Ethiopia is a country I haven’t been to (yet). So far there has never been a time that I was close to Ethiopia or the general neighborhood, but I enjoyed eating Ethiopian food in the UAE and in Istanbul.
I hope that in the future, you can find posts about traveling to Ethiopia on this page.
Things I’d Like to Do in Ethiopia
- Hitchhike a little bit here and there. I’d love to write hitchhiking signs in the Aramaic alphabet
- Enjoy the capital city Addis Ababa and take the Addis Ababa light rail everywhere. Perhaps visit the Zoma Museum, the Mercato or Shola markets, The Africa Unbound Museum, the Tiglachin Monument, the Monument to the Lion of Judah, the Red Terror Martyr’s Memorial Museum, the National Palace Museum, and see some above-ground churches and cathedrals (Entoto Maryam Church, Holy Trinity Cathedral) and the Washa Mikael Rock-Hewn Church
- When leaving the capital, I’d like to take the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway. This would also be my preferred way of entering/leaving Djibouti
- You know I’m really looking forward to the food and coffee. I’m gonna eat a lot of yetsom beyaynetu. I’ve been using this glossary to find out what’s what
- In Lalibela, see the Age of Empires wonder of the Ethiopians, the Bete Amanuel. While in the area, it would also be cool to visit St. George’s Cathedral (also rock-hewn)
- If I’m in Ethiopia at the right time, I’d like to witness local holidays such as Enkutatash and Meskel (both in September in the ’20s), Timkat, and Ashenda in the northern regions
- See or hike up Ras Dashen (4620masl), the highest point in Ethiopia
- Try to do some boat trips. Perhaps by kayak, perhaps by something bigger via the only navigable river, the Baro River
- Visit one or more of the many Ethiopian national parks
- See some natural wonders, such as the Danakil Desert, the Dallol Depression, Erta Ale volcano and lava fields, and the Blue Nile Falls
- Visit some lake islands with churches and monasteries, such as Deq Island
Map of Things to do in Ethiopia
Not everything on this map has been researched in depth.
If you know cool places and things to do in Ethiopia, comment below so I can always find your suggestions again once I start making the dream come true! Tips are especially welcome if you are Ethiopian or have lived there for a while
Are you a travel blogger and do you have good posts about Ethiopia? Drop them in a comment below and I’ll read them!
How to Get an Ethiopian SIM Card
We arrived in Ethiopia on the 26th of January, 2023 and immediately bought an Ethiopian SIM card at the airport. Here’s our experience and how you can get mobile data in Addis Ababa and beyond. Ethio Telecom Monopoly Doing the research on what SIM card to buy in Ethiopia was simple; there’s only one company. Ethio Telecom (ኢትዮ ቴሌኮም – pronounced ītiyo tēlēkomi) is a government-owned provider. Though this makes things easier than in Madagascar, there’s also a risk that the government sets the price too high. Luckily, this turns out not to be the case in Ethiopia, asContinue reading
Ethiopian Food and Drink I Scarfed Down as a Vegetarian in 30 Days
As a traveling vegetarian, Ethiopia is quite an easy country to visit. Many national dishes are vegetarian or vegan. These are the Ethiopian food and drinks I wolfed down during my one-month stay in Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar, and Lalibela. How to Find Out Which Ethiopian Foods are Vegetarian? Ever since the start of our journey of learning about Ethiopian food, we’ve used this handy glossary to figure out what’s what. I use ctrl + F or page search to find out which dishes are veg. We basically started with the beyayenetu (በያይነቱ – meaning ‘variety’), which is vegetarian unlessContinue reading
Bete Amanuel, Lalibela: Wonder of the Ethiopians
We visited the wonder on the 7th and the 10th of February, 2023. Bete Amanuel is a spectacular church carved out of a single rock in northern Ethiopia. It makes an appearance in the video game Age of Empires II as the wonder of the Ethiopian civilization. One of the Reasons We’re in Ethiopia Our motivation to travel to Ethiopia after Madagascar came from two things: we love Ethiopian food and I knew there was an Age of Empires II wonder to visit here. The wonder is called Bete Amanuel and it’s a 900-year-old church carved out of a singleContinue reading
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