- 2 months ago
Ethiopia is one of the most incredible countries in Africa! I recently returned from spending a few weeks exploring Ethiopia and I can't wait to share my experience with you. From the unique tribes of the Omo Valley, to the Mountain Monks of Gheralta, Ethiopia will leave you in awe with its cultures and landscapes. Where is your favorite place in Ethiopia?
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TravelTranscript
00:00What's up guys?
00:01My name is Ryan and I recently turned from exploring the incredible country of Ethiopia
00:05and I want to share with you my favorite places and experiences so here is my Ethiopia Top
00:1010.
00:30Located in Eastern Africa, Ethiopia is one of the most fascinating countries on earth.
00:36It's the most populous landlocked country in the world and it's one of only two African
00:40countries that wasn't colonized by Europe so much of its culture, language, and food
00:44are extremely unique.
00:45From the mountain churches of Keralta to the unique tribes of the Oma Valley, Ethiopia has
00:50so much to offer.
00:51Me and my buddy Ellis Van Jason spent a few weeks exploring this country capturing the
00:55most insane footage and I can't wait to share this video with you.
00:58To start, we flew into the capital city of Addis Ababa and we got picked up by our guide
01:02Negasi with road sun tours and we started our Ethiopia adventure.
01:07The first place we went was the Danical Depression.
01:10Located in the northeastern tip of Ethiopia, the Danical Depression is one of the hottest
01:14places on earth with temperatures reaching over 130 degrees during the summer months.
01:18We came in February so it was the tail end of the winter months but the temperatures still
01:22got up to 100 degrees.
01:24When you're out there, there's no fancy hotels, public toilets, or any modern conveniences.
01:28It's just you, your guides, and whatever you brought in the car.
01:31We planned to spend three days here and I was nervous but I was also extremely excited
01:35to venture into this harsh part of the world.
01:37To get to the Danical Depression, we drove about 9 hours from Addis Ababa to the town
01:41of Samara.
01:42And the next day we drove to probably the most famous place in the area, the Erta Al Volcano.
01:47This place is next level.
01:48It's the most active volcano in Ethiopia and its appearance is constantly changing due to
01:53lava flow.
01:54When we got here, we first went to the camp at the base of the volcano and from there
01:57we hiked up to the crater and it was about a 20 minute walk.
02:00When I got to the crater's rim, I just couldn't believe it.
02:02It was this massive bowl full of black hardened lava and it's just hard to comprehend the
02:07scale of this place.
02:08We decided to walk out on the volcano but I was a little nervous because just a few weeks
02:11prior the volcano had erupted and all the black rock that you see was molten lava.
02:16Our guide led the way and was checking to make sure that the hardened lava was stable.
02:20Not too long ago there was this lava lake here but it must have filled up because it was
02:24completely gone.
02:25I was also a little scared because you could feel the heat from the volcano underneath and
02:29maybe there was molten lava flowing beneath us.
02:31Regardless we kept walking up to one of the main volcanoes where we could see some lava.
02:36It was hard to get close to it due to the volcanic gases.
02:38Now we stayed up there until night time and then the next morning we hiked up for sunrise and
02:43it was one of the most epic settings with the sun rising through the volcanic steam.
02:46My buddy Alice brought his Inspire 3 drone into Ethiopia and we used it this trip to get
02:51some of the most insane 8K footage.
02:53We had this local who helped us out and we got some of the most amazing shots of him walking
02:57on the volcano.
02:58As the morning progressed it started getting really hot so we hiked back down to the camp
03:02and packed up our things and headed to the next location.
03:05We drove through the desolate yet beautiful landscapes and the only source of comfort was
03:08the AC in the car.
03:10After about 4 hours of driving we made it to the Danakil Salt Lake.
03:13It's this massive body of water with dried salt as the shoreline.
03:16There's this one spot called the Escaal swimming pool.
03:19It's this little opening of water and our guide Garret got in it and you just float.
03:23It's crazy because there's this massive lake underneath all the salt that you see so
03:27you gotta be careful while you drive.
03:28Anyways we stayed in the shade of this nearby rock mountain and around sunset we went over
03:32to the shores of the Danakil Salt Lake and there were these camels we wanted to film
03:36as they walked along the salt with the sunset.
03:38The local afar people will harvest the salt and then they walk several days to sail it in other
03:42regions of Ethiopia.
03:43We got some of the most insane footage of the camels walking.
03:46There was almost a perfect reflection of them and the backdrop of the sun was amazing.
03:50That night we slept in the town of Amadella on these cots out in the open.
03:54There was a pad and some blankets on top and it was actually somewhat comfy.
03:57The next morning we woke up at 5 am because we wanted to film the camels again for sunrise
04:02and I think it was even better than sunset.
