No visa is required for the nationals of Kenya, Djibouti, and Sudan.
In addition nationals of the following countries can easily get a
visa up on arrival in the air port.
ARGENTINA . AUSTRALIA . AUSTRIA . BELGIUM . BRAZIL . CANADA . CHINA
. DENMARK . FINLAND . FRANCE . GERMANY . GREECE . IRELAND . ISRAEL .
ITALY . JAPAN . KOREA REPUBLIC . KUWAIT . LUXEMBOURG . MEXICO .
NETHERLANDS . NEW ZEALAND . NORWAY . POLAND . PORTUGAL . RUSSIAN
FEDERATION . SOUTH AFRICA . SPAIN . SWEDEN . SWITZERLAND . TAIWAN
(PROVINCE OF CHINA) . UNITED KINGDOM . UNITED STATES.
Nationals out of the mentioned countries above can apply for a visas
at where available the Ethiopian Diplomatic Missions Offices.
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The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is a developing country
located in the northeastern part of Africa commonly known as ' The
Horn of Africa'. It lies in the equatorial region between 30 - 180
north and 330 - 480 east, Eritrea and Djibouti bound in on the
northeast, on the east and southeast by Somalia, on the south by
Kenya and on the west by the Sudan. Ethiopia, as large as France and
Spain combined, has an area of 1,112,000 Sq. Km? It is the tenth
largest country in Africa. It is a democratic national comprising of
11 semi-autonomous administrative regions organized loosely along
major ethnic lines. It has an agriculturally dominated economy,
which is about 65 per cent of the land is presently cultivated.
Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa having its own
calendar, alphabet and clock.
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Lucy is a 3.5 million years old female skeleton, which is among the
important archaeological discoveries that make Ethiopia to have the
prestigious title of 'the cradle of mankind'. It is a complete
direct hominid fossil discovered in the north - eastern part of
Ethiopia at the place called Hadar. Now any tourists in the National
museum in Addis Ababa can visit it. So the fact that the most
crucial discoveries, including the Lucy's, have taken places in
Ethiopia make the country the most probable site for the cradle of
mankind
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Ethiopia is considered to be the' mosaic of cultural diversity. 'The
population of Ethiopia is estimated to be about 72 million. It is
the home of more than 80 ethnic groups. Based on the language they
speak, they can be divided into Semitic, cushetic, Nilotic and
Omotic stocks. Despite their diversity, Ethiopians are characterized
with peace, hospitality and struggle for development. The
Ethiopians, often called the 'Habesha' are generally sociable and
friendly, not at all hostile to tourists. Ethiopians are proud of
their culture and civilization, which pre-date those of Europe. They
are known for their unforgettable hospitality and well-deserved
cultures.
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A wide variety of different dishes are available in Ethiopia and
most of them are unique to the country so you have to familiarize
yourself first with the names of different dishes. You can choose
from the spicy and hot Doro Wot, Kitfo, or Key Wot to less spicy
dishes like Alicha Wot you can get these foods virtually anywhere in
the country and portions are generous and very cheap. There are also
home made and fabricated local drinks for you to choose from Araki-
a strong alcoholic beverage made from millet and maize, Tej - a mead
like drink made from honey and Tela - locally brewed beer from
maize, wheat and barely and Guder- the Ethiopian wine.
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Ethiopia's economy is predominantly agricultural. The highlands are
very fertile, which contain many large rivers with enormous untapped
potential for irrigation projects. About 90 per cent of the
population earns their living from the land, mainly as subsistence
farmers. Agriculture is the backbone of the national economy and the
principal exports from this sector are coffee, oil seeds, pulses,
flowers, vegetables, sugar and foodstuffs for animals. There is also
a thriving livestock sector, exporting carrel on the hoof and hides
and skins. 25% of the populations grow coffee and it accounts for
55% of Ethiopia's exports.
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A volcanically formed central plateau, isolated on three sides by
low- lying desert dominates the Ethiopian landscape. The central
plateau, often referred to as the Ethiopian highlands, has an
average altitude of above 2,000m and includes 20 peaks of 4,000m or
higher. The Ethiopia highlands are dramatically mountainous, no more
than where they are bisected by the Rift valley, which starts at the
Red sea, then continues through the Denakil depression and through
southern Ethiopia to Mozambique in Southern Africa. The part of the
Rift valley, south of Addis Ababa, is notable for its string of
eight lakes. The most extensive mountain ranges on the highlands are
the Semien, which lie directly north of Gondar, and Bale, which lies
in the southern highlands to the east of the Rift Valley. Mount Ras
Dashen in the Semien is at 4,620m, the fourth highest peak in
Africa. The highlands also form the source of four major river
systems. The most known of these is the Blue Nile or Abbay, which
starts at Lake Tana in the northwest and supplies nine- tenths of
the Nile's water, which eventually reaches Egypt's Nile valley.
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Ethiopia shows a wide climatic variation, ranging from the peaks of
the Semien and Bale, which receive periodic snowfall, to regular
daytime temperatures of over 500C in the Denakil Desert
As a rule, the highland has a temperate climate and average day time
temperature of 160C. Due to their proximity to the
Equator, the eastern lowlands and far south is dray and hot. The
western lowlands are moist and hot, making them one part of the
country that feels truly tropical. The southern rift valley, much of
which is at the relatively high altitude of 1.500m, is temperate to
hot and seasonally moist. The general precipitation pattern is that
the bulk of the rain in the highlands and Rift valley falls between
mid-June and early October. The rainy season in the Rift Valley
generally starts and ends a few weeks earlier than in the highlands.
The northeastern highlands have a less reliable rainy season than
other highland parts of Ethiopia. In normal rainy season the
highlands receive an average rainfall of 1,000mm. From a tourist's
point of view, rain tends to fall in dramatic storms, which end as
suddenly as they start a situation that is infinitely easier for
travel than are days of protracted drizzle.
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Ethiopia follows the Julian calendar, which consists of twelve
months of thirty days each and a thirteenth month of five days (six
days on leap year). You can see the sun every day of the year That
is why we call our country- a country where the sun shines thirteen
months. You will be seven years younger when you arrive in Ethiopia
because the calendar is seven years and eight months behind the
western calendar.
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Ethiopia has a different time calculating system and three hours
ahead of Green witch Mean time (GMT). The Ethiopian day is
calculated in a manner similar to that in many equatorial countries,
where day and night is always the same length. Time remains constant
through the year counting starts from western 6 and 6 Western 7 is
there fore one o'clock, noon is 6 o' clock and 6 is 12 o'clock. In
Addis Ababa, then sunrise and sunset at around 6:30 and 18.45
respectively.
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