Visit Bahir Dar

Tis Issat, the "smoking water" — the Blue Nile plunges 45 metres over a basalt lip below Lake Tana.

Visit Gondar, the former imperial capital of Ethiopia. Explore the Royal Enclosure (Fasil Ghebbi) with its 17th-century castles and palaces, including Fasilides' Castle. See the Debre Berhan Selassie Church, famous for its ceiling painted with angel faces, and visit the Bath of Fasilides, used for Timkat (Epiphany) celebrations.

Visit Victoria Falls, one of the world's largest waterfalls on the Zambezi River between Zambia and Zimbabwe. See the Main Falls (over 100m high with a 1.7km wide curtain of water), walk through the rainforest (created by spray), and take a helicopter flight for aerial views. Spot wildlife like elephants and hippos in nearby Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park.

Colonial city of churches and murals.

Lake city with a covered wooden bridge.

Visit Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. Explore the National Museum (home to Lucy, a 3.2-million-year-old hominid fossil), see the Holy Trinity Cathedral (burial site of Emperor Haile Selassie), browse the Mercato (one of Africa's largest open-air markets), and enjoy traditional Ethiopian coffee at a local café.

Granite stelae up to 33 metres tall marking the tombs of the Aksumite kings, near the chapel said to hold the Ark of the Covenant.

Terraced turquoise lakes and waterfalls.