Etiopien

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.

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.

Most of eastern Ethiopia is a stark landscape of dust-stained acacia scrub and forgettable towns. But scattered around this cloak of the commonplace are gems of genuine adventure. Undoubtedly, the east’s pièce de résistance is the walled city of Harar. There’s still a patina of myth about this ancient town, handed down from the days when its markets served as the Horn’s commercial hub and attracted powerful merchants and Islamic scholars. The colonial-rural melange that is the modern city of Dire Dawa delights in its own odd way, while nature lovers can get their kicks at Babille Elephant Sanctuary and Awash National Park, where the volcanic landscape takes top billing over the wildlife. The truly intrepid can follow the seemingly endless ribbon of asphalt north to the desolate southern Danakil Desert, territory that remains virtually unexplored since colonial adventurer Wilfred Thesiger first regaled tales of the Afar.

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.

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.

Lalibela (ላሊበላ) is history and mystery frozen in stone, its soul alive with the rites and awe of Christianity at its most ancient and unbending. No matter what you’ve heard about Lalibela, no matter how many pictures you’ve seen of its breathtaking rock-hewn churches, nothing can prepare you for the reality of seeing it for yourself. It’s not only a World Heritage site, but truly a world wonder. Spending a night vigil here during one of the big religious festivals, when white-robed pilgrims in their hundreds crowd the courtyards of the churches, is to witness Christianity in its most raw and powerful form.

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?

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.

Southern Ethiopia is a canvas ripped in two. Its landscape is being torn apart by the Great Rift Valley, leaving a trail of lakes where you can go see crocodiles, hippos and birds – or just drink in the scenery from your hotel.

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.