Our years of experience and extensive network of local partners can help you build your dream trip from the endless possibilities of Ethiopia. We’ll talk through your ideas, give you some suggestions, set it all up and advise on travel, kit and preparation, so that you get the Ethiopian adventure you’ve always wanted.
Ethiopia Wildlife Tours
Transportation
Flight and Drive
Duration
9 Days and 8 Nights
Accommodation
Hotels and Lodge
Discover the wonders of an ancient land where nature, culture and history are equally magnificent. There is no other place in sub-Saharan Africa where one can enjoy great wildlife and landscape photography and combine it with extraordinary cultural experiences. Ethiopia has all of this and more: the awesome landscapes and wildlife of the Bale and Simien Mountains National park, the spectacular cranes and other water birds of the Rift Valley Lakes and the palaces of Gondar, home of many of Ethiopia’s kings and emperors. Our special Ethiopia wildlife photography tours combine all of these wonders the fortress of Gonder, the dramatic landscapes of the Simien Mountains and the wildness of the bale mountain national park.
Tour Highlights
- Visit two UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
- Vibrant city of Addis Ababa
- Wildness of Bale mountain national park
- Explore the birding paradise of Great rift valley
- Abijata Shalla Nationa park
- Lake langano , lake Hawassa and lake chamo
- Discover the magical castles of Gondar
- Dramatic landscape of Semien mountains national park
- Walking activities ( bale Mountains and semien Mountains)
- Numerous specious of birds and wildlife
- Attend an Ethiopian coffee ceremony
Detail Itinerary
Day 1.
Addis Ababa
Guide will meet you at the airport and escort you to our hotel. You will have some free time to rest up from jet-lag after checking in. This afternoon, enjoy a city sightseeing tour. First stop is at the magnificent Trinity Cathedral. Continue to the National Museum, close to the University of Addis Ababa Graduate School, which houses numerous antiquarian relics and archaeological artifacts showing the history of Ethiopia from prehistoric times to the modern day. Its most famous exhibit is a replica of the 3.5-million-year-old skeleton of 'Lucy', then drive to merkato to see the biggest open air market in east Africa. Overnight: Nexus Hotel , Addis Ababa
Day 2.
Lake Langano (Rift valley lakes)
Just south of Addis Ababa the road leads down to the bottom of the Great rift valley where a row of interesting lakes are found, the rift valley lake harbor a great natural diversity but are also very important for the local economy, the area is particularly interesting for birder, en route visit lake koka and lake ziway, after lunch drive to Abijata-Shalla national park, a pleasant walk round the headquarter for some abundant wildlife. Overnight: Haile Resort Ziway
Day 3.
Bale Mountains National Park, Dinsho
After breakfast drive to Bale Mountains National Park. Ethiopia’s second-highest mountain range contains one of the richest habitats in the country's alpine heights. It is the best place for viewing a broad cross-section of Ethiopia's unique wildlife, including Ethiopian wolf, rare mountain nyala, giant forest hog, cape hyrax, colobus and vervet monkeys. The park is home to more than 282 bird species, plus another 170 migratory birds pass through. Keep an eye out for nine of Ethiopia's 16 endemic species that reside here, including blue-winged goose, spot-breasted lapwing, yellow-fronted parrot, Abyssinian long claw, Abyssinian catbird, Bale parisoma, Ethiopian siskin, fawn-breasted waxbill and the Abyssinian owl. Bale was one of the last regions of Africa to attract serious scientific exploration, and it remains sufficiently out of the way even today that few travelers make it here in comparison with the Simien Mountains. The park’s main attractions are its wild alpine scenery, particularly on the Sanetti Plateau that rises more than 13,000 feet above sea level. Keep an eye out for our first glimpse of Ethiopian wolf en route to the lodge, as they are often seen from the road. Overnight: Shebelle Hotel, bale Goba
Day 4.
