Landing at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa gives you an easy home base, with nearby cities and getaways close by. Addis Ababa is the capital of Ethiopia and the diplomatic capital of Africa, a high-altitude city at 2,300 meters with cool air, eucalyptus hills, and a history unlike anywhere else on the continent. It is busy and sprawling but welcoming, with coffee ceremonies, injera served at every table, and live music that runs late into the night.

Experiences to seek out in Addis Ababa: - Meet Lucy, the 3.2-million-year-old hominid skeleton at the National Museum - Dive into the Merkato, one of the largest open-air markets in Africa - Drive or hike up Entoto for views over the city and the eucalyptus forests - Sit through a traditional coffee ceremony, with beans roasted in front of you - Tear into injera with doro wat and shiro at a local restaurant - Hear azmari singers improvise verses at a neighborhood music house - Visit Holy Trinity Cathedral and the tomb of Haile Selassie - Sip tej, the local honey wine, from a round-bottomed flask

Addis Ababa sits in the center of the country, and the highlands around it reward short trips. Bishoftu, with its crater lakes and lakeside resorts, is about an hour southeast. The Menagesha Suba Forest, one of the oldest protected forests in Africa, is an hour west. Debre Libanos monastery and the Portuguese Bridge over a dramatic gorge are about two hours north, and the rock-hewn church of Adadi Mariam and the ancient stelae of Tiya lie a similar distance south. Visit in late September for Meskel, when a giant bonfire lights up Meskel Square.