Ethiopia, like many other countries in Africa, is highly vulnerable to the harmful effects ofrnclimate change and the rural population, for whom agriculture is the primary source of food,rndirect and/or indirect employment and income, will be most affected due to agriculture'srnvulnerability to climate change. This study was conducted to assess locallagro ecology levelrnvulnerabilities and adaptation strategies of rural communities to climate change in KolarnTembien Woreda, Tigray region. The specific objectives of the research are analyzing the levelrnof vulnerability across different communities in different agro ecologies, identifYing the majorrnadaptation strategies employed against the changing climate and the major factors influencingrntheir strategies to adapt to climate change impacts. A stratified sampling was employed torndetermine the sample villages. Accordingly, four kebeles, namely Begashka, Tabotegiorgis,rnLimat and Menji were selected from two agro ecological zones. Sample household respondentsrnwere then selected randomly from each development group found in their respective kebeles.rnHousehold survey, focus group discussions and key informant interviews were employed. Anrnindicator based vulnerability index was used to assess and compare the level of vulnerabilityrnacross the selected kebeles and agro ecological zones. Besides, descriptive statistics was used tornidentifY the major adaptation strategies as well as major factors influencing the adaptation ofrnrural communities. Results obtained from the vulnerability index revealed that there was arndifference in the vulnerability levels of the selected kebeles. Accordingly, Menji (low land agroecology)rnand Begashka (Mid land agro-ecology) were found to be relatively more vulnerablernthan Limat (low land agro-ecology) and Tabotegiorgis (Mid land agro-ecology). The differencerninÂ· vulnerability was highly associated with the variations in the combined effects of livestockrnownership, saving, access to microflnance, farm land sizes, irrigation potential, and educationrnlevels across the surveyed households. Adaptation strategies were found to be similar across thernsurveyed kebeles (agro ecologies) and various crops, livestock and land related strategies hasrnbeen used across varied periods. However, households' choice of adaptation strategies werernfound to be influenced by financial constraints, shortage of information, poor potential forrnirrigation, land shortages .and even lack of labor: Therefore, efforts should be made by the localrngovernment and NGOs "to promote the: off-farm income-earning opportunities and localljarmlevelrnadaptation strategies by giving due attention to the early warning systems and disaster riskrnmanagement to reduce vulnerability and improve income levels.rnKey words: vulnerability, principalpomponent analysis, adaptation strategies