“Horn of Africa” –Ethiopia awaits you!
Known as the “Horn of Africa” Ethiopia is the land where
investors prefer to invest because of its strategic location,
situated at the crossroads to the Middle East, Europe, and Asia
and to the rest of the world with vast untapped resources and
range of opportunities. Availability of different agro and industrial
products,the country is still young for exploration in terms of
both trade and a wealth of tourist attractions, that it treasures
like
the Castles, Ancient Churches, Monasteries, Mosques,
Unique Wilde Life, breath taking vistas making it one of the best
tourism destinations in the world as suggested by lonely planet
to visit for 2014. Ethiopia is the one slice of Africa,that rewards
the curious as well as the deep-pocketed.
Various Studies and researches indicate that Ethiopia’s culture
and tradition dates back to over 300 years, once known as
Abyssinia and it was one of the great Kingdoms of the ancient
world and boasts on 4.4 million year old remains of
Australopithecus Remains, considered as man’s anthropoid ancestor, and the earliest hand tools
of humans unearthed in the Omo Valley making the country to be the oldest home of mankind on
our planet. let’s go for an astonishing Ethiopian Journey to explore this ancient mystic land…
The Obelisk of Axum
The Obelisk or the Stelaes are supposed to be the royal grave markers for the underground burial
chambers, around 1,700-year-old, and 79-foot high, granite stele or obelisk structures weighing
upto 160 tones. The last stele was probably of King Ezana's Stele, in the 4th century A.D. in the
city of Axum in Ethiopia. These commemorative structures were decorated with representations
of doors, windows and door handles, and are inscribed with metal ornaments in the form
of the pagan crescent and discs, symbols of the moon, with an arc at the top of the
stelae that represents the cosmic universe. While nobility would have the giant decorated
ones which were very few as compared to the hundreds of smaller ones that are found in various
stelae fields that belonged to the ordinary people of the then society.
The Fairytale Castles of Gondar
Visit Gondar a town which is surrounded by twin
mountain streams bestowing an aura of mystery
and an atmosphere of antique charm of its
distinctive design and decoration of fairy-tale
medieval castles, churches and masterpieces
constructed from stone that thrived for more than
two hundred years. Gondar, once the Ethiopian
capital, was home to a number of emperors,
kings and courtiers and was founded by
Emperor Fasilidas. Around 1635, the city
became the principal headquarters and grew
into an important town and remained Ethiopia’s
capital, and most popular city, for over two centuries. The king and his successors
patronized the arts and saw their elegant capital as a resurgence of Ethiopian culture. Even
today one can gaze down from the balconies of these fairytale castles to intrigue into the
events that took place back in the 17th and 18th centuries in this great city.
Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela
The holy city of Lalibela' known as the ‘New Jerusalem' is
the place of pilgrimage and devotion of the Ethiopian
Christianity till date and represents a unique artistic
achievement. With its 11 remarkable rock hewn monolithic
rock churches, believed to have been built by King Lalibela
in the late 12th or early 13th century, of Lalibela, these the
churches are known for their variety and boldness of the
form, execution and size and were built as a symbol and
substitute of the holy land of Jerusalem and Bethlehem,
when pilgrimages to these regions were impossible due to
the then political situations.
What makes these exceptional churches unique is the
method of their construction, they being hewn from the living rock of monolithic blocks which
were further chiseled out, forming doors, windows, columns, various floors, roofs including an
extensive system of drainage ditches, trenches and ceremonial passages, some that led to
openings to hermit caves and catacombs. The Church of Biet Golgotha showcases the replicas of
the tomb of Christ, and of Adam and the crib of the Nativity. The sight still shows the continuity
of social practices and functions and preserves the intangible heritages associated with church as
practiced then till today.
The Mythical Caves of Holqa Sof Omar:
One of the most spectacular and extensive underground caves in
the world, the Sof Omar caves were formed as the Weib River
changed its course in the distant past and carved a new channel
through limestone foothills creating the Sof Omar cave system
which is an extraordinary natural phenomenon of breathtaking
beauty. These caves are now named after the saintly Sheikh Sof
Omar an important Islamic shrine, who took refuge here many
centuries ago. The dry, cool caves of nature are the marvels of
architecture that boasts of fluted arch ways, soaring pillars of
stone approximately 66 feet high, flying buttresses, and tall airy
vaults.
The cave is a place for the traditional believers of Africa who
revolve around spirit worship and ghost cults in which the most
powerful supernatural beings were believed to be attached in the
inhabit caves, age-old trees, boulders rocks, which became places
of veneration, where prayers were offered. Although one can
explore the caves on foot, without special climbing equipment, but it is advised not go alone and
carry torches and other lighting equipment along with a map provided in the official brochure,
available from the Ethiopian Tourism Commission or accompany the local guides who also carry a
copy of the map.
Lake Tana Monastries
Situated in Amhara Region, north of the beautiful town of
Bahir Dar, Lake Tina is the largest lake in Ethiopia
approximately 85 km long and 70 km wide, and lies at an
elevation of 1840 meters. Tana is the starting point of the
Blue Nile and is a unique home of thirty seven scattered
islands, home to monasteries, which were the earlier
religious sites.
The lslands include the fourteenth century Debre Maryam,
the eighteenth century Narga Selassie remains of ancient
Ethiopian emperors and treasures of the Ethiopian Church.
