You can see Addis Ababa in the middle of the country. We flew into Addis and spent a few days there acclimatising (it's the world's third highest capital city) before flying north to Gonder.

Click here for detailed map of the north

From Gonder, we drove further north to the Simien mountains, spectacular home of several endemic plants, birds and animals. Gonder sounds like it belongs in 'The Lord of the Rings', and is indeed surrounded by historic castles and churches, many in surprisingly good condition. After about a week, we began to head south. We drove around Lake Tana to tropical Bahir Dar, where we stayed two nights, taking a (slightly scary) trip to the Blue Nile Falls.

Click here for detailed map of the south

From Bahir Dar, we flew back to Addis then hired another Land Cruiser for the two day drive south into the Great Rift Valley. We based ourselves for the last week in Arba Minch, at the edge of an escarpment looking onto Lakes Chamo and Abaya. From there, we visited Nechisar National Park and the highland villages of Chencha and Dorze. In Arba Minch, Meselech invited us to her house for a traditional coffee ceremony & Ingrid astounded the family with her injera making skills...