Top Places to Visit In Ethiopia On Your Next Vacation

Top Places to Visit In Ethiopia On Your Next Vacation

Blue Nile Falls

The Blue Nile Falls is a waterfall on the Blue Nile river in Ethiopia. It is known as Tis Abay in Amharic, meaning “great smoke”. It is situated on the upper course of the river, about 30 kilometres downstream from the town of Bahir Dar and Lake Tana. The falls are one of Ethiopia’s best-known tourist attractions. The falls are 42 metres high, consisting of four streams that originally varied from a trickle in the dry season to over 400 meters wide in the rainy season. Regulation of Lake Tana now reduces the variation somewhat, and since 2003 a hydro-electric station has taken much of the flow out of the falls except during the rainy season. The Blue Nile Falls isolate the ecology of Lake Tana from the ecology of the rest of the Nile, and this isolation has played a role in the evolution of the endemic fauna of the lake. A short distance downstream from the falls sits the first stone bridge constructed in Ethiopia, built at the command of Emperor Susenyos in 1626.

Simien Mountains National Park

Simien Mountains National Park is the largest national park in Ethiopia. Located in the North Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, its territory covers the Simien Mountains and includes Ras Dashan, the highest point in Ethiopia. It is home to a number of endangered species, including the Ethiopian wolf and the walia ibex, a wild goat found nowhere else in the world. The gelada baboon and the caracal, a cat, also occur within the Simien Mountains. More than 50 species of birds inhabit the park, including the impressive bearded vulture, or lammergeier, with its 3 m wingspan. The park is crossed by an unpaved road which runs from Debarq, where the administrative headquarters of the park is located, east through a number of villages to the Buahit Pass, where the road turns south to end at Mekane Berhan, 10 kilometres beyond the park boundary.

Erta Ale

Erta Ale is a continuously active basaltic shield volcano in the Afar Region of northeastern Ethiopia. It is situated in the Afar Depression, a badland desert area. Erta Ale is the most active volcano in Ethiopia.

Ras Dashen

Ras Dejen, also known as Ras Dashen, is the highest mountain in Ethiopia and tenth highest mountain in Africa. Located in the Semien Mountains National Park in the Amhara Region, it reaches an elevation of 4,550 metres. The English form, “Ras Dashen” is a corruption of its Amharic name, “Ras Dejen”, the term used by the Ethiopian Mapping Authority which alludes to the traditional head or general who fights in front of the Emperor.

National Museum of Ethiopia (የኢትዮጵያ ብሔራዊ ሙዚየም)

The National Museum of Ethiopia, also referred to as the Ethiopian National Museum, is a national museum in Ethiopia. It is located in the capital, Addis Ababa, near the Addis Ababa University’s graduate school.

Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela

The Rock-hewn Churches of Lalibela are monolithic churches located in the Western Ethiopian Highlands near the town of Lalibela, named after the late-12th and early-13th century King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela of the Zagwe Dynasty, who commissioned the massive building project of 11 rock-hewn churches to recreate the holy city of Jerusalem in his own kingdom. The site remains in use by the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Church to this day, and it remains an important place of pilgrimage for Ethiopian Orthodox worshipers.

Mount Entoto

Mount Entoto is the highest peak on the Entoto Mountains, which overlooks the city of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. It reaches 3,200 meters above sea level.

Church of St. George

The Church of Saint George is one of eleven rock-hewn monolithic churches in Lalibela, a city in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Originally named Roha, the historical and religious site was named Lalibela after the King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela of the Zagwe dynasty, who commissioned its construction. He is regarded as a saint by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

Awash National Park

Awash National Park is a national park in Ethiopia. Spanning across the southern tip of the Afar Region and the northeastern corner of the Misraq Shewa Zone of Oromia, this park is 225 kilometers east of Addis Ababa, with its southern boundary along the Awash River, and covers 756 square kilometers of acacia woodland and grassland. The Addis Ababa – Dire Dawa highway passes through this park, separating the Illala Saha Plains to the south from the Kudu Valley to the north. In the south of the park the Awash River gorge has amazing waterfalls. In the upper Kudu Valley at Filwoha are hot springs amid groves of palm trees. The Awash National Park was established in 1966, although the act authorizing its existence was not completely passed for another three years. In establishing this park, as well as the Metehara Sugar Plantation to the south, the livelihoods of the indigenous Karayyu Oromo people have been endangered — an effect that is contrary to the Ethiopian government’s original intention of these establishments serving to benefit the local population.

