Natural Ethiopia

The Danakil Depression in the north east of the country is one of the hottest places on earth.
Rivers of Ethiopia

The Blue Nile
Ethiopia is often referred to as the water tower of East Africa because of the many rivers that pour off the Ethiopian highland plateau. The Blue Nile, also known as Abbay, originates from Lake Tana. From here it starts its long journey to Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, where it meets the White Nile forming together the Great Nile River, the longest river in Africa. The Great Nile River provides water and life to Sudan and Egypt before draining into the Mediterranean Sea. The Blue Nile makes about 80 % of the volume of the Great Nile River.Erta Ale & Dallol
The Danakil Depression is one of the remotest, lowest and hottest places on earth and home of the Afar people. Here the African, Arabic and Indian continental plates drift apart forming one of the most unique volcanic landscapes on earth. This part of the earth is still unstable, the whole area volcanically active. A journey to the Danakil is an adventure in itself. It is here where the African continent will rip apart in a few million years.
Erta Ale
Meaning 'Smoking Mountain' is a 613 m high, absolutely unique volcano. In its round crater there is a constantly erupting lava lake - one of only four on earth. Here you can watch the red-hot magma come to the surface, dry up and be pulled under again. At night, when we climb up to the crater over dried lava, you can see the shine of the magma from far away. To be here feels like being in another world.
National Parks
Blessed with a variety of landscapes as well as abundant bird and wildlife Ethiopia offers astonishing travel opportunities. The land features fall into three main categories, the mountainous, fertile highlands, the lowlands and the Great Rift Valley. While on the highland the climate is moderate, the lowlands are hot and dry. The Rift Valley region, with its occasional hot springs, offers everything from hot to moderate climate. From the peak of Mount Ras Dashen to the depths of the Danakil Depression, Ethiopia is a land of enormous natural beauty.
Bale Mountains National Park
400 km south-west of Addis lays the Bale Mountains National Park with its highest peak, Mount Tullu Deemto. The park is renowned for its distincticeflora and its superb fishing possibilities. With its afro-alpine vegetation, tropical forests and wide grasslands it offers great riding and trekking possibilities. The many diverse biotopes attract a variety of bird- and wildlife and the rivers are teeming with trout, perfect for fly-fishing.
Refer to Trekking in Bale Mountains
The Ethiopian Rift Valley

The crack runs across Ethiopia over a distance of 2800 km. It separates the geologically older Ethiopian Highland and creates in the north of the country, in the Afar region, the famous Danakil depression, which is, with -116 m below zero, one of the lowest and hottest places on earth. The whole area is seismically active while the earth crust is thin, creating volcanoes, natural hot springs and some of the world's last true wildernesses.