Ethiopia features some of the highest and most stunning places on the African continent, such as the jaggedly carved Simien Mountains, and some of the lowest, such as the sulphur fumaroles and lunar-like landscape of the Danakil Depression. It is also one of Africa's greatest cultural destinations, with no fewer than eight UNESCO World Heritage sites, including the mystical rock-hewn churches of Lalibela.

Ethiopia is the only country in Africa never to have been fully colonized (with the exception of a five-year occupation by Mussolini's Italy) and so retains a unique culture, has its own script and language (Amharic) and maintains a strong sense of national identity.

Ethiopia is situated in northeast Africa, bordered by Eritrea, Sudan, Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti. It is about twice the size of France. The central area is a vast highland region of volcanic rock forming a watered, temperate zone surrounded by hot, arid, inhospitable desert. The Great Rift Valley, which starts in Palestine, runs down the Red Sea and diagonally southwest through Ethiopia, Kenya and Malawi.

From the Word Travels destination guide to Ethiopia copyright Globe Media 2011