GREAT ETHIOPIAN ROUTES the East - Danakil, Harar and Bale Mountains © Ethiopian Tourism Organization
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GREAT ETHIOPIAN ROUTES The East - Danakil, Harar and Bale Mountains © Ethiopian Tourism Organization. Version V1.0 1115 Version Organization. Tourism © Ethiopian www.ethiopia.travel Text: Philip Briggs; Photography: David Kirkland, Aziz Ahmed, Ludwig Siege, Antonio Fiorente Antonio Kirkland, David Siege, Briggs; Photography: Philip Aziz Ludwig Ahmed, Text: The East - Danakil, Harar and Bale Mountains • The scorching Danakil, where salt-bearing camel caravans traipse mirage-like across blinding-white salt-flats, swept by a gale known as the Gara, or Fire Wind. • Volatile Erta Ale, its volcanic caldera cradling a bubbling cauldron of molten black lava and eruptive glowing fountains of red-hot magma. • The labyrinthine alleys of Harar Jugol, an ancient walled citadel with a wealth of Islamic mosques and shrines, bustling markets overhung with aromatic spices and cafes brewing freshly-roasted coffee plucked from the surrounding hills. • The Afro-Alpine moorland of the Sanetti Plateau in Bale Mountains, where handsome red Ethiopian wolves - the world’s most endangered canids - trot jauntily through the pastel-shaded heather. • The cool damp Harenna Forest in Bale Mountains, a vast tract of gnarled tree heathers, towering bamboo clumps and a canopy of evergreen foliage. • A rapier-horned oryx antelope cantering across wide open plains of Awash National Park, a group of colourfully dressed sellers in Dire Dawa open-air market, the immense limestone caverns of Sof Omar. This is Eastern Ethiopia. A land of astonishing geographic extremes, where the austere lavascapes and salt-flats of the northern Rift Valley, which plunges to 116m below sea level in the Danakil, contrast with the misty peaks of the Bale Mountains, which rise over 4,300m a short distance further south. In-between these extremes, lush well-watered slopes support the lovely crater lakes surrounding the town of Bishoftu, the largely unexplored Harenna Forest, and the historic city of Harar, the spiritual heart of the predominantly Muslim inhabitants of Ethiopia’s exotic east. Bishoftu Awash National Park Situated only 50km southeast of Addis Ababa along the new Bordered to the south by the gaping 150 metre deep Awash three-lane Adama Expressway, Bishoftu - formerly Debre Zeyit - River Gorge, the 756km² Awash National Park protects a semi- provides an attractive rustic overnight alternative to the capital arid tract of Rift Valley floor inhabited by dry-country antelope for eastbound or southbound travellers. Seven beautiful lakes such as the handsome Beisa oryx and magnificent spiral-horned surround Bishoftu. This well-equipped town’s main attraction greater kudu. A bird checklist of almost 500 species includes is a quartet of beautiful crater lakes set within steep volcanic Arabian bustard, African swallow-tailed kite, northern carmine calderas whose rims are lined with resorts catering to all tastes bee-eater, Abyssinian roller and the endemic yellow-throated and budgets. Lake Bishoftu lies no more than 500m south serin and near-endemic rock chat. Scenic highlights include the of the main road, and forest-fringed Lake Hora is set in twin spectacular crater of Fantelle Volcano and peculiar Lake Beseka craters immediately north of the town centre. Kuriftu and set amidst stark black volcanic rubble at its base, as well as the Babogaya are also attractive lakes with accommodation and surging waterfall at the head of the Awash Gorge and a field entertainment. On the west side of Bishoftu, a non-volcanic lake of palm-lined hot springs regularly frequented by Hamadryas called Chelekleka often hosts large numbers of flamingo and baboons. A dusk visit to Aga Edu Cave might reveal some of 20- pelicans, and thousands of migrant European cranes overnight plus spotted hyenas that have their dens there. there from November to February. Dire Dawa Founded in 1902 when the railroad from Djibouti reached the area, Dire Dawa is a site of ethnic variety whereby diversified cultural styles of Oromo, Somali, Afar, Harari and others are easily observed. Laga-oda, one of the caves in Dire Dawa, has over 600 rock paintings dating back thousands of years. The paintings in this prehistoric cave consist of pictures of domestic animals, human figures, symbols and wild animals. Harar Jugol Harar was founded before the 7th century reaching its climax during 16th century. Today Harar is the beautiful and multicultural capital of the Harari People’s Regional State famous for its excellent hospitality, bustling traditional markets, handicrafts and museums. For centuries the most important Danakil Depression trade emporium on the Horn of Africa, nowadays the historic walled citadel of Harar Jugol is known for the 82 mosques and Studded with active volcanoes and explosive geysers, the over 400 shrines crammed into its 48 hectares, along with its Danakil - which drops to 116m below sea level, and frequently ‘city houses’ with their unique interior decoration. The walled experiences temperatures