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Ethiopia - Meeting the Geladas

14 days around North Ethiopia in 2013

By Beyond All Maps - Portraits of our Planet by Thorsten Mehret

June 24^th, 2018

Ethiopia is a huge country and full of history, culture, fascinating people and fantastic landscapes. More than 100 million inhabitants splitted into over 80 ethnic groups with their own languages live in Ethiopia.The Ge'ez script is one of the oldest worldwide still in use. Ethiopia is also considered to be the birthplace of modern humans and has the most UNESCO world heritage sites in Africa.

Unfortunately, two weeks time is by far not enough to explore the whole country, so we decided to concentrate on the northern part, the Ethiopian Highlands, due to the more pleasant weather, the denser location of interesting places and especially as we wanted to do some trekking in the Simien Mountains.

The whole trip was organised as a private tour with driver and guide as this is relatively affordable in Ethiopia and gives the maximum flexibility.

On The Road

Making of charcoal. In the highlands it can get quite chilly.

Despite its beauty and many smiling people, sceneries like this reminded us, that Ethiopia also is a poor county with very harsh living conditions for many people.

The lush and colourful scenery in some parts of the Ethiopian Highlands was something I really didn't expect.

Meeting the Geladas

We stopped somewhere on the way to watch the stunning scenery, and suddenly there they were: the geladas. These fascinating creatures are related to baboons and very photogenic with the unique red marks on their breast. They can only be found in the norther highlands and especially like to gather around cliffs which generally makes for a perfect background.

Fortunately, they are not very shy and especially in the Simien Mountains can be spotted quite often. Always great fun to watch.

Coffee Time

Ethiopia has a coffee tradition which dates back dozens of centuries. The cup of local coffee was a daily routine during our stay. It's not just the coffee but the whole preparation ceremony that makes is so special. Green coffee beans are roasted so they start to burn and turn extremely fragrant. When the coffee beans are done roasting, they are ground by hand using a mortar and pestle and then placed in a Ethiopian clay coffee pot for brewing. Often the coffee is accompanied by a pot of smoking frankincense making the whole ceremony almost a spiritual happening. Not to be missed.

Bahir Dar and Lake Tana

Lake Tana with its 3,200 sq km is the source of the Blue Nile and since 2015 a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The lake is famous for the many islands with have or had monasteries on them. Remains of ancient Ethiopian emperors and treasures of the Ethiopian Church are kept in the isolated monasteries.

Blue Nile Falls

These falls are located in a very scenic surrounding just 30 km from the town of Bahir Dar. They used to be much bigger, but since 2003 a hydro-electric station has taken much of the flow out of the falls. To us they still looked quite impressive.

On the Road Again

Gonder

Gonder served as a strong Christian kingdom for many years. The city holds the remains of several royal castles dating back to the 16th and 17th century. A great area to explore.

Ethiopian food

I'm a big fan of Ethiopian food. Since my visit, I regularly enjoy going to Ethiopian restaurants. The most unique dish is the injera, a sourdough-risen flatbread made out of teff flour mixed with water and allowed to ferment for several days. Very delicious, especially when combined with wats, a kind of generally spicy stews. The injera is exclusively eaten with the right hands using pieces to pick up bites of entrees and side dishes. Hmmmm....

Simien Mountains

Oh my god, what a stunning beautiful mountain range. The three days of hiking in the region was definitely one of the highlights of our trip. The mountain range is up to 4,500m high. It's the combination of the landscape, exotic plants, mystic fog and animals like the walia ibex and the geladas, which makes the Simien Mountains so unique. It's also fascinating to see and learn how the few local inhabitants live in this really harsh environment.

Serving coffee to the few tourist that pass by is a welcoming opportunity for the locals to make some money and was a great way for us to get a little bit of insight into their way of living in this harsh environment. By the way, the captivating aroma of the freshly roasted and grinded beans and the taste of the warm and flavourful liquid running down my longing throat after a full day of hiking, made it to one of my most memorable coffee moments.

At 3500m. A scenery and plants I've never seen before.

Searching for the Ibex in the early morning mist

I could watch them for hours.

A last glimpse back to the Simian Mountain Range and a new landscape ahead of us.

Market On the way to Axum

Axum

The original capital of the Kingdom of Aksum is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in Africa. Axum was a naval and trading power that ruled the region from about 400 B.C. into the 10th century.

Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church claims that the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion houses the Biblical Ark of the Covenant. The Ark is said to be kept in this little chapel guarded by a priest. He is the only one allowed to see it. Well, well,.....

Debre Damo Monastery

Not for the fainthearted and people who suffer from acrophobia. The only way up to this monastery is by a mix of halfway climbing and halfway getting pulled up with a strange looking rope made out from animal parts. In case you fail, a cemetery is right next to the monastery and there are some priest around as well.

Fortunately everything went fine and the biggest challenge actually was passing the priest after arrival, who must haven't showered for a decade despite his doubtless sweaty job. Honestly the stench almost knockt me over backwards.

Medhane Alem Adi Kasho

Wukro Chirkos

Mekele

On the way to lalibela

Lalibela

Without a doubt, Lalibela is one of the religious hot spots in Ethiopia and famous for the monolithic rock-cut churches. It's an exiting, almost mystical experience to explore the area and although it can get busy with tourists it's not too hard to find a quiet spot to soak up a bit of the holy atmosphere.

Addis Abeba

Dont't miss the chance to visit an traditional Ethiopian dance performance. The dance style is very unique and energetic and characterised by rolling the shoulder blades, bouncing the shoulders, and jilting the chest. Great fun.

The End

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