Ethiopia is the original home of coffee Arabica and its rich coffee culture is alive in the odorous and coffee ceremonies held daily all over the country.Ethiopia’s unique cuisine – dominated by pancake-like injera, heaped with a tantalizingly spiced selection of vegan or meat dishes – will delight visitors with adventurous palates.

A host of colorful Christian and Islamic festivals includes the Meskel Ceremony held in Addis Ababa or Aksum, and Timkat, best experienced in Gondar.High-quality silver and wooden crosses, delicately hand-woven fabrics, and goatskin ‘picnic baskets’ are among several unique handicrafts produced in Ethiopia.

Homegrown music includes atmospheric 1,500-year-old church liturgies and chants, bright lurching Ethio-pop from the 1970s, and the often mischievous improvised lyrics of bard-like ‘azmari’ singers.