North Ethiopia |
Written by Jerem |
Thursday, 26 January 2012 |
Coming from Sudan, the landscape changes rapidly near the border, from the desert to some kind of savanah, and then the road climbs to the ethiopian high plateau First 'big' city after the border isGonder. As most of Ethiopia, this city as a rich history, and hosts one of the famous sights of the country : Fasiladas' palace (XVIIIth century) and some other castles built in the same complex. 100 kilometres north of Gonder is the Simien mountains national park, some of the most impressive landscapes of Ethiopia. The park lies at more than 3000 metres high with some peaks above 4000 metres, the higher being Ras daschen at 4600 metres high. West of the park is a very steep and high escarpment, dominating part of the ethiopian plateau. There are few villages on these mountains, not accessible by road, but boasting very nice views The walk down to the camp, with the mandatory 'guide'... As any national park in Africa, the simien park is home to some 'exotic' animal species : some birds... some other birds... monkeys... and funny-looking kind of dears I continued my route up to the north of Ethiopia, riding what is said to be the worst ethiopian main road. In the last years, ethiopian road infrastructure improved a lot (thanks to the chinese road companies again), and this 200 kilometres mountaineous stretch is the last main road still not paved. Currently the work are in progress and make the driving even worse. where the dust mixes with the exhaust gases Fortunately, the landscapes are still very rewarding I eventually met again Willem and Esther on that road using a good stretch of road to overtake a donkey and back to the asphalt roads again Religion, especialy ethiopian orthodoxism (a separate branch of christianity), is very important in daily life. Lots of churches are worth a visit, they have nice paintings... ... and nice books with pictures for those who can't read ethiopian alphabet When not on the high plateau, Ethiopia can be hot, and cactus-like shadow is welcome Some other strange birds along the road... Then my route goes south, with still a lot of elevation and maybe a bit more water and greenery And up again to dry high plateau Next stop are the 11 rock hewn churches of Lalibela. Some of them are now protected from the rain by the UNESCO-funded hideous roofs. Lalibela 's churches attract To access the church, this way please... But i eventualy managed to take a picture with nobody on it ! Most famous of all, and maybe one of Ethiopia's emblem is Bet Giyorgis cross shaped church |
Comments
Very nice pictures.
Greetings,
Agnieszka i Tomek ( Poland )
How the hell are you? ..and where the hell are you. Bryce and myself almost got to Cape Town (Gaborone) and boom clutch went. Should be stuck here for a while.. so close lol. Anyway drop us a line and let us know what's happening.
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