greater than 50˚C - is one of the city of Harar (Jugol) was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage most harsh and brutal landscapes anywhere on earth. For those Site in 2006. Centuries old craft making traditions including few adventurous souls fortunate enough to spend time there, weaving, jewelry and bookbinding are well preserved and of the Danakil is also a place of rare geological fascination and particular interest to culture enthusiasts. immeasurable beauty. Stretching across northeast Ethiopia Babile Elephant Sanctuary for tens of thousands of square kilometres, this true desert is punctuated by some truly wondrous sights, in particular Erta Babile Elephant Sanctuary is a spectacular site; huge gorges Ale, a climbable volcano enclosing the world’s oldest lava lake give way to open plains and rocky out-crops, meandering - a cauldron of black-and-red magma from which fountains of river beds and, in the south and the east, a drier almost-desert molten rock spurt high into the sky. Elsewhere, sulphurous geysers like landscape. Babile is home to Africa’s most north-easterly bubble over into steaming pools hemmed in by multicoloured population of elephants, as well as other important wildlife crystalline formations, and Afar traders mine blinding white salt species. flats and carve amoles which are transported to the highlands by camelback by Tigrean caravaneers. The Danakil Depression is not only one of the hottest and lowest lying places on our planet, but one of the most extraordinary. Bale Mountains National Park Birding in Bale and the Southeast A biodiversity hotspot of global significance, the 4,377metre high Bale Mountains incorporate the world’s most extensive Southeast Ethiopia is the most alluring part of Ethiopia to birdwatchers. Its centrepiece is Bale Mountains National Park, which the Afro-Alpine moorland, along with vast tracts of juniper-hagenia, African Birding Club recently listed as one of the continent’s top five birding hotspots. The best place to see endemics, Bale harbours bamboo and evergreen forest. More than 1,300 plant species six species unique to Ethiopia, and another 11 shared only with Eritrea. Woodland specials abound at Dinsho, while the Sanetti have been identified, among them 160 Ethiopian endemics Plateau hosts high-altitude endemics such as Rouget’s rail and black-headed siskin alongside the only known sub-Saharan breeding and 23 that are unique to the park. Bale is the most important populations of golden eagle, ruddy shelduck and red-billed chough. Further afield, Sof Omar is one of only two reliable sites for the stronghold for several endemic mammals: the endangered endemic Salvadori’s serin, while the southeastern birding route through Negele Borena and Yabello incorporates the only known sites Ethiopian wolf and the freakish giant mole-rat haunt the 4,000 for the localised Ruspoli’s turaco and Stresemann’s bush crow. metre high Sanetti Plateau, while the endangered mountain nyala is associated with juniper-hagenia forest in the north, and Cradle of Humankind the Bale monkey is restricted to bamboo forest in the south. The mountains offer superb walking. Easy day trails are available at Once far more moist and lush than it is today, Ethiopia’s northern Rift Valley, which incorporates Awash National Park and the Danakil, Dinsho (the park headquarters) and the Harenna Forest, while is most likely where humans evolved. The region’s most famous hominoid skeleton find is ‘Lucy’, the 3.2 million year old remains of overnight trekking routes - undertaken on foot or horseback - a semi-bipedal hominid that almost doubled the known timeline of human evolution, back in 1974. Subsequently, what is still the include a week-long round hike between Dinsho and Sanetti. world’s oldest undisputed hominid fossil, dating back 5.5 million years, was also unearthed in the region. The northern Rift can also For more sedentary visitors, an all-weather road ascends from claim the world’s oldest stone-age tools, dating back 2.6 million years, while a pair of skulls unearthed along the Omo River was Dinsho to Sanetti, then descends south into the Harenna Forest. recently dated at 200,000 years old, making them the oldest known remains of anatomically modern humans Homo sapiens. THE EAST - DANAKIL, HARAR AND BALE MOUNTAINS A popular first stop out of Addis Ababa, Bishoftu is set amidst a field of 1 volcanic calderas, several of which host beautiful crater lakes serviced by modern resort hotels. 2 The spectacular Fentalle Crater and Awash Falls are scenic highlights of Awash National Park, which also offers outstanding dry-country birding and the chance to see the handsome Beisa oryx and Hamadryas baboon in the wild. 3 Serviced by a pair of remote wilderness lodges, Bilen Hot Springs is a good base for exploring Alledeghi Wildlife Reserve, home to Ethiopia’s largest population of the endangered Grevy’s zebra. 4 With a combined area of 14,150km², the Yangudi-Rassa National Park and contiguous Mille-Serdo Reserve support the world’s only extant population of African wild ass, a Critically Endangered ancestor of the domestic donkey.