Ethiopia

Ethiopia is a country of contrasting landscapes and an absorbing cultural heritage. The north is a treasure trove of historical capitals where religious customs from the Middle Ages continue to thrive - the Queen of Sheba's Axum, Lalibela with its 13th century rock-hewn churches, and Gondar, capital in the 17th and 18th centuries. Here too is Lake Tana, home for hundreds of years to several island monasteries and also the source of the Blue Nile, which makes its way over the nearby Tissisat Falls and all the way to the White Nile at Khartoum.

The Original Travel team has extensive travel experience of the country and can arrange guided treks into the habitat of the gelada baboon in the Simien Mountains (nicknamed God's chess set for their weather eroded shapes), or through the Bale Mountains to the south, home to the endangered Ethiopian wolf. South of Addis Ababa, the Rift Valley is punctuated with a series of lakes (many bordered pink with thousands of flamingos), and descends to Kenya via the territories of tribes whose way of life has not changed for centuries. All this can be arranged by talking to one of our expert consultants.

Ethiopia is extremely well connected, and makes for a great combination with Kenya and Djibouti, as well as Zanzibar, Malawi and Seychelles.