Ethiopia, the East African nation locked deep within the Horn of Africa, rarely, if ever, makes it to a traveller's bucket list. A pity really, because the country is virtually Aladdin's cave of surprises and wonders as I discovered on a weeklong trip.

Known as the Land of Origins, Africa's second-most populous nation of 100 million people straddles a bewitching landscape. From the soaring peak of the Simien Mountains (the Roof of Africa) to the plunging depths of the Dankil Depression (the lowest and hottest place on Earth), there's enough here to astound even a jaded traveller. Add to it wild coffee plantations, active volcanoes, hot springs, underground caverns, rugged gorges, spectacular waterfalls, rivers and shimmering lakes as well as nine UNESCO World Heritage sites and you have a captivating canvas indeed.

I begin my trip up in the country's north-western highlands, in the city of Bahir Dar. An early morning cruise on the glassy Lake Tana, a prime source of River Nile, takes us to this beautiful city. During the cruise, I find it tough to put my camera down. The lake's shores are speckled with salubrious sites, including forested islands hiding 16th century monasteries. Lake Tana is also dammed by a lava barrier over which the Blue Nile pours, dropping precipitously 138 feet into a gorge to form the spectacular Tissisat Falls. Pristine!

Up in the highlands of north-western Ethiopia, at a dizzying 9,000 feet in the Amhara region, lies perhaps the most exquisite ensemble of buildings in all of Africa: the 11 rock-hewn churches of Lalibela carved top down. Built between 12th and 15th centuries, some of these holy edifices are located in deep trenches while others nestle in quarried caves beside a traditional village crowded with beehive huts.

As we negotiate a dizzying labyrinth of tunnels and cavernous passageways, crypts and grottos that connect the churches, guide Assfer (from the Oromo tribe) fills us in on this marvel of architecture. "The Lalibela churches are like Africa's Petra. They weren't built but crafted from pink volcanic tuff rock. No rock, plaster or concrete was ever used. Rock was carved and hauled away to reveal these buildings designated the eighth wonder of the world by UNESCO in 1978," he elaborates.

We spend time soaking in the beauty of Lalibela's surrounding mountains and vast panoramas. We visit the villages where tall and athletic shepherds, swathed in colourful gabbis (shawls), tend to sheep amid luminous lime green plains. Local artists can be seen at work in their huts - or just outside - painting Biblical scenes in vibrant hues on canvases. Local women craft and hawk clay bric-à-brac: necklaces, crosses, beads, pendants, bells and other religious insignia.

Addis Ababa
The capital city of Addis Ababa (meaning New Flower), founded in 1887 by Emperor Menelik II, is the pivot around which Ethiopia seems to move. The sprawling metro of over nine million people is peppered with nightclubs, restaurants, sprawling bazaars and malls... Whirring cement mixers and metallic cranes dotting its skyline reinforce the city's quest for modernisation.

Addis has a million stories to tell. Perhaps the best place to tune into them is at the National Museum on the main King George VI Road. Spread over four floors, the museum displays rare exhibits dating back to the country's last emperor. Millennia-old artworks, royal jewellery, formal apparel, statues - they're all showcased here in different segments along with a wealth of archaeological sites and treasures, the oldest tools in the world, and the remnants of ancient civilisations. Apparently, Ethiopia has over two millennia worth of ancient treasures strewn around - from giant obelisks and hidden tombs of the legendary Queen of Sheba, to castles and shrines.

Ethiopian cuisine
Despite its unflattering images of starvation and famine, one of the highlights of a visit to Ethiopia is its cuisine. Dishes are nuanced with fruits, cinnamon, cloves and herbs (berbere, mitmita). Spicy wots (stews), vegetarian curries and lentils, all placed on the spongy bread injera, a staple of Ethiopian cuisine, constitute an everyday meal. The bread is astonishingly versatile, partnering well with everything from bland lentils to searing hot curries. At a restaurant, I nearly ignored the injera at first, mistaking it for a rolled up hand towel! But once I tasted it, I was hooked and sought it out every day. Apparently, injera is acquiring a global cult following among even Hollywood A-listers, thanks to the gluten-free teff flour it is crafted from.

There is also has an entrenched coffee culture. Legend has it the coffee bean was discovered centuries ago by a shepherd in northern Ethiopia. Since then, Ethiopians have been taking their coffee very seriously indeed. Not for them the impersonal instant variety. They roast their coffee by hand at home and brew it with gravitas. It's a real treat to watch a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony that begins with the chocolate-coloured beans being roasted by hand, ground by mortar and pestle, and then brewed in a traditional clay coffee pot known as the jebena.

Coffee ceremonies are ubiquitous - on streets, in homes, at airports and in restaurants. Traditionally, a full coffee ceremony involves three rounds of coffee that proceed from strong (abol) to medium (tona) to weak (baraka), with the final one considered as bestowing a blessing on the coffee drinker.

As I leave the country, I pick up several packets of aromatic Ethiopian coffee beans at the airport. Even now, every time I brew a cup at home, I am instantly transported back to enchanting Ethiopia.

Source: Khaleej Times