3 Things to do in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is a country located on the Eastern-side of Africa. It’s arguably incorrect to say that Ethiopia is in East Africa, because East Africa (like Uganda, Kenya, etc.) is an actual region, and so Ethiopia is better-classified as being a part of the “Horn of Africa”. In fact, Ethiopia is very unique. Here’s why I say that:
Ethiopia is the only country in the world that has the official language as Amharic.
The food is also very unique. Have you heard of injera?
Not unique, but important to the country: Coffee production and exports
How I Got There
As usual whenever I travel, I either take a United flight or search for the cheapest flight on kayak.com. I wrote an article about how I stick to flying on United as much as possible to cash out big with my miles.
For this trip, I flew from Kilimanjaro to Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airlines. (Go Star Alliance!)
Here are my top 3 favorite things to do in Ethiopia:
1. Addis Ababa
The capital. The largest city. Addis Ababa.
Two parts – this first is the National Museum of Ethiopia. I’m not a huge fan of museums, but better-understanding the history and the eventual split between Ethiopia and now Eritrea was very interesting.
National Museum of Ethiopia
The second part was making it up to the top of Mount Entoto. Along the way, we stopped by coffee stands. They actually do call them “coffee ceremonies”.
Mount Entono
Coffee Ceremonies
2. Chamo Lake
This was more of a specific tour to see the crocodiles – but we drove down from Addis Ababa and arrived in the southern town of Arba Minch.
Arba Minch Hotel
Loved our hotel in Arba Minch. And the coffee was great.
After breakfast, we toured around Chamo Lake and saw clusters of crocodiles everywhere.
Chamo Lake
Pictured left to right: Me, my friend Rahwa, the tour guide boat driver, and Mehowie (Rahwa’s sister)
Quick shoutout to my very good Ethiopian-American friend, Rahwa. She inspired me to stop by while she was visiting family and while I was in the middle of an Africa journey.
3. Eating Injera
A fork-less dish that you eat with your hands, injera made it to having it’s own section on this blog.
The “toppings” here are vegetarian. A lot of sautéed veggies, pickled veggies, and beans. This was so good.
Injera with Meat Sauce
How do you eat injera? Well you use your hands to rip off a piece of injera, then snag some beef using the injera like a blanket, then eat.
Beef Marinated in Sauce
Pork Recipe
Last one was my personal favorite. It looks kind of gross at first, but the pork and veggies were sautéed with garlic, and the brainy-looking red ball was another pork recipe. It was so delicious!
I love it when the food is a huge part of the culture. I have never seen a single, national dish that was so important to a country the way injera is to Ethiopia.
Where I Stayed
I took that tour in Chamo Lake and stayed at the hotel arranged by the tour group, but in Addis Ababa, I stayed in an Airbnb.
By the way, I wrote a separate article on How I Choose Where I Stay when I Travel.
If I Had More Time, I Would Have…
Simien National Park in the North.
Danakil Depression – the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Closing Remarks
I’m really glad I stopped by for a quick visit to Ethiopia. I was mostly impressed by the culture. Sure, hopping on a mini-bus in the country felt very similar to hopping on a mini-bus in Uganda or Egypt. But Ethiopia is just another world in the African continent.