Africa

There’s nowhere like it on the planet for wildlife, wild lands and rich traditions that endure. Prepare to fall in love.

ORTHODOX MONASTERIES

Today we hired a boat for 7,000 ETB and a local guide for 2,000 ETB to explore ancient Orthodox monasteries around Lake Tana. The history of the Lake Tana monasteries is rooted in the Ethiopian Christian faith, with their origins tracing back to the 13th century, though many structures...

LAKE TANA

Lake Tana is Ethiopia’s largest freshwater lake, situated in the Amhara region at an altitude of approximately 1,840 meters above sea level. It is the source of the Blue Nile and was formed by volcanic activity blocking the river’s course about 5 million years ago. The lake is...

HAWASSA (አዋሳ)

Hawassa was founded in 1960 under Emperor Haile Selassie, with its initial growth spurred by the settlement of 404 pensioned soldiers and their families in the area. Nowadays, it is a modern city in Ethiopia’s Great Rift Valley, known for its beautiful lake, well-planned layout, and...

RASTAS OF SHASHEMENE

Shashemene is a city in southern Ethiopia, known as the spiritual home of the Rastafarian community. It’s a city with a vibrant, lively atmosphere, cultural diversity, and natural beauty, situated near the Rift Valley lakes. Buddy, Linda and her husband introduced us to the...

SIDAMA TRIBE

We made a little detour on our way to Hawassa to visit the Sidama people, renowned for their high-quality coffee, which is considered a hallmark of speciality coffee. As the origin of Coffea arabica, Ethiopia, and the Sidama region in particular, has deep cultural and economic ties to...

TUTITI STELAE

We made a short stop at a cluster of carved megalithic stelae (standing stones) in a graveyard near the town of Tutu Fella in southern Ethiopia. These 9th-14th century monuments are funerary markers for local aristocrats, many of which feature carved linear, anthropomorphic (human-like)...