Bale Mountains National Park

Bale Mountains National Park is a national park in Ethiopia. The park encompasses an area of approximately 2,150 square kilometres in the Bale Mountains and Sanetti Plateau of the Ethiopian Highlands. The park’s Afromontane habitats have one of the highest incidences of animal endemicity of any terrestrial habitat in the world. The park was nominated to the World Heritage Tentative List in 2009.

Dallol

Dallol is a cinder cone volcano in the Danakil Depression, northeast of the Erta Ale Range in Ethiopia. It was formed by the intrusion of basaltic magma into Miocene salt deposits and subsequent hydrothermal activity. Phreatic eruptions took place here in 1926, forming Dallol Volcano; numerous other eruption craters dot the salt flats nearby. These craters are the lowest known subaerial volcanic vents in the world, at 45 m or more below sea level. In October 2004 the shallow magma chamber beneath Dallol deflated and fed a magma intrusion southwards beneath the rift. The most recent signs of activity occurred in January 2011 in what may have been a degassing event from deep below the surface. The discovery of the volcano by the first European settlers certainly dates from the first colonization and expeditions in the region, in the 17th or 18th century. But the hostility of the depression, the unbearable heat which reigns there, and the dangers of the site, did not favour the exploration of the zones close to the crater. On the contrary, the Erta Ale was much more accessible, especially because the part of the rift where it is located, is significantly higher.

Mago National Park

Mago National Park is a national park in Ethiopia located in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region about 782 kilometers south of Addis Ababa and north of a large 90° bend in the Omo River, the 2162 square kilometers of this park are divided by the Mago River, a tributary of the Omo, into two parts. To the west is the Tama Wildlife Reserve, with the Tama river defining the boundary between the two. To the south is the Murle Controlled Hunting Area, distinguished by Lake Dipa which stretches along the left side of the lower Omo. The park office is 115 kilometers north of Omorate and 26 kilometers southwest of Jinka. All roads to and from the park are unpaved. The major environments in and around the Park are the rivers and riverine forest, the wetlands along the lower Mago and around Lake Dipa, the various grasslands on the more level areas, and scrub on the sides of the hills. Open grassland comprises about 9% of the park’s area. The largest trees are found in the riverine forest beside the Omo, Mago and Neri.

Fasil Ghebbi

The Fasil Ghebbi is a fortress located in Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. It was founded in the 17th century by Emperor Fasilides and was the home of Ethiopian emperors. Its unique architecture shows diverse influences including Nubian styles. The site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. Ghebbi is an Amharic word for a compound or enclosure. The complex of buildings includes Fasilides’ castle, Iyasu I’s palace, Dawit III’s Hall, a banqueting hall, stables, Empress Mentewab’s castle, a chancellery, library and three churches: Asasame Qeddus Mikael, Elfign Giyorgis and Gemjabet Mariyam.

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, formerly known as the Millennium Dam and sometimes referred to as Hidase Dam, is a gravity dam on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia under construction since 2011. The dam is in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia, about 45 km east of the border with Sudan. The primary purpose of the dam is electricity production to relieve Ethiopia’s acute energy shortage and for electricity export to neighboring countries. With a planned installed capacity of 6.45 gigawatts, the dam will be the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa when completed, as well as the seventh largest in the world. Filling the reservoir began in July 2020. It will take between 4 and 7 years to fill with water, depending on hydrologic conditions during the filling period and agreements reached between Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt.

St. George (ቅዱስ ጊዮርጊስ)

Saint George’s Cathedral is an Ethiopian Orthodox church in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The cathedral is noted for its distinctive octagonal form. It is located at the northern end of Churchill Road in the city.

Mercato Market

Addis Mercato or simply known as Mercato is a large open-air marketplace in the Addis Ketema, district of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the name refers to the neighborhood in which it is located.

Abidjatta-Shalla National Park

Abijatta-Shalla National Park is a national park in Ethiopia. It is located in the Oromia Region and the Ethiopian Highlands region, 200 kilometers south of Addis Ababa, and east of the Ziway–Shashamane highway. It contains 887 square kilometers including the Rift Valley lakes of Abijatta and Shalla. The two lakes are separated by three kilometers of hilly land. The altitude of the park ranges from 1540 to 2075 meters, the highest peak being Mount Fike, which is situated between the two lakes. Besides the two lakes, the primary attraction of this national park are a number of hot springs on the northeast corner of Lake Abijatta, and large numbers of flamingoes on the lake. Care must be exercised in driving vehicles out to the edge of this lake, as the thin crust of dried mud on the surface can give way without warning.

Debre Birhan Selassie

Centuries-old, art-filled church

Nechisar National Park

Nechisar National Park is a national park in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region of Ethiopia. It is in the Great Rift Valley, within the southwestern Ethiopian Highlands.

