About Ethiopia

Ethiopia is unique country and with no other African country comparison. The scenery is varied and surprisingly green, with many wonderful geological features such as Dallol Depression (one of the lowest depressions in the world), the Erta ale Active Volcano, Sof Omar Cave, the Great East Africa Rift Valley, Blue Nile Gorge and others.

Ethiopia has much to offer the Simien Mountains with jagged peaks and deep gorges to the beautiful Lake Tana & its medieval period island monasteries and the eleven magical Christian monolithic churches in Lalibela. Also fascinating are the many nomadic peoples. Truly a country to discover!

Ethiopia is the home of distance running where many of the greatest runners of all time have come and they have come to dominate the world of distance running along with their fellow east Africans in Kenya. Visit the town of Runners Bekoji (Where Ethiopian Runners Are Born or Ethiopia’s Home of Athletics Champions) where most of Ethiopian Olympic gold medal winners seem to have chosen to be born here. Haile Gebreselassie, Derartu Tulu, Fatuma Roba, Kenenisa Bekele, and Tirunesh Dibaba.

Ethiopia is considered as the Cradle of Human Kind and the home of human ancestors. The fossil of Lucy “Dinknesh”, which dates back to about 3.18million years old, is the most prominent one.

The home to the most ancient Kingdom in Africa (Ethiopia), and one of the first monarchies in the world and the sole African country to possess an alphabet more than 2000 years old.

Ethiopia is one of the most enriching country for experiences and highly recommended if you get the chance, that it’s a destination not to be missed!

If you are interested in going, there is only one get way that can give you the type of experience that Ethiopian offer and you wish. 

Geography and Climate

With a land area of 1,098,000 square kilometers, Ethiopia is five times as big as Britain. Two principal geographical zones can be found in the country: the cool highlands and the hot lowlands that surround them.

The vast central mountain-plateau – the Ethiopian Highlands – has an average elevation of between 1800-2400 meters. It is here that the country’s major mountain-peaks are found, including the highest mountain: Ras Dashen (4620 m), Ethiopia’s highest mountain and the fourth highest in Africa. In fact, Ethiopia has 20 mountains peaking above 4000 meters. But the country is also home to one of the lowest points on the Earth’s surface: the inhospitable Danakil Depression, which lies at more than 100 meters below sea level.

Southern Ethiopia is ‘divided’ diagonally by the Rift Valley. This valley is – on average – 50 kilometres wide and runs all the way down to Mozambique. Several lakes can be found – as a ‘chain’ – on the valley floor. These lakes are much loved by bird-lovers. The northern end of the East African Rift Valley opens into the Danakil Depression, one of the hottest places on earth.

Ethiopia’s climate reflects its’ topography. The highlands have a very different climate than the lowlands. In the highlands, the average daytime temperature is considered as ‘moderate’. Most of the year, temperatures will be just over 20 degrees Celsius, slowly getting hotter as the rainy season is approaching.

The rains start in June and usually end in September. Rainstorms can be very strong. In the north-east of the country, where there are often droughts, one can rely less on the rains. Rainfall in the lowlands is around half that of the highlands, but some areas also experience small rains in March and April.

The southern Rift Valley is classified as moderate to hot and shares a similar rainfall pattern to the highlands. In the Bale Mountains in the south, snow sometimes falls. At the other end of the scale, temperatures in the Danakil Depression can go up to 50 degrees Celsius and the rainfall here is almost zero.

The far south and eastern lowlands are hot and dry.

Flora and Fauna

Even though Ethiopia does not have the large wildlife numbers of neighboring country Kenya, it nonetheless has a very remarkable flora ánd fauna. Many animals and birds are unique to Ethiopia. 

Ethiopia is especially well-known for its wonderful and unique birdlife – it is a paradise for bird-lovers. Birds are numerous, diverse (862 different species), very colourful and – very important for ‘birders’: easy to spot, because Ethiopia’s natural areas are very unspoilt and quiet.

Ethiopia’s highland flora is also very exceptional – between 600 and 1400 plant species are thought to be endemic: that’s 10-20% of all Ethiopia’s flora. There is no country in Africa that has more unique species of flora. An example is the exotic Abyssinian Rose: commonly found in both the Bale Mountains and the Simien Mountains. 

