Ethiopia is unlike anywhere else on the planet, a beautiful country blessed with a peerless history, fabulous wildlife, and some of Africa’s most soulful people.
Today we hired a boat for 7,000 ETB and a local guide for 2,000 ETB to explore ancient Orthodox monasteries around Lake Tana. The history of the Lake Tana monasteries is rooted in the Ethiopian Christian faith, with their origins tracing back to the 13th century, though many structures...
Lake Tana is Ethiopia’s largest freshwater lake, situated in the Amhara region at an altitude of approximately 1,840 meters above sea level. It is the source of the Blue Nile and was formed by volcanic activity blocking the river’s course about 5 million years ago. The lake is...
Hawassa was founded in 1960 under Emperor Haile Selassie, with its initial growth spurred by the settlement of 404 pensioned soldiers and their families in the area. Nowadays, it is a modern city in Ethiopia’s Great Rift Valley, known for its beautiful lake, well-planned layout, and...
Shashemene is a city in southern Ethiopia, known as the spiritual home of the Rastafarian community. It’s a city with a vibrant, lively atmosphere, cultural diversity, and natural beauty, situated near the Rift Valley lakes. Buddy, Linda and her husband introduced us to the...
We made a little detour on our way to Hawassa to visit the Sidama people, renowned for their high-quality coffee, which is considered a hallmark of speciality coffee. As the origin of Coffea arabica, Ethiopia, and the Sidama region in particular, has deep cultural and economic ties to...
We made a short stop at a cluster of carved megalithic stelae (standing stones) in a graveyard near the town of Tutu Fella in southern Ethiopia. These 9th-14th century monuments are funerary markers for local aristocrats, many of which feature carved linear, anthropomorphic (human-like)...
After breakfast, we continued our drive from Yirgacheffe to Hawassa. It was a challenging journey due to traffic and to combining sections of new, smooth asphalt with older, unfinished, and broken asphalt, as well as some unpaved, bumpy, or muddy sections. The overall experience was a mix...
After the overnight in Konso, we continued our drive towards Yirga Chefe. On the way, we stopped at the Boorana tribe (📷 50 ETB / person), a semi-nomadic, Cushitic-speaking ethnic group and a major Oromo subgroup, primarily residing in southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya. They are known...
We met the 20th reigning King of Konso, King Kalla, who acts as the traditional leader of the Konso people in Ethiopia. While a council of elders governs each village, the king serves as the ultimate authority on major disputes and decisions affecting the entire tribe, which is estimated...
After the visit of the Arbore tribe, we continued our drive from Turmi to Konso through southern Ethiopia’s varied landscape with a mix of paved and unpaved sections. The journey took us through the land of the Hamer people and then towards the distinct, terraced highlands of Konso...