04:03The sun rose up behind the lake and it created a pink glow with the silhouette of the 5 camels walking
04:09and it has to go down as one of the most memorable shots we've ever filmed.
04:12It was such an amazing morning filming the camels.
04:14Afterwards we headed to one of the most toxic and inhospitable places on earth, Dalot.
04:19It's located at an elevation of negative 130 meters and it was the place I wanted to visit
04:24most in the Danakil depression.
04:25It was only about a 15 minute drive to get there but we had to come before it got too late in
04:29the day because this place is extremely hot.
04:31We had to make this short but super tiring hike due to the heat.
04:34After about 20 minutes of walking we made it to the famous Silver Springs.
04:38This water is beautiful but it's extremely dangerous.
04:40If you've fallen, the sulfuric acid can literally melt your skin off.
04:44Aside from the dangerous place, I mean I just couldn't believe the scenery.
04:46The sulfuric pools had this rainbow of yellow, white, red, and orange colors.
04:51It just looked so amazing especially from the drone's view.
04:54There was some volcanic vents shooting out steam and just some other insane geological features.
04:58This was once a mining town for sulfur and it holds the world record for the highest
05:02average temperature for an inhabited location.
05:05I mean I can't imagine living here especially without air conditioning.
05:08We could only be here for an hour due to the extreme heat and we had to head back down.
05:12Right on the edge of Dolo, there's this other fascinating place called the Salt Mountains.
05:16It's these bizarre shaped mountains made up of salt.
05:18There was actually a surprising amount of birds here but our guide said they are destined to die
05:22because they came here thinking that there was water but all the pools in the area are toxic.
05:26I mean this place is truly so inhospitable.
05:29After three days of exploring the Danakil depression, it was time to leave.
05:32It wasn't the easiest or most comfortable place to travel but it's easily one of the
05:35most memorable destinations I've ever been.
05:38The next place we went to was the mountain churches of Corralta.
05:41Locally in the Tigray region, we drove about 7 hours from Dolo to get here and due to the
05:45high elevation the temperature was much cooler here which was a nice change.
05:49The first mountain church we visited was the Mariam Korkor Monastery.
05:53To get there we hiked up around 5am with a local monk.
05:56It took us about an hour and we waited for sunrise.
05:59The sun peaked over the horizon and lit up the mountain with orange and pink colors.
06:02Our main goal was filming the monks and we got some of those insane shots of them just
06:06walking along the cliff sides.
06:08I think it's some of the most epic footage we captured during our time in Ethiopia.
06:11After filming the monks I wanted to explore a bit.
06:13I scrambled up the rocks and found this mountain top that offered an insanity to the area.
06:17I mean the mountains here are next level.
06:19After we filmed where the monks live and also got some more amazing footage of them.
06:23We stayed here a few hours and hiked down before the sun got too strong.
06:26Later that day we went to one of the most famous churches in the region and possibly
06:29the country, Abunayamata.
06:32Also known as the church in the sky, Abunayamata is one of the most incredible and inaccessible
06:36churches in the world.
06:37It's built in an elevation of 2,580 meters into the side of a cliff.
06:42Now to get there the hike honestly wasn't too bad, it took about 45 minutes, but the difficult
06:46part is this area where you have to rock climb.
06:48You take your shoes off and the guides help you, I mean honestly it wasn't too bad.
06:52When we got to the top, the monk was waiting for us.
06:54He walked the narrow path of the dangerous cliff on one side, with no rope or anything
06:58else to hold onto.
06:59After the cliff lock, you enter the famous Abunayamata church.
07:02According to legend, it was founded in the 6th century AD.
07:05I mean I was blown away by this place.
07:07The fact that it was carved straight out of the mountain is just crazy to me.
07:10The ceiling and the walls also had these beautiful paintings of the 12 apostles and
07:13the 9 saints and it's believed that these paintings date back at least 500 years.
07:17It was just cool to watch the monk read the bible inside.
07:20Later we had to get some drone shots of the church and we just got some of the most amazing
07:24footage of the monks in the mountain.
07:25It got dark quickly and we had a rock climb in darkness which added to the adventure.
07:29The next day we came back but this time we set up at the bottom of the mountain so we
07:33could do some more filming with the drones and Ellis got some of the most insane FEV shots
07:37of the monk.
07:38It was such a memorable time filming this incredible place in Ethiopia.
07:41Now afterwards we're going to visit the Simian Mountains.
07:44Located in northern Ethiopia, the Simian Mountains are home to the highest point in the country
07:48with an elevation of 4,550 meters and it's one of the few places in Ethiopia that receives
07:54snow.
07:55To get to the mountains the best way is to fly into the sea at Gondar and from there it's
07:59a couple hours drive.
08:00I think there are some of those unique mountains in Africa.
08:02The shapes of them are just so peculiar.
