GHERALTA
The 120-odd rock-hewn churches that grace Tigrai - most of them in active use and with their own oral traditions - were described by academic Ivy Pearce as “the greatest…
BLUE NILE FALLS
The 18th century Scottish traveller James Bruce described the Blue Nile Falls as: ‘a magnificent sight, that ages, added to the greatest length of human life, would not efface or…
AKSUM: LAND OF THE QUEEN OF SHEBA
The oldest continuously-inhabited city in sub-Saharan Africa, Aksum was founded more than 3,000 years ago in the days of the Queen of Sheba. It served as capital of the Aksumite…
MENAGESHA NATIONAL FOREST AND BORN FREE SANCTUARY
Protected by imperial decree since the 15th century reign of Zara Yaqob, Menagesha is the most substantial indigenous forest in the vicinity of Addis Ababa. A network of footpaths provides…
TIYA, ADADI MARYAM AND MELKA KUNTURE
The closest UNESCO World Heritage Site to Addis Ababa, the mysterious Tiya Stelae Field, located 88km south of Addis Ababa, comprises 36 megaliths erected to mark mass graves of young…
Bishoftu
Situated only 50km southeast of Addis Ababa along the new three-lane Adama Expressway, Bishoftu - formerly Debre Zeyit - provides an attractive rustic overnight alternative to the capital for eastbound…
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa was founded by Emperor Menelik II, who relocated his capital from Ankober to the Entoto Hills in the early 1880s. Following the unusually cold and wet rainy season…