Travel Eritrea
Looking to travel Eritrea? This country stretches along the Red Sea for quite some distance. With all of this prime beachfront property, you'd think the tourism industry would be booming. Unfortunately, as is so often the case in Africa, political unrest and territorial wars seem to be keeping this country from reaching its full potential. Tourism in Eritrea still isn't very established, so this probably isn't the place for your run-of-the-mill tourist.
Bordered on the horn of Africa by the Red Sea coastline to the east, Sudan to the west, Djibouti to the southeast and Ethiopia to the south is Eritrea, a country with a remarkable past, present and future. An astounding recent discovery of ancient rock paintings supports a human presence dating back 8,000 years BCE.
Despite milleniums of conquests over Eritrea, the country has its own culture, cuisine and even a coffee ceremony. An Eritrea language called Ge'ez (also called Amhara) refers to Eritrea's genre of music too. The official language is Trigriniya. English is welcomed too.
The travel attractions of Eritrea include the beaches and the water sports of the Red Sea. Snorkeling and diving is by chartered boats from the city of Massawa, Eritrea's main port city. Other cities to visit are Keren and the capital city of Asmara. Keren is on top of a hill for a scenic trek and has both Arab and Camel markets. Asmara offers a cultural museum, hiking and a variety of Italian and Eritrean cuisine.Naburo is an active volcano in Eritrea. It spreads ash clouds over the entire country and neighboring countries too. Check for weather information and airline reservation cancellations before travelling to Eritrea. Visas are required from embassies to enter the country before travel dates. ATMs are often not available, so Eritrea travelers needing money must go to Western Union offices.
For the traveler who doesn't mind a bit of hardship, deciding to travel Eritrea will give you many things worth seeing. The before mentioned Red Sea coastline offers plenty of ways to entertain yourself and Eritrea also contains part of the Great Rift Valley. This valley is the result of the tectonic plate of Africa dividing into two seperate plates and has resulted in some extremely interesting volcanic landscape. The Danakil Depression is one such example. It is 100m below sea level with temperatures reaching over 122 Farenheit (50 Celsius).
Though the people of Eritrea are friendly and warm, it is not legal to talk badly or to criticize the country. A conflict does exist between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Check with embassies on travel advisories that may be in effect at the time of departure.
Quick Info:
Capital: Asmara
Language(s): Tigrinya, Arabic
Religion(s): Christianity and Islam
Currency: Nakfa (ERN)
Electricity Voltage: 230V
Calling Code: 291
Popular Travel Destinations:
- Cathedral of Asmara
- Al Khulafa Al Rashiudin Mosque
- Danakil Depression
Official Website: www.shaebia.org/
Travel Forums:
*Note* - Some of the graphics on this page were taken from the CIA World Factbook which contains a wealth of information on every country in the world. I highly recommend it.