© Lonely Planet Publications 252 www.lonelyplanet.com ETHIOPIA DIRECTORY •• Accommodation 253 ETHIOPIA DIRECTORY BOOK ACCOMMODATION ONLINE Reservations are wise in Gonder, Aksum Ethiopia Directory and Lalibela during the major festivals. See For more accommodation reviews and rec- the relevant Sleeping sections for advice. ommendations by Lonely Planet authors, Although there are no left-luggage facili- check out the online booking service at ties in Addis Ababa, most hotels will hold www.lonelyplanet.com. You’ll find the true, your belongings for no extra charge. ETHIOPIA DIRECTORY CONTENTS PRACTICALITIES insider lowdown on the best places to stay. Reviews are thorough and independent. BUDGET The best-known English-language daily Accommodation 252 Best of all, you can book online. Since our last visit, the quality of budget newspapers are the government-owned Activities 254 hotels, which make up 95% of the coun- Ethiopian Herald and the privately Books 256 try’s hotels, has made a notable leap. There owned Monitor. Other weekly private Business Hours 257 been set up in some of the national parks are still countless dives, but the number of newspapers include the Fortune, the Climate Charts 257 and in the Omo Valley, but most lack facili- clean and comfortable options is rising, es- Reporter, the Sun, Sub-Saharan Informer Courses 257 ties and consist of little more than a clearing pecially in the north. We definitely pulled and the Capital. Only the Ethiopian Customs 258 beside a river. It’s always essential to treat less fleas this go around! Although an aber- Herald is available outside Addis Ababa. Dangers & Annoyances 258 drinking water at the sites. ration, we even managed a smart room with The weekly Press Digest and Days Up- Embassies & Consulates 260 There are increasing numbers of upmar- hot shower and satellite TV for Birr50! date (both Birr15) give useful summaries Festivals & Events 261 ket hotels now allowing camping on their The vast majority of budget rooms are of the most important stories from the Food 262 grounds, though prices are close to what always spartan – think four walls, linoleum week’s Amharic and English press. Gay & Lesbian Travellers 262 you’d pay for nice budget accommodation. rolled over a cement floor, a bed and, if Holidays 262 Radio Ethiopia broadcasts in English All camping fees in this book are per per- you’re lucky, a plastic chair. Depending on Insurance 262 from 1.30pm to 2pm and 7pm to 8pm son unless stated otherwise. your budget, you can typically have your Internet Access 262 weekdays. The BBC World Service can pick of a shared or private bathroom. Legal Matters 263 be received on radios with shortwave Hotels In smaller, out-of-the-way towns hotels Maps 263 reception, though frequencies vary Hotels will play home to everyone who’s not may double as drinking dens and brothels – Money 263 according to the time of day (try 9630, camping. Even in the capital, there are no bring earplugs. Many lack glass windows, Photography & Video 265 11940 and 17640 MHz). hostels, homestays, or university or rental only having a shutter to let air and light in. Post 265 Ethiopia’s ETV1 channel broadcasts accommodation available to travellers. Maintenance doesn’t seem to be a high Shopping 265 in English from 10.30pm to midnight. Pricing invariably leads to resentment priority, so the best budget hotels are often Solo Travellers 266 Many hotels and restaurants have from many travellers as countless hotels those that have just opened. If you hear Telephone 267 satellite dishes that receive BBC or CNN. (many openly) charge substantially higher of a new hotel in town, it may be the best Time 267 Others have South Africa’s multichan- rates for faranjis (foreigners, especially place to head. Toilets 267 nel DSTV system. Western ones). Although you make take Tourist Information 268 MIDRANGE Ethiopia’s electricity supply is 220V, 50 offence to a hotel owner calling you a rich Travellers with Disabilities 268 faranji, remember prices are still dirt-cheap, Although very comfortable compared Visas & Documents 269 cycles AC. Sockets vary from the Euro- pean continental two-pin, earth prong and you’ll always be given priority as well as to Ethiopian budget options, most mid- Women Travellers 270 the best rooms, facilities and service. That range hotels here would be scraping by as Work 270 (two round prongs), rated at 600W to South African/Indian-style plug with said, we still applaud those establishments bare-bones budget options in the West- two circular metal pins above a large with flat rates. ern world. They typically include a simple ACCOMMODATION circular grounding pin. Charging same-sex couples more for room with private bathroom and satellite Finding accommodation in Ethiopia is rooms than mixed couples is also