A pictorial exploration of the stunningly beautiful yet little-visited Horn of Africa: erupting volcanoes and lava lakes, sulphur pools, sheer-sided mountains, almost inaccessible monasteries and welcoming people. The Horn of Africa is perhaps not the first destination that comes to mind for a holiday. Its appeal lies in the unknown. Few will ever visit the region for a real holiday, but those adventurous souls who do will find lively people, exotic landscapes, nature's raw power on display and enough to satisfy the most enquiring of travellers. The rewards for the curious are astounding.Djibouti remains a little corner of France surrounded by heat of all kinds. Eritrea is an enigma, an indecipherable puzzle, a blend of friendly people, undisturbed wildlife, evocative antiquities, prehistoric art and stunning scenery. Ethiopia has pulled itself out of the quagmire and famine of the mid-1980s. The sights of Ethiopia are amazingly varied, both natural and man-made. Somaliland is so off the map that it does not officially exist. A visit to many parts of these countries is an adventure off the edge of the world as we know it, beyond the boundaries of the perceived planet. Within the pages of this book the reader will find inspiration and perhaps more questions than answers!
About the Author: Siân Pritchard-Jones and Bob Gibbons met in 1983, on a trek from Kashmir to Ladakh. By then Bob had already driven an ancient Land Rover from England to Kathmandu (in 1974), and overland trucks across Asia, Africa and South America. He had also lived in Kathmandu for two years, employed as a trekking company manager. Before they met, Siân worked in computer programming and systems analysis, but was drawn to the Himalaya en route from working in New Zealand. Since then they have been leading and organising treks in the Alps, Nepal and the Sahara, as well as driving a bus overland to Nepal. Journeys by a less ancient (only 30-year-old) Land Rover from England to South Africa provided the basis for several editions of the Bradt guide Africa Overland, including the sixth edition published in May 2014. In Kathmandu they previously worked with Pilgrims Publishing, producing cultural guides - Kathmandu: Valley of the Green-Eyed Yellow Idol and Ladakh: Land of Magical Monasteries - and a historical look at the Guge Kingdom, Kailash: Land of the Tantric Mountain. In 2007 they wrote the Cicerone guide to Mount Kailash and Western Tibet, as well updating the Grand Canyon guide. During 2011 they returned to Tibet, this time driving the same old Land Rover back from Kathmandu to the UK overland via Lhasa, through China, Kazakhstan, Russia and Western Europe. Their Annapurna trekking guide was published by Cicerone in January 2013, with the second edition in February 2017. For Himalayan Map House they are writing a series of trekking guidebooks (Himalayan Travel Guides) covering the newly developing Great Himalaya Trail. So far their publications include a guide to Manaslu and the Tsum Valley (second edition); Upper and Lower Dolpo; Ganesh Himal (Tamang Heritage Trail); Everest; Langtang, Gosainkund & Helambu (Tamang Heritage Trail); Rolwaling & Gauri Shankar (Lapche, Bigu & Tashi Lapcha); Mustang; Kanchenjunga; Makalu; and Nepal Himalaya, covering all of the above and most of the Himalayan range. A faithful hound named Kanchi followed them to Makalu Base Camp and wrote her own book entitled Kanchi's Tale, also in colour, B&W and Kindle. They were in Nepal in May 2015 and have also published an account of what happened (and didn't happen) after the earthquakes in Earthquake Diaries: Nepal 2015. Also available are their autobiography In Search of the Green-Eyed Yellow Idol, a pictorial guide to the Horn of Africa, and a trekking guide Australia: Red Centre Treks.