08:04During our trip we weren't able to visit the mountains because there is some political
08:07tension in the region so a guy didn't advise that we go but my friend Joe went here a few
08:11years ago and got some of this insane footage so I'll link his video in the description
08:15below.
08:16Now another one of my favorite features of the Simian Mountains is it's wildlife.
08:18They are home to the Kalata baboon or bleeding heart monkey which can only be found in the
08:23Ethiopia highlands.
08:24They often come right up to you and just love to graze and eat the grass.
08:27I mean the Simian Mountains are such an interesting part of Africa.
08:30Now afterwards we're going to head to Lalibela.
08:32Created in the Amhara region of Ethiopia I'd say Lalibela is another one of the most unique
08:37and famous places in Ethiopia.
08:39The town is one of the holiest cities in the country and it's a center of pilgrimage.
08:43Ethiopia was one of the earliest places to adopt Christianity back in the 4th century
08:47AD and the crowning feature of Lalibela is the church of St. George.
08:51It's one of the 11 rock churches in Lalibela and it was carved out of volcanic stone and
08:55it stands over 40 feet tall.
08:57It's believed to have been completed around the early 13th century.
09:00The churches of Ethiopia are truly next level.
09:02Now afterwards we're going to head to Harar.
09:04Located in the eastern part of Ethiopia, Harar is an ancient city that is believed to be settled
09:09at least a thousand years ago and the religion is predominantly Islam in this region which
09:13is unique because most of Ethiopia is Christian.
09:16Now I love how Harar is located on a hilltop and has an ancient wall that surrounds it.
09:20Now one popular attraction of Harar is the hyenas.
09:22There's a local man who has befriended the hyenas in the area and he feeds them every
09:26night.
09:27After we're going to head to Dorsey.
09:29Located in the Galmo Highlands about an hour drive from Arba Minch.
09:32Dorsey is this little village nestled in the mountains and there's this cool tribe that
09:36lives there.
09:37We did a tour of the village and there were some really cool traditional huts and then
09:40they showed us how they make this fermented dough out of false banana plant leaves.
09:43They did a travel banana for us and it was really cool to see their culture.
09:46If you're in Arba Minch it's worth a visit.
09:49For our final destination we're going to head to the Omo Valley.
09:52Located in southern Ethiopia near the border of Kenya and South Sudan.
09:55The Omo Valley is one of the most famous places in the country mainly for its diversity
09:59of local tribes.
10:00I mean there's so many tribes here and they have very unique cultures and traditions.
10:04To get there you can fly from Addis Ababa to the town of Jinka and then from there drive
10:08through the tribes.
10:09One of the tribes we visited was the Karo.
10:11They are one of the smallest tribes in the country with only a few thousand people.
10:14They are famous for their white body paintings.
10:16Now to see them we drove to their village that is located on this hill overlooking the Omo
10:20River.
10:21We got to spend some time with them.
10:22They were such fascinating people and they even did a body paint on Ellis.
10:26Another one of the most famous tribes is the Hammer.
10:28They are a beautiful people with very distinct hair and they style it with red clay.
10:32They also have a famous bull jumping ceremony which we weren't able to film.
10:35We went to one of the villages and spent the sunset with them and it was just cool to see
10:39their local way of life.
10:40Now my favorite people in the Omo Valley were the stick boys.
10:43They are the Bona tribe.
10:44The stick boys are these young kids and teenagers who use stilts to help them seed the cattle
10:48above the long grass and also it protects them from snakes.
10:51I remember when I first saw these guys just standing in the middle of the street I couldn't
10:55believe it.
10:56I mean their sticks are huge and it makes these kids over 10 feet tall.
10:59They had so much energy and were just absolute homies.
11:01They even let us try the sticks and it's way harder than it looks.
11:05Now we told them we wanted to film them for sunset.
11:07So we went to this different spot and we got some of the most epic shots of them just walking
11:11along the road and these kids were so happy and it was a perfect way to end our time in
11:15Ethiopia.
11:16Well that is it for my Ethiopia top 10.
11:18I'm barely scratching the surface of the country and I wish I had more time to see
11:21some more places.
11:22So I gotta come back for part 2.
11:24Special thanks again to my buddy Ellis van Jason.
11:26He made an insane video of our time in Africa and I'll link that video in the description
11:30below.
11:31Also huge shout out to our guide Negasi and Ruletan Tours.
11:34He made our time in Ethiopia absolutely incredible and I can't recommend him and his company enough.
11:39I mean it's not sponsored or anything I just really enjoyed our time together and if you're
11:42planning on visiting Ethiopia they're a great option.
11:45Now if you want to see more Ethiopia footage I have a second channel called Scenic Relaxation
11:49where I post hour long films and I just released a video on Ethiopia that you can check out.
11:54Anyways it's Ryan and we will see you later.
12:09We'll see you later.
12:33We'll see you later.
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