Etiopien

Western Ethiopia is undisturbed and seldom visited, and while its towns are nothing special, it’s one of the most beautiful regions in Ethiopia. Rainforests and coffee plantations share the landscape with savannah grasslands, wildlife-rich swamps and high plateaus carpeted in fields of tef (an indigenous grass cultivated as a cereal, the base for making injera).

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.

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.

World Heritage–listed Harar (ሐረር) is a place apart. With its 368 alleyways squeezed into just 1 sq km, it’s more reminiscent of Fez in Morocco than any other city in the Horn. Its countless mosques and shrines, animated markets, crumbling walls and charming people will make you feel as if you’ve floated right out of the 21st century. It’s the east’s most memorable sight and shouldn’t be missed. As if that wasn’t enough, there are many chances to get up close and personal with wild hyenas. It’s a rare traveller who doesn’t enjoy it here.

Bubbling volcanoes light up the night sky, sulphurous mounds of yellow contort into other-worldly shapes, and mirages of camels cross lakes of salt. Lying 100m and more below sea level, the Danakil Depression (የደንከል በረሃ) is about the hottest and most inhospitable place on earth. In fact it’s so surreal that it doesn’t feel like part of earth at all. If you want genuine, raw adventure, few corners of the globe can match this overwhelming wilderness. But come prepared because with temperatures frequently saying hello to 50°C and appalling ‘roads’, visiting this region is more an expedition than a tour.

The landscapes of northern Tigray seem to spring from some hard-bitten African fairy tale. The luminous light bathes scattered sharp peaks that rise into the sky out of a sandy, rolling semidesert. The stratified plateaus, particularly between Dugem and Megab in the Gheralta region, lead to inevitable comparisons with the USA’s desert southwest.

For most visitors to Ethiopia, it’s all about the north. More than anywhere else on Earth, northern Ethiopia has the ability to wow you day after day after day.

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.

Aksum (አክሱም) is a riddle waiting to be solved. Did the Queen of Sheba really call the town’s dusty streets home? Does the Ark of the Covenant that holds Moses’ 10 Commandments reside in a small Aksum chapel? Is one of the Three Wise Men really buried here? And what exactly do those famous stelae signify?

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