|  Language
- The main three languages are Amharic, Tigrigna and Oromifa. English is also widely spoken.
Climate
- There are two seasons: the dry season prevails from October through May; the wet season runs from June to September.
Culture - Ethiopia is a large country and because of its size there are over 83 different ethnic groups, ranging from nomadic herders in the Omo Valley to the urbanites of Addis Ababa. The land is ruggedly beautiful, with majestic mountains, spectacular gorges and many rivers (some of which offer exhilarating rafting like the Omo, Blue Nile and Awash rivers), lowlands, and deserts like the Danakil (Afar) Depression, the lowest place in Africa at 125 m (410 ft) below sea level. There are also ageless historical sites like the rock hewn churches of Lalibela, UNESCO World Heritage sites. Ethiopia is also home to Lucy, a female hominid more than 3 million years old, discovered in 1974 and believed to be the ancestor of humankind.
Despite having all this tourism potential, it is a paradox that the country remains relatively untouched and unknown by many travellers. Ethiopia is an excellent destination for trekkers, remote expedition seekers and culture lovers and offers a wide variety of interests, from history, archaeology, nature, and bird watching to adventure, with rafting, off-road safaris, etc.
History - Ethiopia, covering well over a million square kilometres, is about twice as large as Kenya or Texas, and about five times as large as the United Kingdom.
Ethiopia is generally considered Africa's oldest continuously identifiable nation. Today, Ethiopia is landlocked, although neighbouring Eritrea (independent since 1993), Djibouti and parts of Somalia share much of their ancient, medieval and modern histories with Abyssinia, as Ethiopia was formerly known. Across the Red Sea are Yemen and the mountainous Asir Province of Saudi Arabia. Asir has a rugged topography not unlike that of Ethiopia's uplands, and Ethiopians are one of the province's larger ethnic minorities. In times past, Ethiopia bordered Egypt, encompassing parts of what is now Sudan.
Culture - There is no doubt that humans have inhabited Ethiopia since the dawn of recorded history, as indicated in early cave paintings. The modern Ethiopians are not a single racial or ethnic group, a fact reflected in the diversity of their languages, as four of Africa's major linguistic groups are represented in the region.
Some Ethiopian peoples residing along the river bank of Omo, such as the Surma, are tribal and semi-nomadic, while others were more reliant on agriculture. It's difficult to generalize about such a complex ethnic mix of peoples. All in all, depending on where one draws the lines, as many as two dozen different tribes occupy South Omo, some numbering tens of thousands, others no more than 500, each one of them culturally unique.
Adventure - Ethiopia has an elevated central plateau varying in height between 2,000 and 3,000 meters. In the north and center of the country, there are some 25 mountains whose peaks rise over 4000 meters. Semien Mountains National Park has many summits above 4000 meters and culminates in the highest point in Ethiopia, Ras Dashen, which at 4630 meters is the fourth highest mountain in Africa. With such a high elevation coupled with breathtaking scenery, Ethiopia is said to be the ‘Roof of Africa’.
Its dramatic topography is the result of the erosion of basalt lavas, which have been calculated at nearly 3000 meters thick. In addition to the panorama, Semien Mountains National Park is home to many endemic birds and plants, including the Waliya ibex, Simien fox and Gelada baboon, found nowhere else.
Similarly, Bale Mountains National Park is situated in a high altitude plateau that is broken by numerous spectacular volcanic plugs and peaks, beautiful alpine lakes and rushing mountain streams that descend into deep rocky gorges on their way to the lowlands below. As you ascend the mountains you will experience changes in the vegetation due to altitude, from juniper to heather moorlands and alpine meadows, which at various times of year exhibit an abundance of colourful wildflowers. Bale Mountains National Park is the largest area of Afro-Alpine habitat in the whole of the continent. It gives you opportunities for unsurpassed mountain walking, horse trekking, and scenic driving while viewing many of Ethiopia's endemic mammals, birds and plants
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Festivals - As religion plays such an important role in Ethiopian society, festivals and ceremonies provide many high points in the calendar. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church alone celebrates no less than 150 festivities per year.
The following are the most famous festivals:
Timket (Ethiopian Epiphany) is the most colourful event in the year when churches parade their Tabots to a nearby body of water. This is the commemoration of Christ's baptism, which falls on the 19th of January.
The Tabot is taken out in the afternoon on the eve of epiphany and stays overnight with the priests and faithful congregation. The following morning the water is blessed and splashed over everyone in a ceremony where the faithful renew their vows to the church. If the body of water is large enough, some people will immerse themselves. Woman who have been unable to have children participate in the ritual for fertility. After the ceremony, the Tabot is paraded back to its Church accompanied by much singing and dancing.
Meskel is celebrated in memory of the Finding of the True Cross by Empress Eleni. It is as colorful as Timket, although instead of water the focus of the celebration is a bonfire topped with an image of a cross to which flowers are tied. Priests in full ceremonial dress bless the bonfire before it is lit.
This festival coincides with the mass blooming of the golden Yellow Meskel daisies, called Adey Ababa in Amharic; symbolically heralding the advent of a new year after the rainy season is over.
Genna (Christmas), falling on the 7th of January, is celebrated by a church service that goes on throughout the night, with people moving from one church to another. Traditionally, young men play a game called Genna, similar to field hockey.
Enkutatash (Ethiopian New Year) is celebrated on the 11th of September.
Fasika (Easter) is a festival that follows a fasting period of 55 days. During this time, no animal product is eaten and the faithful do not eat anything at all until the daily service is finished at around 3:00 pm.
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