For most visitors to Ethiopia, it’s all about the north. More than anywhere else on Earth, northern Ethiopia has the ability to wow you day after day after day. Known as the Historical Circuit, there are over two millennia’s worth […]

For most visitors to Ethiopia, it’s all about the north. More than anywhere else on Earth, northern Ethiopia has the ability to wow you day after day after day.

Known as the Historical Circuit, there are over two millennia’s worth of ancient treasures scattered about, from giant obelisks and hidden tombs at Aksum to a collection of castles in and around Gonder, to unique churches in Lalibela, Tigray, Lake Tana and many other places. Not to be outdone by human mastery, Mother Nature really let her creative juices flow here. The Danakil Depression, an esteemed destination among adventure travelers, features a permanent lava lake and a bright-yellow sulphuric plain, while the Simien Mountains wrinkle the land with canyons and peaks with a beauty you’ll struggle to find anywhere else in Africa.

Bet Giyorgis

When you think of Lalibela, you’re thinking of Bet Giyorgis. Resting off on its own, St George’s Church is Lalibela’s masterpiece. Representing the apogee of the rock-hewn tradition, it’s the most visually perfect church of all, a 15m-high three-tiered plinth in the shape of a Greek cross – a perfectly proportioned shape that required no internal pillars. Due to its exceptional preservation, it also lacks the obtrusive roofing seen over the other churches.

Abuna Yemata Guh

There’s nowhere on earth quite like Abuna Yemata Guh. Although less impressive architecturally than most, the church is spectacularly sited within a cliff face, halfway up a sheer rock pinnacle 4km west of Megab. The first 45 minutes of the climb is mildly challenging, with a couple of tricky sheer sections requiring toehold action; guides carry ropes (Birr150) for the final push. The last two minutes require nerves of steel to make the final scramble and precarious ledge walk over a 200m drop.

Simien Mountains National Park

No matter how you look at it, the Unesco World Heritage–listed Simien Mountains National Park is one of Africa’s most beautiful ranges. This massive plateau, riven with gullies and pinnacles, offers tough but immensely rewarding trekking along the ridge that falls sheer to the plains far below. It’s not just the scenery (and altitude) that will leave you speechless, but also the excitement of sitting among a group of gelada monkeys or watching magnificent Walia ibex joust on rock ledges.

Northern Stelae Field

Despite the dizzying grandeur of the numerous rock needles reaching for the stars, it’s what’s under your feet here that’s most important. Amazingly, about 90% of the field hasn’t yet been dug, so no matter where you walk, there’s a good chance there’s an undiscovered tomb with untold treasures beneath. This is part of Aksum’s appeal: the thought that fascinating finds and secrets lurk in the depths. That said, these are some of the ancient world’s most striking monuments.

Debre Damo

Debre Damo is one of Ethiopia’s most important monasteries and is thought to date back to Aksumite times and the 6th-century reign of King Gebre Meskel. The monastery’s formidable cliffs make for one of Ethiopia’s most memorable experiences (for men, at least – women aren’t allowed up). To reach the monastery, you’ll need to scale a sheer 15m cliff; there’s a thick leather rope to help you climb and the monks will tie a second line around your torso and help pull you up.

Debre Berhan Selassie

Welcome to one of Ethiopia’s most beautiful churches. Appealing as it is on the outside with its stone walls, arched doors, and two-tiered thatch roof, it’s the inner sanctuary of Debre Berhan Selassie, with its glorious frescos, that really shine. But it was very nearly destroyed like most of Gonder’s other churches. When the marauding Sudanese dervishes showed up outside the church gates in the 1880s, a giant swarm of bees surged out of the compound, chasing the invaders away.

Bet Medhane Alem

Resembling a massive Greek temple more than a traditional Ethiopian church, Bet Medhane Alem is impressive for its size and majesty. Said to be the largest rock-hewn church in the world, it measures 33.5m by 23.5m and is more than 11.5m high. Some scholars have suggested it may have been a copy in the rock of the original St Mary of Zion church in Aksum.

Bet Amanuel

Free-standing and monolithic, Bet Amanuel is Lalibela’s most finely carved church. Some have suggested it was the royal family’s private chapel. It perfectly replicates the style of Aksumite buildings, with its projecting and recessed walls mimicking alternating layers of wood and stone seen at places such as Yemrehanna Kristos and Debre Damo. The most striking feature of the interior is the double Aksumite frieze atop the nave.

Yemrehanna Kristos

Despite Yemrehanna Kristos being one of Ethiopia’s best-preserved late-Aksumite buildings, few people reward themselves with a visit. And a reward it is. The church is different because it’s built rather than excavated. Seeing the stepped exterior facade, created from alternating wood and stone layers, you’ll understand why so many of Lalibela’s rock-hewn churches look like they do. And knowing that Yemrehanna Kristos may predate Lalibela’s churches by up to 80 years, you have before you a virtual blueprint of greatness.

Bet Maryam

Connected to Bet Medhane Alem by a tunnel is a large courtyard containing three churches. The first, Bet Maryam, is small, yet designed and decorated to an exceptionally high standard. It’s also the only church with porches extending off it. Dedicated to the Virgin (who’s particularly venerated in Ethiopia), this is the most popular church among pilgrims. Some believe it may have been the first built in Lalibela.

Ura Kidane Meret

The Zege Peninsula’s largest and most famous monastery is hardly the most attractive on the outside, but its maqdas (inner sanctuary) are beautifully painted and it holds an important collection of 14th- to 20th-century crosses and crowns that will one day be displayed in a big new museum. Outside its gate is the private Zeghie Satekela Museum, with a collection of household items displayed in a 300-year-old home. The monastery is a 20-minute walk from the landing.

Narga Selassie

Set in the middle of the lake on Dek Island, Narga Selassie is peaceful, atmospheric and little visited. Built in the mid-18th century, it has a Gonderian influence and the fine original paintings include a portrait of Mentewab and there’s also a bas-relief of James Bruce (smoking his pipe) at the main entrance. It’s three hours by boat and a two-minute walk from the landing.

Ark of the Covenant Chapel

In between the old and new St Mary of Zion churches is the real reason for most people’s devotion: a tiny, carefully guarded chapel that houses what most Ethiopians believe is the legendary Ark of the Covenant. Don’t think you can take a peek: just one specially chosen guardian has access to the Ark, and even he is not allowed to look at it.

Dega Estefanos

One of the lake’s most sacred monasteries, Dega Estefanos (men only) was rebuilt in the mid-19th century and though the church isn’t too interesting, it holds a good selection of treasures (including a 16th-century painting of the Madonna) and the mummified remains in glass coffins of five former Ethiopian emperors (13th to 17th centuries). One of the bodies is Zara Yaqob, one of the most important Ethiopian emperors.

St Mary of Zion Churches Complex

Though religions have come and gone, Aksum has always remained a holy city – welcome to the centre of the universe for Christian Ethiopians. A church of some form has stood here since the earliest days of Ethiopian Christianity and it was God himself who, descending from heaven, indicated that a church should be built here, though the original church is long gone. The complex includes the new church, old church, museum and the chapel said to house the Ark of the Covenant.

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