Omo National Park

Omo National Park is a national park in Ethiopia founded in 1980. Located in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region on the west bank of the Omo River, the park covers approximately 4,068 square kilometers, about 870 kilometers southwest of Addis Ababa; across the Omo is the Mago National Park. Although an airstrip was recently built near the park headquarters on the Mui River, this park is not easily reachable; the Lonely Planet guide Ethiopia and Eritrea describes Omo National Park as “Ethiopia’s most remote park.” The lower reaches of the Omo river were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980, after the discovery of the earliest known fossil fragments of Homo sapiens, which have been dated circa 195,000 years old. There is virtually no tourist infrastructure within the park and little support for travellers. It was reported in 1999 that none of the tourist agencies within or outside Ethiopia would arrange tours in the park. The Walta Information Center announced on 3 October 2006 that US$1 million had been allocated to construct “roads and recreational centres as well as various communication facilities” with the intent to attract more visitors. Places to Visit In Ethiopia

Debre Damo

Debre Damo, but more correctly with geminated spelling Debre Dammo, is the name of a flat-topped mountain, or amba, and a 6th-century monastery in Tigray, Ethiopia. The mountain is a steeply rising plateau of trapezoidal shape, about 1000 by 400 m in dimension. It sits at an elevation of 2216 m above sea level. It is north of Bizet, and north-west of Adigrat, in the Mehakelegnaw Zone of the Tigray Region, close to the border with Eritrea. The mountain hosted a monastery, accessible only by rope up a sheer cliff, 15 m high, is known for its collection of manuscripts and for having the earliest existing church building in Ethiopia that is still in its original style, and only men can visit it. Tradition claims that the monastery was founded in the 6th century by Abuna Aregawi. Part of the monastery was destroyed during the Tigray War, prior to 14 February 2021. Places to Visit In Ethiopia

Axum Tsion St. Mary

The Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion is an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Ethiopia. It is claimed to contain the Ark of the Covenant. It is located in the town of Axum, Tigray. The original church is believed to have been built during the reign of Ezana the first Christian ruler of the Kingdom of Axum, during the 4th century AD, and has been rebuilt several times since then.

Holqa Soof Umar(Sof Omar Cave)

Sof Omar Cave is the longest cave in Ethiopia at 15.1 kilometres long. When surveyed in 1972, it was the longest cave in Africa. Since then explorations in Algeria and Madagascar have overtaken it. It is situated to the east of Robe, in the Bale Zone of the Oromia Region in southeastern Ethiopia, through which the Weyib River flows. It sinks at the Ayiew Maco entrance and reappears at the Holuca resurgence 1 kilometre away. According to tradition Sof Omar was the name of a Muslim holy man who lived in the area and Ayiew the name of his daughter. Maco and Holuca are local names for ‘name’ and ‘cave’, respectively. Long a religious centre, it is sacred both to Islam and the local Oromo traditional religion. The caves are known for their many pillars, particularly in the ‘Chamber of Columns’.

Debre Libanos

Debre Libanos is a monastery in Ethiopia, lying northwest of Addis Ababa in the Semien Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region. Founded in the 13th century by Saint Tekle Haymanot, he meditated in a cave for 29 years. The monastery’s chief abbot, called the Ichege, was the second most powerful official in the Ethiopian Church after the Abuna. The monastery complex sits on a terrace between a cliff and the gorge of one of the tributaries of the Abbay River. None of the original buildings of Debre Libanos survive, although David Buxton suspected “there are interesting things still to be found among the neighbouring cliffs.” Current buildings include the church over Tekle Haymanot’s tomb, which Emperor Haile Selassie ordered constructed in 1961; a slightly older Church of the Cross, where Buxton was told a fragment of the True Cross is preserved; and five religious schools. The cave where the saint lived is in the nearby cliffs, which one travel guide describes as a five-minute walk away. This cave contains a spring, whose water is considered holy and is the object of pilgrimages

Holy Trinity Cathedral

Holy Trinity Cathedral, known in Amharic as Kidist Selassie, is the highest ranking Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It was built to commemorate Ethiopia’s victory during Italian occupation and is the second most important place of worship in Ethiopia, after the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Axum.

Ura Kidane Mihret Monastery

Ura Kidane Mehret is a church of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, located on the Zege peninsula around Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It is part of the complex of the Convent of Mercy. At least one author considers it the most attractive church in the Lake Tana region. The Ura Kidane Mehret convent was founded in the 14th century by the saint Betre Mariyam, although the present circular church dates from the 16th century. Its interior is decorated with numerous murals painted between 100 and 250 years ago; subjects include Negus Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam and his followers. The most significant were painted by Alaqa Engida during the reign of Emperor Menelik II. The church has its treasury in a nearby outbuilding, which contains the richly embroidered robes of Negus Tekle Haymanot and his wife Laqetch Gegre Mehdin, as well as the crowns of Emperor Yohannes IV, Emperor Tewodros II, Negus Tekle Haymanot, and Emperor Tekle Giyorgis.

