Axum was the capital city and seat of the Queen of Sheba in the tenth century B.C. It remains the site of many remarkable antiquities, including the famous monolithic obelisks, or stellar, ancient stone inscriptions, the ruins of very old palace of Queen of Sheba and graves of Axumite kings and ancient gold-silver-and bronze Axumite currency.

Gondar, was Ethiopia's capital for 250 years prior to the rise of King Tewodros II in 1855. The imperial city of Gondar took its name from the Cushitic word gon (great) and the Semitic word dar (city), to form Great City. Though predominantly Christian, and the abode of the highest church dignitaries in the land, the town's inhabitants included many rich Muslim Merchants, as well as a number of Falashas, or Judaic Ethiopians, also called Beta Israel, who were predominantly weavers, blacksmiths, and potters, as well as palace, and church, builders.

LAKE TANA.
Set at an altitude of 1,830m, Lake Tana is the largest lake in Ethiopia, with a surface area of 3,673km 2, and it is also the source of the Blue Nile River, a connection that explains many of Ethiopia's links w ith the ancient world. There are 37 islands that are scattered about the surface of Lake Tana.

HARAR; Established by Sultan Abu Beker Mohammed in 1520. Harar, the Holy City of Ethiopia's Muslim community, is believed to be the forth-holiest city after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. The old City Wall of Harar is the main attraction and symbol of Islamic architecture. Harar has approximately 100 mosques, which form the largest concentration of mosques in the world. Visitors to Harar should inspect the city's unique housing, the colorful dress of its inhabitants, and its stout old walls. Also with a visit are the city's two museums, a colorful markets, and, at night, the 'hyena man', who can be seen, and photographed these animals.

Mursi : Mursi people occupied the land between the Omo River and its tributary, the Mago River. The distinctive trait of the Mursi, shared by other Surmic groups, is the labial and lobular plates worn by the women. A sma ll incision is made in the lower lip and ear lobes of a young Mursi girl during initiation rituals. A small wooden or ceramic disc is inserted into the incision and gradually replaced by larger ones until the full sized disc can be worn. Not all of the women have the labial or lobular discs. The men display their bodies, naked except for the panting of part or all of the skin white. Living in hostile areas and being pressured by neighboring groups, these men proudly show off their scars as proof of their courage, strength, and aggressiveness.

Hamar : The Hamar live in the Southern Omo Zone, or Omo Valley, near the Kenyan border. They share traditions and rituals with surrounding peoples. One of these traditions is the so-called 'jumping over the bull'. If a young man wants to marry the girl of his choice he will have to jump over bulls picked by the girl's family.

Simien Mountains: This park is registered as a World Heritage site by UNESCO. Located in the Simien Mountains, it occupies a surface area of 180 square kilometers. one of the craggiest in Africa. The park is interesting because of the uniqueness of its endemic animals the beauty of its flora, and the majesty of its impressive landscape.

Bale Mountains: In the south-east part of the country, some 425kms away from Addis Ababa, the park is the largest area of Afro-alpine habitat in the whole of Africa.
The Bale Mountains remain an untouched and beautiful world. Rising to a height of more than 4000 meters, the range borders the southern highlands of Ethiopia- Mount Tulu Deemtu, next to Ras Dashen, it reaches 4377 meters above sea level.
The Bale Mountains possess many habitats rich in birds, particularly the Harenna Forest which has been little studied. More than one hundred and sixty species of birds are known from the Park area, but their number is certain to be added to considerably in the future. Since the Bale Mountains are isolated from other similar habitats in Africa by low and dry areas, many endemic species are found. At least twenty-three species of birds are known to be endemic to Ethiopia. No less than fourteen of these species are known to occur in the Bale Mountains National Park area, and several are easily seen every day.

Danakil (Dallol) Depression & Erta'ale Volcanoes.
Erta Ale: Volcano type- Shield volcano; Location- Danakil Depression (Ethiopia), 13.60 0N/ 40.67 0E; Summit elevation- 613 m (2,011 ft); Last eruptions- 1873, 1903, 1904, 1906, 1940, 1967-2004, 2005- ongoing; Typical eruption style- Effusive. Persistent Lava Lake. Erta Ale is one of the few volcanoes on the world that have an almost persistent lava lake. It is an isolated basaltic shield volcano, 50 km wide, rising more than 600 m from below sea level in the barren Danakil depression.