffee).

 

 

We hope this post’s been informative and inspiring. If you do happen to visit Ethiopia, please tag us in your pics on Instagram, or pop us a mail with some of your highlight selfies. We’d love to see it through your eyes too!

 

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