Lake Awasa

Lake Awasa is an endorheic basin in Sidama Region of Ethiopia, located in the Main Ethiopian Rift south of Addis Ababa. According to the Statistical Abstract of Ethiopia for 1967/68, the lake is 16 km long and 9 km wide, with a surface area of 129 square kilometers. It has a maximum depth of 10 meters and is located at an elevation of 1,708 meters. Because it is relatively accessible to scientists, Lake Hawassa is the most studied of the Rift Valley lakes in Ethiopia. According to William Taylor, a member of the African Lakes and Rivers Research Group at the University of Waterloo, Lake Hawassa is, despite its lack of an outflow, “essentially a freshwater lake indicating that it must have a subterranean outlet.”

Lake Karum

Lake Karum is a salt lake in the Afar Region of Ethiopia. One of two salt lakes in the northern end of the Danakil Depression, it lies at −120 m relative to sea level. The volcano Erta Ale rises southwest of this lake. Werner Munzinger, who travelled through the Afar Depression in 1867, recorded that this lake was fed by four streams: the Didic, the Ala, the Rira Guddy, and the Ragali or Awra, which is the only permanent stream flowing into Lake Karum. North of Lake Karum is the former mining settlement of Dallol. The lake is extremely salty and is surrounded by a salt pan, which is still mined. The salt is transported by caravan to the rest of the country.

Obelisk of Axum

The Obelisk of Axum is a 4th-century CE, 24-metre-tall phonolite stele/obelisk, weighing 160 tonnes, in the city of Axum in Ethiopia. It is ornamented with two false doors at the base and features decorations resembling windows on all sides. The obelisk ends in a semi-circular top, which used to be enclosed by metal frames.

Asheton Maryam Monastery

Rock-hewn cloister with panoramic views

Awash Falls Lodge

Mount Bwahit

Mount Bwahit is a peak of the Simien Mountains in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Its altitude is estimated at 4430 or 4437 m above sea level, making it the third highest mountain in Ethiopia and the 13th or 14th highest mountain of Africa. It is located about 16 km west of the highest Ethiopian mountain, Ras Dashen, from which it is separated by a 1,600 m deep gorge. The connecting ridge goes NNE over the Arkwasiye Pass, eastwards over Kidis Yared, at 4,453 metres the second-highest mountain in Ethiopia, and SSE over the Metelal Pass at approximately 3730 metres above mean sea level to Ras Dashen.

Red Terror Martyrs’ Memorial Museum የቀይ ሽብር መታሰቢያ

The “Red Terror” Martyrs’ Memorial Museum in Addis Ababa was established in 2010 as a memorial to those who died during the Red Terror under the Derg government. The museum has displays of torture instruments, skulls and bones, coffins, bloody clothes and photographs of victims. In free tours of the museum, guides describes the history leading up to the Red Terror, the actions taken toward citizens who opposed the Derg, how the prisoners were treated and how they secretly communicated among each other. The museum also features pictorial history of the Red Terror.

Mount Abuna Yosef

Abuna Yosef is a prominent mountain in the Lasta massif of the Ethiopian Highlands. At 4,260 metres it is the 6th tallest mountain in Ethiopia and the 19th highest of Africa. It is located in the Semien Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region. A notable landmark on this mountain is the Church of Gennete Maryam, a monolithic church which tradition reports was excavated during the reign of Yekuno Amlak. Also notable are four free-standing churches build inside caves in the mountain, the oldest and most famous being Yemrehana Krestos Church, built by the Zagwe king of the same name. The other three are Emakina Medhane Alem, Lidetta Maryam, and Zammadu Maryam. The churches of Lalibela lie in its foothills. The Abuna Yosef Community Conservation Area covers about 70 km² of the Abuna Yosef massif.

Nahiso Terara

Church, mountain and climbing

Wukro Chirkos

Wukro Chirkos is an Orthodox Tewahedo monolithic church located in northern Ethiopia, on the northern edge of the town of Wukro near the main highway. From the time members of the 1868 British Expedition to Abyssinia reported its existence until the early 20th century, it was the only rock-hewn church known to the outside world. Wukro Chirkos is dedicated to the child martyr Cyricus of Tarsus of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Due to its location, this church remains the most accessible example of these structures.

Abune Yemanta Church

Abuna Yemata Guh is a monolithic church located in the Hawzen woreda of the Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is situated at a height of 2,580 metres and has to be climbed on foot to reach. It is notable for its dome and wall paintings dating back to the 5th century and its architecture.

