Ethiopia is a land of wonder and enchantment, a country with one of the richest histories on the African continent, a land of contrasts and surprises, of remote and wild places, home to cultured and friendly people who are descended from some of the world's oldest civilizations.

The abundance of natural beauty that blessed Ethiopia offers remarkable variety of landscapes .Afro Alpine highlands soaring to around 4300 meters, chain of mountains, the splendors of the Great Rift Valley, white water rivers, and giant waterfalls, dense and lush forests. Ethiopia is the 4^th largest Bio-Diversity zone in the world and has more unique species of flora and fauna and there are more than 50 National Parks, wild life sanctuaries, wild life reserves and controlled hunting areas.

Ethiopia traces the history of existence as a state to the great Axumite Empire and the biblical Queen of Sheba. It is the oldest independent country in Africa and in the world, in Ethiopia Nature, Culture and History merge to form a timeless appeal. This was the cradle of human kind including our celebrated ancestors Lucy, Selam and Ardi and believed to be the ancestors of every one on planet earth. Therefore Ethiopia welcomes travelers to discover the footprints of your ancestors.

The Greek historian Herodotus, of the fifth century BC, describes ancient Ethiopia in his writings, while the Bible's Old Testament records the Queen of Sheba's visit to Jerusalem and remains of the Queen of Sheba’s palace can still be seen today in Axum, in the province of Tigray, northern Ethiopia. The Axumite kingdom was one of the great civilizations of ancient world and has left behind the mystery giant stele found at Axum. Axum is also home to many other extensive historical sites, including the home of the Ark of the Covenant.

In the middle ages, great religious civilization flourished in many parts of the country, particularly at Lalibela where churches hewn out of massif monolithic rock revealing great faith and architectural skills. The Walled city of Harar (Jugol) and the 17^th century castles of Gondar are the most visible expressions of the relatively near past history of Ethiopia. Ethiopia is the only African country to possess an alphabet with more than 2000 years old. It is one of the two countries on African continent to have maintained independence in the colonial era.

It is not without reason that the great historian, Conti-Rossini, characterized Ethiopia as a rich cultural mosaic. This is due to its several different languages and dialects and as many, if not more, cultural variations. There are more than 82 different tribal groups speaking different languages and have their own cultural codes.