Trekking and Camping
Trekking is the most popular type of adventure tourism in Ethiopia, and it’s no wonder. Simien Mountains National Park and World Heritage Site is not only one of the most spectacular places to trek in Africa but also one of the most spectacular in the world. It is the crown of the Ethiopia Highlands, which […]
Simien Mountains National Park
If there is time, even just two days if traveling by air, don’t miss this place. It is often compared favorably with the Grand Canyon or even the Himalayas, its main attribute being an escarpment. Even though a road follows this mega cliff for much of the way, a trail follows much closer, sometimes perilously […]
Bale Mountains National Park
The cold, windswept Sanetti Plateau is the largest contiguous afroalpine area in the world. It is an otherworldly scene. If the planet Mars were to be terraformed, it might look something like the Sanetti Plateau – volcanic, cold, and treeless, except for some strange-looking giant lobelias. The scene is brushed with lots of silvers, blues, […]
Gheralta Mountains
The Gheralta Mountains are a great place for combining hiking and history. Most of the hikes are day hikes or shorter and lead to Ethiopian Orthodox Church monasteries. Many of the trails go up steep inclines, often necessitating switchbacks, as many of the monasteries are built in somewhat inaccessible places atop rocky buttes for protection […]
Fentalé
Fentalé is a volcano in the hot, lowland environment of Awash National Park in Afar Regional State. The park is a great place to get out of the cold during the rainy season and it is not far from Addis Abeba. There are a lot of safari animals, primates, and birds to see here. Fentalé […]
Erta Ale
This is the longest continuously active volcano in the world, after Stromboli in Italy and Mauna Kea in Hawaii. It is located in the hottest place on earth measured by average temperature. The mountain rises from below sea level in the Danakil Depression to 613m above sea level. Staring into the abyss conjures up images […]
East Langano Nature Reserve
On the other end of the moisture spectrum is the East Langano Nature Reserve, a lush forest where the hot, heavy air of the Rift Valley gets forced upwards by the Bale Massif. With most rain coming from the Atlantic, orographic precipitation occurs as the air mass is pushed uphill, often releasing the first raindrops […]
Konso
Deep in Southern Ethiopia is Strawberry Fields Eco Lodge in Karat Konso, a restaurant, farm, eco lodge, and permaculture design training center. Strawberry Fields offers guided treks of the Konso Cultural Landscape UNESCO World Heritage Site and beyond. The climate is sunnier than many parts of Ethiopia, which also means less rain, hence the terraced […]
Zuqualla
Zuqualla is an imposing sight that rises hundreds of meters out of the Great Rift Valley, and dominates the horizon when driving between the rift and Addis Abeba, no matter which of the three routes is taken. Most people who climb the mountain are locals who do so for religious and spiritual reasons, as there […]
Menagesha
As the oldest park in Africa, Menagesha is just a stone’s throw from Addis Abeba. The park dates back to the reign of Emperor Zera Ya’eqob, from 1434 to 1468, when he originally designated it a crown forest. Its name was changed a few years ago from Menagesha-Suba Forest Development Centre to the Finfine Forest […]
Entoto Mountains
There are at least nine sights that can be seen on foot in the Entoto Mountains: views of Addis Abeba, the natural environment of Entoto Natural Park itself, Entoto Mariam Church, the historical museum, Menelik’s Palace, two Kedus Raguel and Kedus Elias Churches from different eras, the Washa Mikael Church ruins, and runners training on the […]
Mountain Biking
Bicycling has not been seen as more than a convenient mode of transportation in the less hilly cities and towns outside Addis Abeba, that is, until recently. Even then, most recreational biking has been reserved for road cycling. However, a few adventure tourism-minded resorts have begun to provide mountain biking as an activity for those […]
Around Addis Abeba
The mountains around Addis Abeba do make for some great mountain biking terrain. The most accessible are the Entoto Mountains at over 3,000m, many of which are within Entoto Natural Park. This park on the northern edge of Addis Abeba provides foot paths and back roads that are frequently used by long-distance runners for training. They […]
Mountain biking in Debre Zeit
Mountain biking in Debre Zeit can be as simple as exploring the seven crater lakes and many farms around the city or as challenging as ascending the more than 3,000m Mount Yerer. (See the previous section). At least two resorts, Kuriftu and Babogaya, offer mountain bikes to their guests. There are foreign commercial farms as […]
East Langano Nature Reserve
The two neighboring eco lodges on the far side of Lake Langano loan modern mountain bikes for use on an extensive network of trails that wind through savanna, young forest, open fields, and even beautiful old growth forest with streams meandering through it. Starting in the savanna along the lake in the morning before the […]
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