Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa, the world’s third highest capital city, lies in the central highlands of Ethiopia at an altitude of 2,400 m.

It is a relatively new city, founded in 1886 by Emperor Menelik II. Today it is home to a major university, a huge open-air market – the Mercato – and the Ethiopian National Museum.

• Enjoy an evening of Ethio-Jazz in one of Addis Jazz cafes
• Explore the city’s museums and historic churches
• Visit the Mercato market, one of Africa’s largest.
• Go to the space observatory in the Entoto Hills and enjoy panoramic views over Addis.

Addis has several interesting churches and other religious sites, and, although these are not as important as those in Axum and Lalibela, they are still worth a visit. Addis is also the current home of “Lucy” a hominid skeleton discovered in 1974 in Hadar, in the Danakil region of Northern Ethiopia and believed to date back 3.5 million years.