Sanetti Plateau and Harena forest
Spend the full days exploring the wild wonders of the Sanetti Plateau and Harenna Forest. This vast highland region is the world’s largest expanse of Afro-alpine moorland, a montane habitat with an average elevation above 13,000 feet. The plateau is renowned for supporting the largest remaining population of Ethiopian wolf, which we hope to spot on wildlife drives in 4x4 vehicles. A walk atop the plateau reveals exhilarating views all the way to the Harenna Forest, one of the most extensive natural forests remaining in Ethiopia. At the southern end of the plateau, the Harenna escarpment affords an astounding view over the forest well over a mile below us—deeper than the Grand Canyon. This forest, far denser and more varied than the juniper woodland around Dinsho, has a similar appearance and composition to the forests found in other East African mountain landscapes. Though we're unlikely to see them, lions live in this densely wooded region. Overnight: Shebelle Hotel, bale Goba
Day 5.
Hawassa
After further scanning in the bale mountain national park, dive to Hawassa, you will be arriving in Hawassa late afternoon check in to resort, Later you can walk along the lake shore for aquatic bird watching and sunsets. Overnight: Haile Resort, Hawassa
Day 6.
fly back to Addis Ababa to connect our flight to Gondar
This morning will be a leisure, take a walking on the resort ground, midday drive to Hawassa Airport for your flight to Addis Ababa then Connect your flight to Gonder. Overnight: Goha Hotel, Gonder
Day 7.
In the morning visit Gonder
This city in northern Ethiopia is famed for its 17th-century stone castles and fortresses that evoke the feel of an African Camelot. Founded in 1636 by the great Emperor Fassilidas, this UNESCO World Heritage Site that was once the royal capital of Ethiopia enjoys a striking setting atop tree-studded hills. We visit various castles and churches built by Fassilidas and his descendants, including the emperor’s own palace. The most impressive is Debre Birhan Selassie church, whose walls and ceilings are intricately decorated with scenes of biblical lore and medieval history. A swarm of bees is credited for preserving it from the destruction that befell most of Gondar’s churches by marauding Sudanese Dervishes in the 1880s. When their troops appeared outside the church gates, local lore holds that a huge phalanx of bees flew out of the compound and drove them away, a stroke of luck attributed to divine providence. Inside the stone walls and arched doors, the space is filled with biblical scenes, including some 100 faces of whimsical winged cherubs that stare down at us, representing the omnipresent gaze of God. Lunch today at the Four Sisters is a highlight, featuring family recipes going back generations. Serving both Ethiopian and Western food, the famous restaurant also features cultural programs, including dance and culinary demonstrations afternoon As we drive on to Simien Mountains National Park, the road winds through highland pastures and fields of grain, eventually reaching the top of a vast plateau. This wild high country known as the “Roof of Africa” holds some of the continent’s most dramatic scenery. The Simien Mountains, among the highest ranges in Africa, include Ras Dashen, Ethiopia’s tallest peak at 15,157 feet. Precipitous cliffs, Afro-alpine steppe, tree-studded grasslands and deep canyons define this varied terrain that stuns our senses at every turn. Overnight: Semien Lodge, Semien mountain national park
Day 8.
Exploring the Simien Mountains National Park
This morning we take a walk to see geladas, a gregarious species of Old World monkey found only in the Ethiopian Highlands. Geladas are the only primates that are exclusively grazers, living on the grasses of the central plateau. Large and robust, males weigh up to 60 pounds, with a heavy cape of dark hair down their back. Little known and little studied, geladas live in huge troops of several hundred individuals. They are highly social, often rambunctious, and comfortable allowing us to approach at close range. At night, they sleep on cliff ledges out of range of nocturnal predators like hyena, leopard and jackal. Drink in the vast scale of the highland landscape, with magnificent views for miles, and keep an eye out for possible sightings of walia ibex, klipspringer, jackal and fox. Overnight: Overnight:- Semien Lodge, Semien mountain national park
Day 9.
Addis Adaba / Depart
fly back to Addis. On arrival in Addis, enjoy a farewell lunch together before checking in to day rooms at our hotel, offering a chance to refresh and relax before evening transfers to the airport.
