community tourism

For those seeking a genuine experience, spectacular landscapes and the flares of authentic culture, look no further than Gurage. Over the last months we explored and designed tours specifically crafted to immerse visitors in the daily rhythms of Gurage communities, and this article tells you something about what expects you there.

After successfully overcoming 2 crises like Covid-19 and the conflict in the Northern part of the country, we organized again the annual training for our internal staff and freelance tourism professionals. We found it important to bring together all these professionals after such long time - to reconnect, spend some valuable time together, improve our knowledge and fill the small gaps that this long time with few job opportunities inevitably created.

Yes, we Ethiopians and Ethiopia-lovers are all victims of the Tigray conflict, it really affected the whole country and its people which all lost unconditionally. There is no beauty from war. The unconditional love, hospitality, and kindness of the Tigray people, the beautiful landscapes, the breath-taking views from every mountain, the spiritually rich churches and monasteries – it all planted roots deep in our hearts. Our absence from this region is just about three years, but it has a feeling of three centuries and more. What now matters most is the empowerment, courage and mental strength to reopen and restart – for us and more than all for the people in Tigray.

I planned to write a classical report about the hiking trip of last weekend, but when I thought about the title of this blog article, I changed plans and decided to put the focus on the endless possibilities to discover new places in Ethiopia.

Learn how to combine community trekking, mountain biking, running and some classical visits all in one exciting outdoor adventure with Ride the Rift, a collaborative response to the Corona pandemic by SimienEcoTours and three other tour companies to re-energize the tourism sector.
These tours are designed for active travellers and outdoor freaks, and we present you here plenty of options to choose from among the Ride the Rift Special Offers we're planning to stage in autumn 2022.