pervasive TV, as well as an adequate restaurant, se- easy. Finding accommodation that won’t Ethiopia uses the metric system for but less justifiable. cure parking and a garden. Though usually curl your toes and send you running for weights and measures. Some hotels (particularly government- clean and quiet, the majority are looking the doors is tiring work – thankfully we’ve owned ones) charge a 10% service charge tired and run-down, and very rarely offer done most of that for you. and 15% tax on top of room prices. We’ve good value for money. Many are old ‘tour- Ethiopia’s range of options is heav- Camping incorporated these extra charges into the ist’ hotels that were nationalised in the ily slanted towards the budget end (US$1 Tents are useful in Ethiopia for trekking, the room prices listed. 1970s and ’80s under the socialist Derg, to US$20 per night), with Addis Ababa exploration of remote regions and to save In Ethiopia, a room with a double bed and many still host the orange shag carpets and major tourist centres providing only money on extended stays. If you’re just plan- is confusingly called a ‘single’, and a room of that era! a handful of midrange options (US$20 to ning a short trek, tents can be hired from with twin beds a ‘double’. In our reviews Worth singling out, however, is the Ghion US$50). True top-end picks (US$50 and Addis Ababa’s tour operators ( p282 ) or from we’ve used the Western interpretation of Hotel Group. Its chain of hotels along the up) are only found in the capital. business in Lalibela, Gonder and Debark. singles, doubles and twins. Similarly when historical circuit (Bahir Dar’s Tana Hotel, The various listings throughout this In theory, you can camp anywhere, bar hotel managers say the room has a ‘shared Gonder’s Goha Hotel, Aksum’s Yeha Hotel guidebook are given in the order of the the obvious off-limit sites, such as military shower’, they mean a shared bathroom. Note and Lalibela’s Goha Hotel) provides the author’s preference. installations. ‘Established’ campsites have that there are rarely single occupancy rates. best accommodation in northern Ethiopia. 254 ETHIOPIA DIRECTORY •• Activities www.lonelyplanet.com www.lonelyplanet.com ETHIOPIA DIRECTORY •• Activities 255 ETHIOPIA DIRECTORY Each offers exceptional settings, attractive justice, we’ve created a special boxed text, RESPONSIBLE TREKKING traditional designs and great service. Ethiopia’s Endemic Birds ( p62 ). It high- Several slick new privately owned mid- lights some of Ethiopia’s most famous birds Trekking in Ethiopia has the potential to put great pressure on the environment. You can help range options have cropped up in Arba and gives you the lowdown on where to go preserve the ecology and beauty of the area by taking note of the following information. Minch, Bahir Dar and Lalibela, so more to find them and when. The Animals sec- Carry out all your rubbish. Never ever bury it. are sure to follow. tion ( p60 ) of the Environment chapter also ETHIOPIA DIRECTORY delves into some of the species you’ll spot Minimise the waste you must carry out by taking minimal packaging and taking no more TOP END while travelling through the country. food than you’ll need. There are several top-end options in Addis Some of Addis Ababa’s tour agencies Where there’s no toilet, at lower elevations bury your faeces in a 15cm deep hole (consider Ababa, including the five-star ‘Luxury Col- ( p282 ), as well as some excellent agencies carrying a lightweight trowel for this purpose). At higher altitudes soil lacks the organisms lection’ Sheraton Hotel that rivals anything abroad, offer great bird-watching tours. needed to digest your faeces, so leave your waste in the open where UV rays will break it on the continent for facilities and comfort. down – spreading it facilitates the process. Always carry out your toilet paper (Ziplock bags The nearby Hilton seems inconsolably Fishing are best). With either option make sure your faeces is at least 50m from any path, 100m from modest in comparison. Ethiopia’s lakes and rivers are home to over any watercourse and 200m from any building. 200 species of freshwater fish, including Don’t use detergents or toothpaste within 50m of watercourses, even if they’re biodegradable. ACTIVITIES very large catfish (up to 18kg), tilapia, large Stick to existing tracks and avoid short cuts that bypass a switchback. If you blaze a new trail With two amazing 4000m mountain ranges barbus, tigerfish, the brown and rainbow straight down a slope, it will erode the hillside with the next heavy rainfall. and countless other peaks and valleys hosting trout and the famously feisty Nile perch. unique wildlife, it’s little wonder that trek- Fly-fishing, bait fishing with float and Avoid removing any plant life as they keep topsoils in place.