Ethiopia is a land of diversity, in the landscape of lush forests, coffee plantations, deep ravines, grassy plains, snow-capped mountains, waterfalls, rivers, and volcanic lakes, in the people who have over 80 different cultural and linguistic ancestries, and in the cities that pit ancient against modern. The religious and anthropological history of this relatively small piece of land lays claim to the first human skeletal remains, and to being the birthplace of the people who would influence the development of Christianity and Islam. The modern inhabitants are friendly, intelligent, and trying to save the country from the economic oppression of a government that formerly prohibited free trade.

Famine looms over Ethiopia, not because of barren soil or lack of farming technique, but because the mass transportation necessary to convey food from productive areas to those less so is not available, nor is widespread technological communication.
Ethiopian culture is uniquely fascinated with languages, religion, coffee, art, and information. Its towns are bedecked with ancient churches and Mosques, the parks with animals found nowhere else in the world and the country with a civilisation, multifarious as no other.

Read the full story - background and travel essentials

Locations The essential regions and towns to visit in Ethiopia >>>>		Festivals Celebrate the glorious Christian Epiphany festival of Timkat in Lalibelia
TV Shows Get the lowdown on the tv show Globe Trekker: Ethiopia Culture Freedom of Africa: Haille Sellasie's Rastafarianism		Historic Sites Home of the sacred Ark of the Covenant, the ancient city of Axum Dug out in the rock and cliff face - the Labyrinth Stone Churches of Lalibelia
Food Wild Goats & Dancing Dervishes: The Evolution of Coffee from Ethiopia		Shopping Join the fun at the Addis Ababa Mercato, Africa's largest outdoor market