Tana Qirqos island was established before Christianity came
to Ethiopia and have been a spiritual retreat that once
housed the Ark of the
Covenant for 800
years, before it was
moved to Axum.
All of the islands
churches are the main tourist attractions, the churches
are decorated with beautiful sacred paintings. The most
interesting island monastery is in the town of Bahir Dar is
of Daga Istafanos, where in the church houses a 15th
century Madonna painting while the centre of the
mausoleum contains the glass coffins that hold the mummies of five Ethiopian emperors,
including King Fasilides founder of the Gondar Castle. The Kibran Gabrael monastery boasts of its
famous library of medieval manuscripts that contains some of the finest and
richly colored paintings of the Bible scenes, that are equivalent to the great
works of medieval Italy and France, which are distinct and represent a
completely different style.
One of the most pleasant excursions at the lakeside town of Bahir Dar is a
boat trip of the Tana lake, that encompasses a variety of habitats, from
riverside forests, wetlands to rocky crags. A Bird Watcher's paradise, the
whole of the Lake Tana region and the Blue Nile canyon hosts a wide variety
of birds, both migratory and prevalent within the Fasilides Island, located at
the eastern side of the lake, being the breeding point for a number of
marshland species.
Blue Nile Water Falls
Known as the Tis Abay in Amharic, meaning
"smoking water" The Blue Nile waterfall is
situated about 30 km downstream from the town
of Bahir Dar and the Lake Tana and are
considered one of Ethiopia's best known tourist
attraction. The Blue Nile water falls contributes
85% to Nile River that is the longest river in the
world, which originates from the Nile Teisas. The
falls are estimated to be 45 metres high,
consisting of four streams that vary in the dry
season from a trickle to over 400 metres wide in
the rainy season.
Rift Valley Lake Ziway,
East African Rift Valley comprises numerous beautiful
lakes, hot springs and a variety of wildlife and provides
ideal habitats for exuberant variety of flora and fauna
that make the region an exotic tourist’s destination.
Rift Valley lakes are famous for the different bird
species. Each of the seven lakes has its own unique
characters endowed with a pleasant climate and is the
site of numerous natural hot springs that are highly
valued for their therapeutic effects. Rift Valley is
considered as one of the most ideal tourism areas in
Ethiopia.
Lake Assal
Lake Assal is a crater lake, located at the southern border of
Tadjoura Region. The honey lake, which is the literal meaning
of the Lake Assal is the saltiest water body in the world, that
sits at the top of the Great Rift Valley in the Danakil Desert,
situated in the west of Djibouti, where summer temperatures
sometimes reach 52 degree Celsius, that are accompanied by
strong drying winds. The lake has high evaporation levels,
leading to an increasing concentration of salt in the water,
because of which there are no signs of life in it, except for a
very rich bacteria population. However, there are rare witnesses of terrestrial animals like lizards,
small birds and insects while in the southeastern part of the lake, small fish that inhabit the
springs.
NATIONAL PARKS
For all nature and a wildlife lovers Ethiopia offers many
National Parks
such as Mago National Park, Bale
Mountains National Park, Semien Mountains National
Park, Gambela National Parks that prove to be the
ultimate destination for hikers, wildlife watchers, culture
and nature enthusiasts and bird watchers !
Semien Mountains National Park :
One of the best sites to spot the rare and endangered Simien
red wolf being endemic and confined to mountain plateau,
kudu, several cats, rock hyrax, tortoises, snakes, lizards, the
Walia (Abyssinian) ibex, and Gelada baboon, the Hamadryas
baboon, klipspringer and bushbuck, the lammergeyer, Augur
buzzard, Verreaux's eagle, kestrel and falcons that soars
above this mountain retreat across its spectacular scenery.
Mago National Park: The Park supports a typical bush savanna fauna with
81 larger mammals & 237 species of bird. The Park possesses numerous
rivers and streams and offers day hikes and activities to explore like
Trekking, Birding, Fishing, Manyet, Wild Forest Coffee Village, Harvesting
Honey with the Locals, Park Headquarters Walk, Gushuralle Peak Forest Trail,
Harenna Bamboo and Waterfall Trail, Web Valley Walks, Gasuray Gorge to
name a few.
This region is very well-known for the elements
of the earliest nomadic lifestyles, that still
continues in the form of the rich cultural
diversity, colorful body decoration, ceremonies,
festivals and local African tribes namely
Hammer, Benna, Mursi, Ngagatom, Ari, Karo,
Kwegu that are very well known for their living
expressions.
Awash National Park is the oldest and most developed wildlife
reserve with 450 species of birds that are found across the park’s
720 square kilometers. Its unbelievably clear blue pools
surrounded by palms, invite the travelers to wash off the dust. This natural treasure bears a
wide variety of wildlife ranging from Oryx, bat-eared fox, caracal, aardvark, color bus and green
monkeys, Anubis and Hamadryas baboons, klipspringer, leopard, bush-buck, hippopotamus,
Soemmering's gazelle, cheetah, kudu and many more.
Dallol
Ideal for the adventure enthusiasts who can tolerate the
scorching heat, Dallol is the volcanic explosion crater formed
by the intrusion of basaltic magma in Miocene salt deposits
and subsequent hydrothermal activity in the Danakil
Depression, northeast of the Erta Ale Range in Ethiopia. Its
modern attractions include the fascinating hydrothermal
deposits. This searing hot town is known to hold the record
for having the highest average annual temperature ever
recorded in day time, that regularly rise to over 100 degrees.