Ethiopia Things to Do Tips by sachara Top 5 Page for this destination

Debre Libanos, local market

Not far from the monastery of Debre Libanos was a local market in the shade of an enormous tree.

We stopped to have a look. The people were selling all kind of herbs, vegetables, beans, cereals and fruits, but also mysterious things, we couldn't recognize.

At the market were a lot of donkeys for transporting the goods. It was my first local market and I really enjoyed it to walk and look around. The local people were very friendly, as we found out later, everywhere in the countryside .

Directions: 110 KM north of Addis Abeba

Rock-hewn churches of Tigray, interior Chirkos

After climbing and rounding the hill, in which the church is hided, the priest (see opening picture of this page) opened the door of the church for us.

The architecture is unusual. The church has an outstanding Aksumite , frieze, cubical capitals and a barrel-vaulted ceiling.

Be aware of the kids, who walk with you back to the village. While some like to walk holding your hands, others try to do some pocket-picking.

Directions: Chirkos lies east of the highway from Adrigat to Mekele in the North East of Ethiopia, 500 M from Wukro.

Rock-hewn churches of Tigray, Chirkos

The rock-hewn church Chirkos is a three quarter sandstone monolith. We climbed up till the level of the roof of the church and rounded the place. We were warned not to step at the natural roof of the church from the 8th century. At the top of the hill you see only the clocktower and can hardly imagine there is a church beneath you.

In the trees we recognized some parts of a car. We were asked to make noise by beating against these iron parts, while we were rounding the church. So we did.

The choosen location for the church was fantastic. So we had splendid views at the surrounding mountains.

Directions: Chirkos lies east of the highway from Adrigat to Mekele, 500 M from Wukro.

Konso

Konso in the far south of Ethiopia is the gateway to the Omo Valley and its tribes. But Konso has also its own fascinating culture.

Around Konso you can visit various Konso villages. The Konso people are farmers. So you will see a lot of terraces at the mountain slopes around the villages of round huts.

The most famous in the Konso area are the wagas. In the recent past a lot of wagas are stolen. Now an inventory of the statues is made and they are declared World Heritage Site.

When a Konso warrior die, they are honoured with the erection of carved wooden sculptures, the waga. The statue of the warrior is recognizable by a phallic ornament at his forehead or by its large size. At the sides of the warrior-statue you will find the statues of his wives with necklaces and breasts. Also the killed enemies and animals are placed in the row as smaller statues.

Directions: Konso lies 110 KM south of Arba Minch

Dorze and Chenca

In the Guge Mountains north of Arba Minch live the Dorze people. This area is famous because of the beehive huts. These huts of 12 M high are ressembling as giant beehives with a kind of ''nose'' at the entrance. They have a construction of vertical hardwood poles with woven bamboo in between. The thatched roofs are made of enset (false-banana).

The Dorze people are farmers and prevent the slopes from erosion by building ingenious terraces. Around their huts they have little gardens with vegetables, spices, tobacco and enset (false-banana).

In the area of Chenca you will find lovely and colourful woven cotton, the best of the country. Look out for the weavening men at the roadside.

For more information see my Arba Minch page.

Directions: The villages Dorze and Chenca are about 35 KM north of Arba Minch, reachable by unpaved road up in the mountains.

Arba Minch

Arba Minch is with 40.000 inhabitants the largest town in Southern Ethiopia. Arba Minch has two settlements, Sikela and Shecha and is situated at the escarpment overlooking the two beautiful lakes Abaya and Chamo and the National Park in between.

Arba Minch is a good base to visit the Nechisar National Park and the Guge Mountains.
The Nechisar NP of 514 sq. KM lies between the two lakes and is easily reachable from Arba Minch. You can see different kind of birds and mammals in the park .
The Guge mountains (2.400 M) are about 30 KM north of Arba Minch. Here you can visit the Dorze villages with the typical beehive huts.

For more information have a look at my Arba Minch page.

Directions: Arba Minch is about 500 KM south of Addis Abeba and reachable by good tarred roads. There are also two flights weekly from Addis Abeba.

Lake Langano

Lake Langano is surrounded by the Arsi Mountains. The lake has a peculiar brown colour, like a cup of tea with milk, but the water is clean and bilharzia-free. So it's a nice place to swim.

During the weekends a lot of visitors from Addis Abeba will visit the lake and it can be rather crowdy and noisy.

We arrived at monday afternoon, so it could be a peaceful stay, we thought. But there was a weddingparty with loud music till after midnight. The bride and groom and most of their guests spent the night here. So there was a lot of laughter and a screaming woman (the bride?) deep in the night.

Directions: About 200 KM south of Addis Abeba

Lalibela, rock-hewn churches

Lalibela is one of the most known places in Ethiopia because of its rock-hewn churches.
In the town there are two groups of churches, the northern group and the eastern group, lying at both sides of "River Jordan'' , a canalised watercourse. The Bet Giyorgis lies a bit separated from the both groups at a distance of about 200 Ms.

The ticket office is at the north entrance of the northern group. The tickets give acces to all churches in town and are valid for 3 days.
Opening hours: 8am - noon and 2pm - 5pm.

It's useful to have a guide. He can show you the way to the churches, the passageways and the tunnels, connecting the medieval churches. His services cost about 100 Birr for a group. And it will keep other people, trying to ''guide'' you at a distance. Lalibela was the only place in Ethiopia, I had problems with inofficial ''guides'', disturbing me. For 35 Birr a group, you can also hire somebody to look after your shoes during the day.

In one day I saw more than 10 churches and it wasn't boring at all, because there was so much variety. In fact it was really fascinating !!

For more information and pictureshave a look at my Lalibela page.

Directions: Lalibela is more than 500 KM north of Addis Abeba. You can go there by road in about two days or fly for about 25 euro.

Lalibela, visit to the churches

Visiting the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, the centre of pilgrimage, is fascinating because of the impressive architecture, the coloured interiors, the crosses shown by the priests and the pilgrims around.

If you have the chance, visit the churches during one of the festivals. But also at other moments you can see some ceremonies, visiting pilgrims, reading monks or hermits in their caves.

During our visit there was near the Bet Maryam a ceremony because of the start of the vast period. We saw and heard priests and monks chanting for hours, protected against the burning sun by a pavilion roof.

For more pictures and information have a look at my Lalibela page.

Directions: Lalibela is more than 500 KM north of Addis Abeba.

Lalibela, lying in the Lasta Mountains

Lalibela, famous for its rock-hewn churches, lies at a height of 2.630 M in the rugged Lasta Mountains. Lalibala, allthough allready attracting visitors in the 16th century, is a still a very isolated place. Till 1997 Lalibela was still unreachable during the wet season
We approached Lalilbela from the north, coming from Sekota, having a dramatic view at the mountainridge with Lalibela at top.

Lalibela was the capital of the Zagwe dynasty in the 12th and 13th century. In that time Lalibela was known as Roha. After the death of King Lalibela the town was named after him. King Lalibela, after coming back from his fly to Jerusalem, decided to build a new holy city on African soil in the Lasta mountains. Besides the rock-hewn churches, you can also find River Jordan in Lalibela.

When we arrived in Lalibela, by the winding road up, we had the feeling to land in another time of centuries ago. The town is rather undeveloped. Only since a few years there is electricity, but no banks, pharmacies and good internet facilities.

Directions: More than 500 KM north of Addis Abeba.