©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd Eastern Ethiopia Why Go? Debre Zeyit ....................174 Most of Eastern Ethiopia is a stark landscape of dust-stained Awash National Park .....176 acacia scrub and forgettable towns. But scattered around Awash to Asaita .............178 this cloak of the commonplace are gems of genuine ad- Asaita ............................ 180 venture. Undoubtedly, the east’s pièce de résistance is the walled city of Harar. There’s still a patina of myth about this Dire Dawa ......................181 ancient town, handed down from the days when its markets Around Dire Dawa ........ 184 served as the Horn’s commercial hub and attracted powerful Harar ............................. 184 merchants, artisans and Islamic scholars. The colonial-rural Around Harar.................193 melange that is the modern city of Dire Dawa delights in its Jijiga ............................. 194 own odd way, while nature lovers can get their kicks at Ba- bille Elephant Sanctuary and Awash National Park, where the volcanic landscape takes top billing over the wildlife. The truly intrepid can follow the seemingly endless ribbon Best of Culture of asphalt north to the desolate southern Danakil Desert; » Harar’s old walled city the territory remains virtually unexplored since legendary (p 185 ) adventurer Wilfred Thesiger first thrilled the world with » Harar’s cultural guest- tales of the proud Afar. houses (p 190 ) » Koremi (p 193 ) When to Go » Dire Dawa’s markets (p 189 ) Harar °C/°F Te m p Rainfall inches/mm 30/86 6/150 Best of Nature 20/68 » Babille Elephant 4/100 Sanctuary (p 193 ) 10/50 2/50 » Hyena Feeding (p 189 ) 0/32 » Fantale Crater (p 176 ) -10/14 0 » Valley of Marvels (p 194 ) J FDAJJMAM OS N May-Sep Rainy Sep The seem- Nov-Jan Driest and hot season ingly barren months; best to sends lowland Asaita road is see elephants at temperatures up painted yellow by Babille and the to 45°C. the Meskel flower. lakes near Asaita. 173 8 Getting There & Away 8 Getting Around Ethiopian Airlines (www.fl yethiopian.com) fl ies Decent sealed roads connect all main cities, from Addis Ababa to Dire Dawa and Jijiga, and including remote Asaita. Public transport is also between Dire Dawa and Djibouti. You can available on all routes. enter eastern Ethiopia overland from Djibouti City by bus and, assuming passenger service resumes as promised, by train to Dire Dawa; ADDIS ABABA TO AWASH by bus-minibus combination from Djibouti City The long stretch of road dropping from to Logiya; and by connecting minibuses from Hargeisa (Somaliland) to Jijiga. For more infor- Addis Ababa down to Awash offers little mation see p 288 . to tempt tourists to stop. Debre Zeyit, near the start, has lakeview lodging, and Awash To Adigrat 0 100 km Ras Dashen (160km) 0 50 miles Red Sea (4543m) Depression Dan Assab Simien akil Mountains Maychew Menagaga E R I T R E A National Park Didigsala Sekota Abune Yosef (4300m) Serdo D J I B O U T I EASTERN ETHIOPIA ETHIOPIA EASTERN Semera Lake DJIBOUTI Lalibela Woldia Lake Gargori Galafi Tendaho Logiya CITY Gashena Asaita Lake Lake Gumare Chifra Mille Afambo Loyaada Maqdala Hayk Lake Lake Ali Hayk Bati Eli Wuha Bario Afambo Dikhil Sabieh Hadar Dessie Amba Adaitu Lake Abbe Gelille Farit Kombolcha Bora (Lac Abbé) (3975m) Yangudi-Rassa Abuye National Park ADDIS ABABA TO AWASH TO ABABA ADDIS 8 Meda r ve (4000m) i R Gewane Borama S O M A L I N D h Gedamawite Tog Wajaale as Fiche Dire Alemaya Togo- Aw Dawa Wuchale Debre Arbereketi Berhan Andido Harar Debre Jijiga Awash Mt Kulubi Libanos Hirna Harar Awash Arba Asebot Asbe Valley of ADDIS National Teferi ABABA Koremi Marvels Mt Yerer Park Gara Babille Awash Muleta Babille Elephant (3100m) Metehara ugu Akaki ChercherG & (3405m) Sanctuary Dukem Debre Zeyit Arbaountains Mechara M The international boundaries Nazret Mt Mojo on this map serve as indications only. To Jimma Zuqualla The Ethiopia–Eritrea border awaits (2989m) formal UN demarcation. Eastern Ethiopia Highlights 1 Explore the warren of 3 Get out of the car and 5 Follow in the footsteps of alleyways in Harar’s old track elephants on foot at Wilfred Thesiger around the walled city (p 185 ) Babille Elephant Sanctuary lakes near Asaita (p 180 ) 2 Bite down on a stick (p 193 ) 6 Take a geological safari at wrapped with meat as 4 Bed down in a piece of Awash National Park (p 176 ) hyenas (p 189 ) pull it from living history in an Adare 7 Decompress at a your mouth in Harar guesthouse (p 190 ) in Old lakeside resort in Debre Harar Zeyit (p 174 ).