Ethiopia

A brand-new list by the United Nations World Tourism Organization is highlighting rural communities across the globe that are harvesting tourism for good.

Although many travellers will have heard of the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela in Ethiopia, few will know about the "new Lalibela" being carved out of the rockface by a devoted monk.

This Ethiopian hotspot is home to more native species – including the rare Ethiopian wolf – than any other area of comparable size on the planet.

The tribal Afar people have inhabited this arid moonscape for centuries, eking out a living by transporting salt across the brutal desert by camel caravans.

Getting to the frescoed, 1,000-year-old cave churches of Ethiopia’s Gheralta Mountains requires climbing sheer rock walls and skirting cliff edges – all without so much as a rope.

Dystopian and singularly beautiful, Lake Abbe is a desolated landscape of limestone chimneys and active geothermal activity that may one day form the world’s next ocean.

They were found through a quirk of the region’s geopolitical history, which left a photographic trail of WWII aerial photos and declassified Cold War-era spy satellite images.

It’s been the basis of Ethiopia’s staple dish for more than 2,000 years, so how did a Dutch man claim ownership of the new 'superfood' teff?