Ethiopia

There is so much Ethiopia offers to anyone. As one of the poorest nations in the world, don’t let that deter you from visiting. The people are wonderful, the food is outstanding, the culture is rich, the history is deep, and oh yeah, coffee was born here.

Addis Ababa

Addis is the starting point for anyone entering Ethiopia. Addis is a city of more than 3.3M people, home to Africa’s largest open-air market, and also until just recently, the oldest human fossil (Lucy) ever found. Addis offers many cultural activities such as traditional coffee ceremonies, traditional dance, and also plenty of restaurants with that wonderful tasting Ethiopian cuisine.

The Great African rift valley cuts down the middle of Ethiopia and is one of the only visual sites you can see from outer space. This allows for lush lakes and vegetation within the valleys and rugged, rocky mountains above.

The first time I visited Ethiopia was for a Biology trip. Part was spent visiting NGOs in Addis regarding water issues, we visited schools to see what the kids were studying, and helped out at a homeless shelter.

Camping Southern Ethiopia

The second part of the trip was a camping trip to the southern part of Ethiopia.

Our time was spent visiting different tribes, sleeping with different tribes, and seeing wildlife everywhere we went.

Ethiopia is a magical place. It was my first African country visited. I’ll continue to go back.