ethiopia
Why should I plan your trip? Because Ethiopia sat in the back of my mind for years before I ever got there, and now I can't stop sending people.
RECOMMENDED STAY
Ideal Duration
STARTING PRICE
Per Person Per Day
IDEAL MONTHS
Best Time to Visit
$1,300+
8+ days
oct-mar
Addis Ababa, Lalibela & the Simien MountainsTHE COUNTRY THAT SETTLED ITSELF IN THE BACK OF MY MIND
Ethiopia was never a country I studied from a distance, it was one I was quietly obsessed with long before I had a reason to go. Growing up on the other side of the continent, I couldn't square what I'd been told about Africa with a place that had never been colonized, that wrote its own alphabet, that kept its own calendar seven years behind the rest of the world. I've sat with tribal chiefs there the same way I've sat with neuroanatomists and, once, the Dalai Lama, and each of those conversations taught me something different about what people choose to hold onto.
Where to go in
ethiopia
Eleven churches carved directly downward into volcanic rock in the 12th century, not constructed but excavated, still active houses of worship where the ritual inside hasn't changed even as the stone around it has weathered for eight centuries.
Lalibela
Lake Tana
Ethiopia's largest lake, its island monasteries reachable only by boat, some holding manuscripts and religious artifacts protected for centuries by isolation alone.
Jagged escarpments and high-altitude trails home to the Gelada baboon, found nowhere else on earth, and some of the most dramatic trekking terrain in Africa.
Simien Mountains
A capital where thousand-year-old tradition and fast-moving modern life share the same street corner, and the natural starting point before the country opens into its highlands.
Addis Ababa
are you ready for ethiopia?
DON’T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT
TRAVEL + LEISURE
"Casewit spoke to the impact and importance of exploring the world outside your comfort zone."
AUSTIN Based Traveler
"Excellence is the word that comes to mind when I think of Sarah Casewit and my recent trip.”
BOSTON Based Traveler
"So many nights, my last thought before falling asleep was what a lovely day we'd had together. We can't wait to plan our next trip with her."
PICK MY BRAIN