Meskel Square

Meskel Square is a square in the city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is often a site for public gathering or for demonstrations and festivals, notably, the Meskel Festival from which it takes its name.

Dungur Palace (Queen of Sheba Palace)

Dungur is the ruins of a substantial mansion in Aksum, Ethiopia, the former capital city of the Kingdom of Aksum. The ruins are in the western part of Aksum, across the road from the Gudit stelae field. Dungur is known locally and popularly as the Palace of the Queen of Sheba.

Gambella National Park

Gambella National Park, or Gambela National Park, is a 4,575-square-kilometre national park in Ethiopia, near the South Sudanese border. It is the nation’s largest national park. Gambella is located several hundred kilometers from Addis Ababa, Gambella was established in 1974, but is not fully protected and has not been effectively managed for much of its history.

Ethnological Museum

The Ethnological Museum, Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia, is a public institution dedicated to ethnology and culture. The Ethnological Museum houses anthropological, musicological and cultural objects. The Ethnological Museum is the first university museum in Ethiopia. The Museum is located in the main Campus of Addis Ababa University which houses the Institute of Ethiopian Studies. Places to Visit In Ethiopia

Yemrehana Krestos Church

Yemrehana Krestos Church is an 11th / 12th-century Ethiopian Orthodox church located in Amhara Region, northern Ethiopia. Built of stone and wood, it was erected in the architectural tradition of the ancient Kingdom of Aksum. Places to Visit In Ethiopia

Bete Medhane Alem

Biete Medhane Alem is an Orthodox underground monolith rock-cut church located in Lalibela, Ethiopia. It was built during the Zagwe dynasty. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Lalibela. Biete Medhane Alem is home to the Lalibela Cross Places to Visit In Ethiopia

Yangudi Rassa National Park

Yangudi Rassa National Park is a national park in Ethiopia located in the Afar Region, its 4730 square kilometers of territory include Mount Yangudi near the southern border and the surrounding Rassa Plains, with altitudes from 400 to 1459 meters above sea level. Sandy semi-desert and wooded grassland cover the majority of the park’s area. This park lies between the territory of the Afars and the Issas, and while violence have been frequent between them, most of the park is in an area where they avoid each other. As a result, most of the active protection of the park is focused on managing their conflict. This national park was proposed in 1977 in specific to protect the African wild ass, but the steps needed to officially establish this park had not been completed as of 2002. Recently, the wild ass became extinct in Yagundi Rassa. However, there is a small population in the adjacent Mile-Serdo Wild Ass Reserve. The park headquarters are in Gewane. Large animals native to the park include gerenuk, Soemmerring’s gazelle, East African oryx, Lion, Grevy’s zebra, Cheetah and Leopard. Bird species of interest include lesser flamingo, pale rockfinch and Arabian bustard. Places to Visit In Ethiopia

Adadi Mariyam

Adadi Mariam is a rock-hewn monolithic church located approximately 66 km southwest of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A popular tourist destination, the site is believed to have been built in the 12th century. Throughout its history the church has been damaged by both man-made and natural causes. Recently, restoration work to strengthen and restore the church have been done with the aid of Switzerland. Places to Visit In Ethiopia

Harenna Forest

The Harenna Forest is located in a highland forest region of the Bale Mountains, in the Oromia Region of southeastern Ethiopia. It is one of the few remaining natural forests in the country. Places to Visit In Ethiopia

Derg Monument

The Tiglachin monument is a memorial to Ethiopian and Cuban soldiers involved in the Ogaden War. It was built under Mengistu Haile Mariam on Churchill Avenue in Addis Ababa. The monument is composed of various elements: a central statue, a 50 m tall pillar, two wall reliefs on the sides and two squares where the portraits of Cuban soldiers are visible. Places to Visit In Ethiopia

Maryam Korkor

Entoto Maryam Church

History and architecture

Narga Selassie

Narga Selassie is an Orthodox Tewahedo church on the western shores of Dek Island, the largest island of Lake Tana in northern Ethiopia. The name signifies “Trinity of the Rest”. “Rest” refers to the place and the shade thereabouts. The church was constructed by Empress Mentewab in the late 18th century, apparently using as construction material for doors and roof a gigantic sycamore fig tree that stood at the centre of a slight elevation, now the centre of the church. Narga Selassie is fully decorated in the local style. A relief on the main entry portrays the Scottish explorer James Bruce, who visited the capital, Gondar, in the late 18th century. Narga Selassie was constructed in the classic round architectural tradition of the churches in the Lake Tana area, with the usage of stone both in the peristylium around the church and in the compound walls. The church is accessed from the lake through a port constructed in 1987, which is connected to Bahir Dar and Gorgora by a state-owned ferry service. The access is in itself a beauty spot with a huge sycamore with long aerial roots descending to the lake and a door tower which forms part of the original construction. Places to Visit In Ethiopia

