Eritrea is endowed with a va¬riety of spectacular topographic landscapes. This allows not only three seasons in two hours but also diverse landscapes within a few hours’ distance. This includes the highlands, eastern escarpments, eastern and western lowlands, coastal areas and islands. Eritrea is endowed with rivers and river beds and natural harbours. The vibrant landforms offer the most distinc¬tive destination for tourists. Its natural topography which is com¬posed of volcanic mountains, flat topped hills, wide plateaus, mar¬velous escarpments, rugged topog¬raphy, undulating plains, unspoiled and spectacular coasts and pleasing islands provide great potential for tourism industry.
Eritrea’s landscape is naturally decorated with various rock types, fogs and mists and varied climate. It has a breathtaking beauty ac¬companied by clean, cool fresh air. There are volcanic landforms which include unmodified lava sheets, created lava cones, old dykes and volcanic mountains in different corners of the country. There are also numerous mountain features which are natural reser¬voirs of resources as they are made of rocks of several mineral depos¬its.
Eritrea’s mountains provide ample opportunity for hiking, pho¬tographic tourism, and landscape appreciation. In addition, they are very good grounds for sport-based tourism like mountain athletics and biking. Furthermore, they are prominent for their historical im¬portance during the armed struggle for independence.
One of Eritrea’s natural attrac¬tions, the Eastern Escarpment, is found to the east of the central plateau, eastern highlands, and up¬per Anseba highlands. The eastern escarpment is characterized by two rainy seasons and is thus in¬habited by the Green Belt whose scenery is stunningly beautiful. It is ever-green and provides excel¬lent scenes for bio-diversity-based tourism and bird watching. The ever-green tones of the Green Belt vegetation overshadow the earth colors on the steep slope platforms of the eastern escarpments.
The play of light and shade on the landscape etches the shapes in relief, enhancing their coloration and making the escarpment land¬forms look somehow even more grand and monumental.
The other main attraction of Er¬itrea is its coastal area bordered by flawless and unspoiled beaches. It is defined by the presence of ex¬tensive visible corals and shells. As a result, it is a perfect venue for snorkelers. It is endowed with all the essential properties of serene and beautiful holiday destination. Parallel to this are the naturally beautiful and striking group of is-lands that are dispersed along the Red Sea. The Eritrean islands of¬fer a convenient environment for scuba diving, snorkeling, yachting, itinerating, and fishing. Thus, the Red Sea remains “the world’s un¬spoiled tropical paradise”.
The Danakil Depression is also another prominent feature of the Er¬itrean landscape wherein the low¬est point on earth is found. There are various landform features along the Danakil Depression such as headlands of lava rocks and cra¬ter of an extinct volcano.
Eritrea’s terrain features provide a great potential for the tourism sector. It offers plenty of opportu¬nity for appreciative experiences for tourists because it is highly convenient for ecotourism, hiking, bird watching, and wildlife enthu¬siast and terrain appreciation.
Landform scenery of Eritrea is one of the most natural endow¬ments with the most powerful potential for tourism. The breath-taking mountains and coastal con¬figuration exerts great fascination for tourists. It creates pleasure and happiness. The magnificent topog¬raphy provides an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. The land¬form belongs to its owners but the beauty of landscape belongs to those who behold it and appreci¬ate it.
Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea