Etiopien

The fourth-most populous city in Ethiopia, Dire Dawa (ድሬ ዳዋ) usually elicits strong reactions. Its colourful storefronts, tree-lined streets, neat squares and foreign influence (look for Arab, French, Italian and Greek styles in some of the architecture and design) are quite a change from most Ethiopian towns.

Bordered by verdant mountains and home to two of Ethiopia’s largest Rift Valley lakes, this city is more than a convenient overnight stop on the southern circuit. With Nechisar National Park and the highland Dorze villages on its doorstep, it deserves to be a destination on its own.

This pair of Omo River–side destinations makes an excellent day trip out of Turmi. Both Kangaten (ካንጋተን) and Kolcho (ቆሊቾ) are largely hassle-free, though it’s best to visit Nyangatom villages in the morning because many men are quite drunk by the afternoon. This way you also avoid the morning caravan of 4WDs occupying Kolcho.

It’s not what Gonder (ጎንደር) is, but what Gonder was that’s so enthralling. The city lies in a bowl of hills where tall trees shelter tin-roofed stone houses, but rising above these, and standing proud through the centuries, are the walls of castles bathed in blood and painted in the pomp of royalty. It's often called the 'Camelot of Africa', a description that does the royal city a disservice: Camelot is legend, whereas Gonder is reality.

Lake Tana’s beauty can only be truly appreciated when you get out beyond the city to enjoy azure waters, a lush shoreline and rich birdlife. But even the lake's natural beauty plays second fiddle to its centuries-old monasteries, full of paintings and treasures, and some pretty impressive numbers: Tana is Ethiopia’s largest lake, covering more than 3500 sq km, and its waters are the source of the Blue Nile, which flows 5223km north to the Mediterranean Sea.

The rapidly expanding university city of Mekele (መቀሌ), Tigray’s capital, owes its importance to Emperor Yohannes IV, who made it his capital in the late 19th century. Though hardly anyone comes to see the town itself, there's enough here to pass the time waiting for your Danakil tour to depart or en route between Lalibela and the north.

Vagabonds ständige äventyrare Marcus Westberg begav sig ut bland stamfolk och sprutande lavasjöar i Etiopien. Följ med på en strapatsrik resa långt utanför turiststråken!

Up against the Duro Mountains north of Shashemene is the lovely and relatively pristine Lephis Forest, home to Menelik’s bushbuck, mountain nyala, leopard, spotted hyena, warthog, black-and-white colobus and olive baboon. The rich birdlife includes the beautiful white-cheeked turaco and Abyssinian oriole. If you have one day to spare, this is a great spot to get away from it all.

Despite what anyone may tell you, the Simien Mountains are not visible from either of these two ridgetop viewpoints, 22km and 29km northeast of Gonder respectively, but the views are awesome nonetheless. At both Wunenia (ዉናኒያ) and Kosoye (ኮሶዬ), friendly local guides will lead you on walks of about an hour for a small tip. The guides aren't mandatory at Wunenia, but they know the best viewpoints and can help you find gelada monkeys. Longer treks are also possible.

En ny tåglinje mellan Etiopiens huvudstad Addis Abeba och det mindre besökta landet Djibouti vid Indiska oceanens kust erbjuder resenärer att uppleva en okänd del av Afrika. Vagabonds Marcus Westberg klev ombord.