Addis Ababa Museum

Gilgel Gibe III Dam

The Gilgel Gibe III Dam is a 250 m high roller-compacted concrete dam with an associated hydroelectric power plant on the Omo River in Ethiopia. It is located about 62 km west of Sodo in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region. Once fully commissioned, it will be the third largest hydroelectric plant in Africa with a power output of about 1870 Megawatt, thus more than doubling total installed capacity in Ethiopia from its 2007 level of 814 MW. The Gibe III dam is part of the Gibe cascade, a series of dams including the existing Gibe I dam and Gibe II power station as well as the planned Gibe IV and Gibe V dams. The existing dams are owned and operated by the state-owned Ethiopian Electric Power, which is also the client for the Gibe III Dam. The US$1.8 billion project began in 2006 and began to generate electricity in October 2015. The remaining generators would be operational by 2016. The project has seen serious delays; in May 2012, full commissioning had been scheduled for June 2013. The dam was inaugurated by Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on 17 December 2016. Places to Visit In Ethiopia

Bete Amanuel

Biete Amanuel is an underground Orthodox monolith rock-cut church located in Lalibela, Ethiopia. The edifice was built during the Kingdom of Axum. It is part of UNESCO World Heritage Site at Lalibela. Biete Amanuel is possibly the former royal chapel Places to Visit In Ethiopia

Chebera-Churchura National Park

Chebera Churchura National Park is a national park located in Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region in the south west of Ethiopia. The park was founded by the regional government in 2005. The park covers 1,250 km² and contains four types of habitat. Most of the park, 62%, is wooded grassland dominated by elephant grass, with montane woodland comprising 29% and woodland and riparian forest the rest. 37 species of large mammal, including African elephants, have been recorded in the park, and 237 species of bird.

Afdera

Afdera is an isolated stratovolcano in northeastern Ethiopia, located at the intersection of three fault systems between the Erta Ale, Tat Ali, and Alayta mountain ranges. There have been reports of the volcano erupting in 1907 and 1915 but morphological evidence cannot substantiate these claims. The reported eruptions were probably from the Mount Alayta volcano to the west Places to Visit In Ethiopia

Bahir Dar Market

kuriftu water park

Water park

ANDENT PARK

Park and garden

Bete Maryam

Biete Maryam is an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church monolithic rock-cut church in Lalibela, Ethiopia. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Lalibela. Like the other churches of Lalibela, its precise date of construction is unknown, although it was built no earlier than the 7th century AD and no later than the 13th century AD. The churches of Lalibela, including Biete Maryam, are traditionally ascribed to having been built during the reign of the Zagwe dynasty ruler Gebre Mesqel Lalibela. Archaeological analyses have discerned that the ruins of defensive fortifications date to roughly the 8th century AD, while the monolithic rock-cut churches were built in two stages: the first from the 11th to early 12th centuries, and the second phase from the late 12th to early 13th centuries.  Places to Visit In Ethiopia

Vale Inferior do Awash

Places to Visit In Ethiopia Fasilides’ Bath – 

Lion of Judah Statue

Bete Abba Libanos

Biete Abba Libanos is an underground rock-cut monolith Orthodox church located in Lalibela, Ethiopia. It was built during the Kingdom of Axum. It is part of UNESCO World Heritage Site at Lalibela. Places to Visit In Ethiopia

Zoma Museum

Shola Market ሾላ ገበያ

Daniel Korkor

Medhanealem Cathedral

Medhane Alem Cathedral, whose name means “Saviour of the World”, is an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo cathedral in Bole Medhanealem, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the second largest cathedral in the whole of Africa and the largest in Ethiopia.

Eco Omo Lodge

Safari lodge and safari

Anwar Mosque (አንዋር መስጊድ)

Mount Zuqualla

Mount Zuqualla is an extinct volcano in the Oromia region of Ethiopia. Situated in Ada’a Chukala woreda of the Shewa Zone, it rises from the plain 30 kilometres south of Bishoftu. With a height of 2,989 metres, it is known for its crater lake, lake Dembel, an elliptical crater lake with a maximum diameter of about one kilometer, but the trail around the crater is about 6 kilometers long. Both the mountain and the lake is a holy site to the Oromo living nearby. The ambivalent attitude regarding the holiness of the mountain is seen in the Oromo proverb: “Those who live far away worship it, those who live nearby plow it.” The lake in the crater has an island Tulluu Irreechaa, said to have been founded by Abba Gadaa of Tuulama on the site of a hermitage used by Saint Mercurius. This monastery was destroyed, and a church at the foot of the mountain looted, by Imam Ahmad Gragn in 1531; two churches were later built at the monastery, one dedicated to St Gebre Menfas built by Menelik II in 1880 and designed by the Italian Sebastian Castagna, and the other dedicated to Kidane Mihret built during the reign of Haile Selassie

