The Land of thousand miles’, home of the Ark of Covenant, custodian of some of the world’s oldest civilizations, a tourist Paradise, beautiful, secretive, mysterious. Above all things, it is a country of great antiquity, with a culture and traditions dating back more than 3,000 years- this is Ethiopia. The travelers in Ethiopia make a journey through time, transported by beautiful monuments and the ruins of edifices built long centuries ago.

From the sun-scorched reaches of the Danakil depression to the shimmering strings of beautiful Rift Valley lakes, Ethiopia is a land of wonders and enchantment.

Ethiopia is truly a land of contrast and extremes; a land of remote and wild places. Some of the highest and most stunning places on the African continent are found here, such as the ruggedly- carved steeples and spires of the Simien Mountains, one of UNESCO’s world heritage sites- and some of the lowest, such as the hot but fascinating Danakil Depression, with its sulphur fumaroles and lunar-like landscape.
Ethiopia is old beyond imagination. More than three million years ago, one of our first ancestors walked that portion of the earth that is now Ethiopia; Lucy (Dinkenesh to Ethiopians), meaning ‘Thou art wonderful’. The remains of this ‘first human’- an almost complete hominid skeleton- were discovered in 1974 at Hadar on the Awash river in Ethiopia’s barren and forbidding Danakil region.
One of the most striking geographical features of the country, the great Rift Valley, is home to a chain of beautiful lakes, around which many of Ethiopia’s national parks are centered. The widely varying habitats, which include mountains, lakes deserts, savannahs, and everything in between, host and astonishing array of wildlife and bird life, many of which are endemic; unique to Ethiopia.

Religion in this fascinating country is unique as well. Many visitors know Ethiopia for its splendid rock-hewn churches and colorful ceremonies, symbolic of the Ethiopian Orthodox church. Perhaps best known are Lalibela’s amazing assemblage of rock churches- often referred to as the ‘eighth wonders of the world’- but equally wondrous are those carved into Cliffside crevices in the mountains of Tigray region; often reached only by the most determined and devout. Islam, too, has strong and centuries-old roots in the romantic walled city of Harer; the elegant minarets of mosques can be seen throughout most of the countryside. But it is Ethiopia’s people who join with the spectacular scenery, abundant fauna and fascinating religions to truly round out the character of this ancient land. May of the country’s large variety of ethnic groups have their own customs, crafts, homes, and unique languages. There are an astonishing eighty-five languages, with 200 dialects: just one of more surprising feature of Off-road Ethiopia.

The Kaffa region of Ethiopia is generally regarded to be where the Arabica strain of the coffee plant originates from, and where it was first cultivated. A popular legend claims that a young herdsman called Kaldi observed his goats becoming hyperactive after eating the leaves and berries and tried the berries. Now coffee apart from being the back bone of Ethiopia’s economy it is also the days to day cultural attribute of the people. For that reason Ethiopians are know by having a coffee ceremony tradition practiced by every house hold. The capital Addis also host a very famous coffee shop named after the herd man kaldis.

In 1582, the Christian world as a whole dropped the established Julian calendar in favor of the revised Gregorian calendar. Ethiopia did not and never has! As a consequence, Ethiopia is seven years and eight months ‘behind’ the rest of the Christian world. The calendar consists of 12 months of 30 days each and an extra month of five days in duration (six days in leap years). The first month of the Ethiopian year, Meskerem, more or less coincides with September. Ethiopian New Year falls on September 11 or 12.

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