Ethiopia
Africa · Addis Ababa · ET
Ethiopia is the high and ancient heart of the Horn of Africa, a country of dramatic plateaus, deep gorges and a history that reaches back to the kingdom of Aksum and the time of the Queen of Sheba. The rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, carved straight down into the stone in the thirteenth century, form one of the great pilgrimage sites of the world, and the castles of Gondar and the obelisks of Aksum hold the imperial past. The northern highlands around the Simien Mountains run with the gelada monkeys and the enormous void-edge views, and the Danakil depression in the east drops to one of the hottest, most colourful landscapes on earth. The coffee ceremony, the music and the famous hospitality complete the picture. High, dramatic, devout and deeply moving, Ethiopia holds a claim to being the most extraordinary journey in Africa.
Overview
Ethiopia is a country in Africa. Its capital is Addis Ababa and the international dialling code is +251. Languages commonly used in everyday life here include Amharic. Local currency is the Ethiopian Birr (ETB). Our guide covers 1 airport, including Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. We also list 1 city in Ethiopia: Addis Ababa.
The Rock Churches of Lalibela, Carved into the Stone
The churches of Lalibela are among the greatest feats of the medieval world, a cluster of monolithic places of worship carved directly down into the living rock of the highland plateau, each one chiselled out whole, with its windows, its columns and its carved crosses standing where the mountain once stood. The Bete Giyorgis, the beautiful cross-shaped church, is the finest, and the whole complex functions as a living pilgrimage site where the priests still chant, the incense still burns and the faithful fill the trenches of the surrounding rock at the great festivals. The tunnels and the passageways between the sunken churches link them into one carved city of faith. To stand in the processional pit below the level of the surrounding plain is to understand the devotion that moved an entire kingdom to carve a cathedral from the living mountain.
The Obelisks and the Empire of Aksum
The town of Aksum, in the far north of the highlands, was the heart of one of the great civilisations of the ancient world, a trading and imperial power that linked the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean at the height of its reach. The great granite obelisks of the town, the tallest of them now returned and standing again, rise from the earth as the tombs and the monuments of the old kings, carved with the door frames and the storey lines of the palaces they honoured. The ruins of the palace of the old capital, the pools of the legends and the church that claims to hold the ark of the covenant all draw the pilgrims and the historians. The site gives an extraordinary lived sense of a civilisation that connected three continents.
The Simien Mountains and the Edge of the Great Rift
The Simien Mountains, in the north of the highlands, are a national park of staggering scale, a series of giant table mountains and sheer drop-offs that fall from the plateau into the deep valleys of the lowlands below. The gelada monkeys, the famous bleeding-heart baboons of the grasslands, graze in the great troops along the escarpment, and the walia ibex, the sturdy goat-antelope found nowhere else, picks along the cliff edges of the park. The walks along the ridges give views that seem to fall away into another continent, and the camping under the enormous stars of the high altitude is one of the great nights of African travel. The road in climbs through the farms and the stone villages into the high, open land of the final pass.
The Danakil Depression and the Colours of the Earth
The Danakil depression, in the northeastern corner of the country, is one of the hottest and most surreal landscapes on earth, a low basin of salt, sulphur and the volcanic vents that swarm at the edge of the great rift. The salt flats spread in white and yellow crusts where the Afar people still cut the salt into bars and load the camel caravans of the trade, and the volcano of Erta Ale glows with its permanent lava lake above the plain. The mineral pools of the geysers paint the ground in turquoise, orange and red, and the heat and the silence of the place make it feel older than the rest of the world. Few journeys anywhere pass through a landscape as strange or as alive with the forces of the planet as the road through the Danakil.
The Coffee Ceremony and the Sustenance of the Table
Ethiopia claims the birth of the coffee, and the ceremony that surrounds the cup is the social ritual of the whole country. The green beans are roasted in a pan over the coals, ground by hand and brewed in the traditional clay pot, poured from a height into the little cups and passed around with the popcorn and the incense of the occasion, three rounds deep, from the strong to the mild. The food of the table comes on the sour flatbread of injera, the great crepe of teff that underlies every meal, and the stews of the beef, the lentils and the greens that soak into it, eaten by hand from the shared platter. Eating and drinking in Ethiopia is a ritual of slowness, of generosity and of the shared plate.
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- Capital
- Addis Ababa
- Currency
- Ethiopian Birr (ETB)
- Languages
- Amharic
- Calling code
- +251
- Internet TLD
- et
Entry requirements
Check who can enter →See which passports travel visa-free or need a visa to enter Ethiopia.
Which nationalities can enter Ethiopia?
Current visa status for tourism for the origins we cover, with links to the detailed requirements.
Airports (1)
All airports →Cities (1)
All cities →Frequently asked questions
Do I need a visa to visit Ethiopia?
For the origins we track, Ethiopia requires a visa for tourism (Australia: e-visa, Canada: e-visa, France: e-visa, Germany: e-visa and India: e-visa). Entry rules depend on your passport, so confirm the current requirements for your own nationality with our entry requirements tool.
What is the capital of Ethiopia?
Addis Ababa is the capital of Ethiopia, and the country sits in Africa.
What currency is used in Ethiopia?
You pay with Ethiopian Birr (ETB) in Ethiopia. Exchange rates move day to day, so check the current rate before you change money or use your card abroad.
Which languages do people speak in Ethiopia?
The languages we list for Ethiopia are Amharic. A couple of greetings in the local language go a long way when you travel, even in cities where another language is widely used.
What is the international dialling code for Ethiopia?
The dialling code for Ethiopia is +251 — keep the plus sign when you save the number.
Which airports serve Ethiopia?
Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD) in Addis Ababa is the airport we cover for Ethiopia.
Which cities in Ethiopia do you cover?
Our guide lists 1 city for Ethiopia: Addis Ababa (capital).