Melka Kunture Prehistoric Site

Melka Kunture is a Paleolithic site in the upper Awash Valley, Ethiopia. It is located 50 kilometers south of Addis Ababa by road, across the Awash River from the village of Melka Awash. Three waterfalls lie downstream of the bridge across the Awash here, which provides access south to Butajira.

Azwa Maryam

Yekatit 12 Monument ( የካቲት 12 መታሰብያ ሐውልት )

The Yekatit 12 is a monument in Addis Ababa commemorating victims of Italian reprisals following an attempt to kill the Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, marchese di Neghelli, Viceroy of Italian East Africa, on 19 February 1937, or Yekatit 12 in the Ethiopian calendar. It is located in the centre of Sidist Kilo Square, also called “Yekatit 12 square”.

Tana Qirqos

Tana Qirqos is an island in the eastern part of Lake Tana in Ethiopia, near the mouth of the Gumara River, having a latitude and longitude of 11°51′49″N 37°29′27″E. It is considered a holy island, and only monks of the Ethiopian Church live there. The monks believe that the island was once the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant. According to tradition, the Ark was placed there by Emperor Ezana, the first Ethiopian sovereign to convert to Christianity, and it remained on the island until it was transported to Mary of Zion church in Axum. Graham Hancock has speculated that the Ark was carried from Elephantine by the Jewish garrison on the island, around the 5th century BC. However, there is no legend or tradition that supports this idea and specialists consider it unfounded. When R.E. Cheesman visited Tana Qirqos in 1933, he found a large stratum of rock at the northern end of the island, which looked “like a huge wall of masonry” 400 or 500 yards long and standing about 100 feet high. He recorded that the formation “has been identified as olivine-bearing basalt,” and that “in all probability the island gives its name to the lake.”

Mount Tullu Dimtu

Tullu Dimtu is the fourth highest peak in Ethiopia after Ras Dashen, Ancua, and Kidus Yared. Tullu Dimtu is part of the Bale Mountain range in Oromia Region in southeast Ethiopia, located in the Bale National Park. It forms part of the divide between the drainage basins of the Weyib and Shebelle Rivers. A rough gravel road, the third highest in Africa, leads to the top of Tullu Dimtu.

Lake Tana Biosphere Reserve

The Lake Tana Biosphere Reserve is a protected area located in the Amhara National Regional State approximately 563 km northwest of Addis Ababa in the north-western part of Ethiopia. The biosphere reserve comprises Lake Tana, the largest lake in Ethiopia, the main source of the Blue Nile, which provides important ecosystem services. The area is a hotspot of biodiversity, internationally known as an Important Bird Area and is of global importance for agricultural genetic diversity. The area is characterized by an enormous heterogeneity of land uses and natural ecosystems. It was designated in 2014 and is administered by the ANRS Bureau of Culture, Tourism and Parks Development, under the authority of the Ethiopian Ministry of Science and Technology. In 2015, the Lake Tana region was nominated as UNESCO Biosphere Reserve recognizing its national and international natural and cultural importance. Its surface area is 695,885 hectares, with its core area being 22,841 hectares, with buffer areas of 187,567 hectares, and transition areas of 485,477 hectares.

Hayk Lake

Lake Hayq or Lake Haik is a freshwater lake of Ethiopia. It is located north of Dessie, in the Debub Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region. The town of Hayq is to the west of the lake. Lake Hayq is 6.7 km long and 6 km wide, with a surface area of 23 km². It has a maximum depth of 88 m and is at an elevation of 2,030 meters above sea level. It is one of two lakes in the Tehuledere woreda.

Beta Gabriel Raphael ቤተ ገብርኤል ወሩፋኤል

Biete Gabriel-Rufael is an underground monolith rock-cut church located in Lalibela, Ethiopia. The Orthodox church was built during the Kingdom of Axum. It is part of UNESCO World Heritage Site at Lalibela. Biete Gabriel-Rufael is possibly a former royal palace, linked to a holy bakery.

Kiroftu Lake

Lion Park

The Omo Remains

The Omo remains are a collection of hominin bones discovered between 1967 and 1974 at the Omo Kibish sites near the Omo River, in Omo National Park in south-western Ethiopia. The bones were recovered by a scientific team from the Kenya National Museums directed by Richard Leakey and others. The remains from Kamoya’s Hominid Site were called Omo I and those from Paul I. Abell’s Hominid Site Omo II.

