Trekking in the Bale Mountains and the Ethiopian Rift – 5 day trip

Bale Mountains National Park, Bale Mountain Lodge, Dinsho, Senetti, Harenna Forest, Rafu Lava flow, Wild coffee, Lake Langano

Ethiopian Wolves in Bale (Photo Martin Harvey)

This Bale Mountains tour allows you to explore four very different corners of the park- Dinsho, Senetti, Harenna forest and Rafu.  The Bale mountains is an unique afro-alpine moorland that acts as a water tower for much of the horn of Africa. It is home to many endemic species most notably the Ethiopian Wolf

Day 1 drive south from Addis to the park gate near Dinsho where you will camp amid the Hagenia and Juniper trees, and see Mountain Nyala, Bushbuck, warthogs and other wildlife at a lower altitude (3,200m). In the evening your guide will take you for a game walk in the woodland around the camp and

Day 2 – After breakfast explore the Gaysay grasslands -more chance to see bushbuck and Nyala, in addition jackals, serval and maybe a hyena. The birdlife is also impressive with the Abyssinian Catbirds song being standout. Drive around through the Bale towns of Robe, stopping for a coffee, and Goba and head up to the Senetti Plateau for a picnic lunch and a chance to see the Ethiopian Wolf. We will o some walking around here, you will feel the thin air as we will be at around 4,100m. We will drive to the highest mountain Tulu Dimtu – the highest point outside of the Simiens at 4,377m (only a handful of peaks in the Simiens are higher).

We will spend 3 nights at this unique ecolodge spending day 3 exploring the Harenna forest,  home to the indigenous Bale Monkey as well as a lot of other mammals including lions and leopards (there is a remote chance of seeing these larger animals), but also spectacular birds. Bale is home to the original strains of coffee Arabacia and there is wild coffee still growing in the Harenna forest.  We can visit the coffee village of Manyete, to learn the traditional ways of harvesting coffee.

Day 4: We will make a horse trek to see the Rafu lava flows – extraordinary basalt boulders sticking up like thousands of  menhirs (standing stones) a la Asterix & Obelix! But we will return to the cosy lodge for a warm dinner by the fire and rooms with stoves in them.

Day 5: Time to say goodbye to Bale. The usual flight time is around lunchtime, so we will have a leisurely breakfast and rive back over the Senetti Plateau and out to Robe to the airport. Your driver will hang around to be sure the flight comes otherwise you might need to return to Addis with him. (Currently there are flights to Addis on Sunday, Wednesday and Fridays- if this is not convenient we can drive you back to Addis.)

Langano lake, from Bishangari Lodge

Optional Day 6 Head to Lake Langano – time to relax by the lake and do some bird watching in a stunning area of riverine forest. You will see the beautiful colobus monkey and might see some hippos too! The lake is safe and really refreshing to swim in after your days in the high mountains.