Ethiopia Luxury Travel
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Addis Ababa
Capital City
(GMT+3)
Local Time
Ethiopian birr
Local Currency
Kitfo
National Dish
Addis Ababa
Largest City
Best Time to Visit
These example itineraries are here to get you inspired, but no two True Travel holidays are the same. Our Ethiopia experts start planning each trip with a blank piece of paper, designing every itinerary 100% personalised to you.
Lisa
Ethiopia was a trip of a lifetime! The whole thing was organised beautifully, and our guide was beyond excellent. He took us to his family home in Lalibela and went completely out of his way to ensure that we were happy and saw everything that we wanted to. The tribes in the south were particularly amazing and the whole thing felt like a really authentic experience. My daughter loved the trip and was in seventh heaven – I will 100% book my next trip with TLT and am hoping to go to Australia next!
From
Matt
CULTURE
A truly unique destination, caught between eras; in some ways like walking back in time, in others existing fiercely in the present. As people they are as sundry as the landscape on which they live. Rastafarians encourage their followers ‘to get thee back to Zion’ in other words to repatriate to Ethiopia. As a result, Rastafarians from around the world have been settling in Ethiopia for many years. As well as this, both
Christianity and Islam play a huge role in the lives of many people whilst in the Omo River Valley of the southwest there are more than 50 tribes each of which have their own entirely unique set of beliefs and traditions; from the Mursi people’s giant lip plates and the Hamer tribes’ bull jumping ceremony to the Dorze people’s tall thatched beehive huts, these are a people with an incredibly rich cultural heritage.
DIVERSITY
Ethiopia is one of Africa’s largest countries and as a result there is A LOT to explore. Our expertise focusses on trips to the north and south of the country, each of which is vastly different. It is a country of contrasts and real variety; the majestic scenery of the Simien Mountains and the monolithic rock-cut churches are two of the most famous attractions. But right up in the North, the harsh environment of the Danakil Depression or in the South, the extraordinary chain of lakes, that run from Kenya’s Southern border to just outside Addis, are well worth a visit too.
HISTORY
Ethiopia’s proud history extends to the known beginning of mankind. The north includes the ancient city of Gondar with its medieval castles and palaces, and of course, Lalibela with its extraordinary rock hewn churches. A journey into the Simien Mountains is also a MUST whilst you are here; the gullies, gorges and volcanic spires that have formed over millions of years to make up this beautiful place leave you in little wonder as to why they are known as God’s chess pieces. Down in the South the focus shifts to the ancient and remarkable tribes who have lived there for centuries and whose lifestyle has changed little over this time. More recently Ethiopia has been through a vast amount of changes in the last 40 years. Haile Selassie and the monarchy were overthrown in a violent communist coup in 1974. That new regime, known as ‘the Derg’, fell to rebels, in 1991, and then a new federal republic was declared in 1994. These days Ethiopia is very much a country on the move. Once synonymous with famine, it now has one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa.
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The camels in the Dallol desert carrying salt
Abune Yosef mountains in Ethiopia.
Gelada monkeys in the Simien mountains.
Simien Mountains, Ethiopia
Harenna Forest in Bale mountains