Ezana Stone

The Ezana Stone is a stele in Aksum, the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Aksum. The stone monument documents the conversion of King Ezana to Christianity and his conquest of various neighboring areas, including Meroë. From AD 330 to 356, King Ezana ruled the ancient Kingdom of Aksum centered in the Horn of Africa. He fought against the Nubians, and commemorated his victories on stone tablets in praise of God. These liturgical epigraphs were written in various ancient languages, including the Ethiopian Semitic Ge’ez, the South Arabian Sabaean, and Greek. The king’s engravings in stone provided a trilingual monument in different languages, similar to the Rosetta stone. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church had its beginnings during this period. Rufinus’s Ecclesiastical History narrates that Saint Frumentius, a freed slave and tutor for the very young King, converted him to Christianity. Towards the end of his reign, King Ezana launched a campaign against the Kushites around 350 which brought down the Kingdom of Kush. Various stone inscriptions written in Ge’ez have been found at Meroë, the central city of the Kushites

Bishoftu Lake

Sheger Park

Entoto Park – Entrance #

Debre Maryam

Kafta Sheraro National Park

Kafta Sheraro National Park is a national park in Ethiopia. The park is settled in Western Tigray region, in the districts of Kafta Humera and Tahtay Adiyabo. The park borders with Eritrea’s Gash-Setit to the north and is traversed by the Tekezé River. Vegetation communities in the park include Acacia-Commiphora, Combretum-Terminalia, dry evergreen montane woodlands and riparian types. A total of 167 mammal species, 95 bird species and 9 reptile species have been recorded at the site. The park is home to a transboundary African elephant population of about 500 individuals, which it shares with Eritrea’s Gash-Setit, and which constitutes the northernmost elephant population in Eastern Africa. Kafta-Sheraro is also an important wintering site for demoiselle cranes. Other notable wildlife species include lion, leopard, caracal, aardvark, greater kudu, roan antelope, red-fronted gazelle and red-necked ostrich.

Martyrs Memorial Monument

Martyrs Memorial Monument is a monument built in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, in memory of those people who gave their life fighting against the Derg dictatorship.

St George Gallery

Hora Lake

Babile Elephant Sanctuary

The Harar Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area in Ethiopia. It is located in the Misraq Hararghe Zone of the Oromia Region, south of Babille, with a central latitude and longitude of 8°45′N 42°38′E.

Yabelo Wildlife Sanctuary

Yabelo Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area and wildlife sanctuary in southern Ethiopia. It is located in the Borena Zone of the Oromia Region west of the town of Yabelo, having an area of 2,500 square kilometers and elevations ranging from 1430 to 2000 meters above sea level with a latitude and longitude of 4°55′N 38°25′E. The area of the sanctuary is notable for its red soils which have little organic matter. The general vegetation-type is Acacia savanna, the major trees being A. drepanolobium on black cotton soil, and A. brevispica and A. horrida on the slopes. There are also patches of Balanites aegyptiaca, and several species of Commiphora and Terminalia at the lower altitudes. The higher parts of the hills were formerly covered with forest dominated by Juniperus procera and Olea europaea cuspidata. Endemic species of birds found in this protected area include Stresemann’s bushcrow and white-tailed swallow. Yabelo reportedly suffers from a great deal of deforestation, and illegal hunting of the spotted cats and ostrich is common. Some ex-servicemen have also settled within the sanctuary boundaries.

Emperor Yohannes IV Palace Museum in Mekelle

Tekezé Dam

Tekezé Dam is a double-curvature arch dam located between Amhara and Tigray region of Ethiopia. It is situated on the Tekezé River, a tributary of the Nile that flows through one of the deepest canyons in the world.

Koka Reservoir

The Koka Reservoir is a reservoir in south-central Ethiopia. It was created by the construction of the Koka Dam across the Awash River. The reservoir has an area of 180 square kilometers. Located in the East Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region, close to the capital and largest city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, the Koka Reservoir is popular with tourists and city-dwellers. There is a variety of wildlife and birds around the lake. The reservoir supports a fishing industry; according to the Ethiopian Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, 625 tonnes of fish are landed each year, which the department estimates is either 52% or 89% of its sustainable amount. Both the reservoir and the dam are threatened by increasing sedimentation caused by environmental degradation as well as the invasive water hyacinth. The Koka dam consists of concrete with a length of 458 meters and a maximum height of 47 meters. The head utilized is 32–42 meters. The transmission lines have voltage 132 kV. The primary contractor was Imprese Italiane all’Estero.