Habitats of Ethiopia.

Desert and semi-desert scrubland – the Dankalia region, Omo Delta and Ogaden Desert all fall into this category. Vegetation is characterised by highly drought-resistant plants, such as small trees, shrubs and grasses.

Small leaved deciduous forest – woodlands that can be found all over the country (except the West) at an altitude of 900-1900 meters. Vegetation consists of drought-tolerant shrubs, but also trees, like various types of acacia.

Broad leaved deciduous forest – these forests occur mainly in the western and north-western parts of the country. Bamboo can also be found here – in the western valleys. Elephants, buffalos and common elands exist here.

Moist evergreen forest – in the south-western and western parts of the country. They are forests consisting of tall and medium-sized trees. Since it is more tropical, the birdlife here is very colourful and abundant.

Lowland semi-evergreen forest – this is the area around Gambela. Vegetation consists of semi-evergreen trees and shrubs and also grasses. Wildlife includes elephants, giraffes and lions.

Dry evergreen montane forest and grassland – covering much of the highlands in the north, northwest, central and southern parts of the country, this habitat is home to a large number of endemic plants. Africa’s only rose, the Rosa Abyssinica is found here.

Afro-Alpine vegetation – this habitat is found in the national parks of the Bale, Guassa Plateau and Simien Mountains. Very special here is the heather, growing into large trees of up to 10 meters (instead of growing close to the ground).

Wetlands – these can occur along the Baro River and around Gambela in the west, but also in highlands and the northwest. Here fig-trees and tamarind trees grow along riverbanks. Crocodiles and hippos inhabit many rivers and the birdlife is particularly abundant here.

Government, Politics and Economy

Government

The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia: it was founded in 1995. The republic’s principle is ‘ethnic federalism’. There are nine regional states (including the city-state of Harar) and two metropolitan regions: Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. The states and regions have their own autonomous councils and hold their own elections. Five of Ethiopia’s largest ethnic groups have heir own regional states: the Amhara, Oromo, Tigrayans, Afar and Somali.

Economy

The Ethiopian economy suffers from two major and very persistent weaknesses: food insecurity and an almost total dependency on coffee for foreign exchange earnings. 

Agriculture provides the livelihood of 85% of the population, but droughts, pests and severe soil erosion are causing the earnings from agriculture to be very low.

Calendar

Ethiopia follows the Julian calendar, which comprises twelve months of thirty days each and a thirteenth month of five days (or six days in a leap year). The calendar is seven years and eight months behind the Western (Gregorian) calendar with Christmas being celebrated on January 7 and New Year on September 11, which can be extremely confusing to westerners.

Clocks and Time

The Ethiopian clock is similar to many equatorial countries and there is a six-hour difference between Ethiopian and Western time. This means Western 6:00am is 12:00am Ethiopian time and 6pm Western time is 12 noon Ethiopian time. Ethiopia is also three hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

However, there is no adjustment of clocks for Winter or Summer Time, so there is no putting clocks backward or forward an hour. Being close to the Equator there is almost twelve hours of constant daylight. In Addis Ababa, sunrise begins at around 06.30 and sunset is about 18:45.

Language

Amharic is the official language o Ethiopia, although English, Italian, French and Arabic are widely spoken. Ethiopians are proud of their rich tongue and frequently make the point that its vocabulary is as extensive as that of English, if not more so and that English should be used for foreign correspondence. But English is still widely spoken and remains a principal medium of instruction in secondary schools.

In addition to Amharic, with the unique and elegant alphabet, there are around 80 local languages and about 200 dialects in the country.

Religion

Ethiopian enjoys complete freedom of religion. However, two religions are professed by the great majority: Christianity, as practiced by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Islam. 

Other Christian churches are also present, although as minorities, including Catholic, Evangelical, and Adventist. Judaism has been represented for a long time by a group called Beta-Isarael, although today they have little representation because the majorities have emigrated to Israel.

The western lowlands on the other hand, are hot and humid.

Vision Ethiopia Tours is your get way to visit Ethiopia and always ready to arrange & provide you unique and innovative customized programs, exclusively tailored to your particular interests, budget, taste, and schedule.