Ethiopia

Ethiopia is one of the oldest countries in Africa and one of its most dramatic. A high plateau split by the Great Rift Valley, it rises to mountain ranges above 4,000 metres and falls to some of the hottest, lowest ground on Earth. Few places on the continent pack so much history, scenery and culture into a single journey.

It is also a land of wildlife found nowhere else. In the Simien Mountains, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, troops of gelada baboons graze the edges of vast escarpments alongside the rare Walia ibex. In the Bale Mountains, the high Afroalpine plateau and the Harenna Forest shelter the Ethiopian wolf, one of the rarest canids in the world.

The cultural heritage is just as striking. At Lalibela, churches carved down into solid rock have drawn pilgrims for centuries, while Axum, Gondar and the island monasteries of Lake Tana tell the story of an ancient Christian kingdom. Ethiopia is also the birthplace of coffee, and a traditional coffee ceremony is a daily ritual in homes across the country.

For travellers who want something further off the beaten track, the Danakil Depression offers otherworldly salt flats, sulphur springs and a lava lake at Erta Ale, while the Omo Valley is home to a rich variety of living cultures. Addis Ababa, the capital and a major air hub, makes a lively starting point for any journey.