Join a wildlife expert on this exceptional natural history journey through Ethiopia’s best wildlife hotspots. Discover some of its most charismatic wildlife and explore stunning landscapes in seldom-visited national parks.
There's nowhere like Ethiopia within Africa; it blends dramatic landscapes with spectacular wildlife, with many species found only within its beautiful highlands. For this new tour, we've lined up the very best wildlife hotspots, as well as some exciting new national parks, to provide a remarkable wildlife holiday in a country unlike any other in Africa.
This trip begins in Ethiopia’s vibrant capital of Addis Ababa, where we make a day visit to the rugged cliffs of the Jemma Valley at Debre Libanos. Here the undoubted wildlife highlight is the troops of thick-haired, red-chested gelada baboons that graze the grassland plateaus, one of the most expressive primates in Africa.
We then take to the rolling hills, montane cloud forests and riparian woodlands of Chebera-Churchura National Park. Not many know about the wildlife of this stunningly lush new national park, which is home to a large elephant and buffalo population as well as De-Brazza’s monkeys, bushpigs and the remarkable standard-winged nightjar.
Our next location, Maze National Park, is completely different, with a dry arid landscape of savannah woodland and herds of Swayne’s hartebeest, kudu, waterbuck and oribi, in addition to a new cast of grassland birdlife with raptors, rollers and orange-bellied parrots among the highlights.
We then enjoy time at a lovely lodge near Lake Awassa, where an old custom of leaving out scraps of food for spotted hyenas will provide us with unforgettable close views. Here we can also enjoy excellent birdwatching with white-cheeked turacos in the forest and a plethora of waterbirds and hippos on nearby Lake Awassa, part of the Great Rift Valley.
For our finale, we explore the diverse habitats of the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia’s must-see wildlife destination, home to the Ethiopian wolf, mountain nyala, bale monkey and giant mole rat and much more.
Typical Itinerary
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Day 1:
Depart the UK
Depart the UK on an overnight flight from London to Addis Ababa.
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Day 2:
Arrive in Addis Ababa and city tour
On arrival in Ethiopia, we're met at the airport and transferred to our nearby hotel. We have the morning to recover from our journey, before gathering together for our first lunch and a city tour, taking in the highlights of Addis Ababa.
We visit the National Museum, Emperor Haile Selassie’s former palace, and also have our first taste of Ethiopian birdlife.
Accommodation: Swiss Inn Nexus Hotel, 2-nights
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Day 3:
Excursion to Debre Libanos
This morning we depart the city for a drive north to the dramatic Debre Libanos gorge. Our journey takes us through the bird-rich Sululta Plains, where we may find endemics such as Abyssinian longclaw and wintering waders.
The highlight at Debre Libanos is spending time with the troop of gelada baboons as they graze, groom and interact on the highland plateau. These expressive primates are fascinating to spend time with, and we hope to enjoy watching both the impressive males with their red chests and thick manes, and curious infants.
The cliffs around the gorge are an ideal site to find a variety of raptors soaring over the surrounding landscape such as lammergeier, Verreaux’s eagle and also our first thick-billed ravens.
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Day 4:
Transfer to Chebera-Churchura National Park
This morning, we have an early transfer to the domestic airport, where we take a short flight to the city of Jimma.
On arrival, we begin the journey of approximately four hours through rural countryside and friendly villages to Chebera-Churchura National Park. We make several stops to admire the changing scenery and spot some roadside birdlife. After our arrival and lunch, we have the late afternoon to take our first drive in Chebera-Churchura in search of its diverse wildlife.
As dusk approaches we set off on our first night drive where we hope to encounter the remarkable standard-winged nightjar and some nocturnal mammals.
Accommodation: Chebera Safari Lodge, 3-nights
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Days 5-6
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Exploring Chebera-Churchura National Park
Over the next two full days, we explore this large national park on early morning and late afternoon safari-style drives, and take a few short walks near the lodge.
Home to Ethiopia’s largest elephant population, we search for family herds of these iconic mammals in the wetlands and forest clearings around the river. At some locations we may be treated to the uplifting sight of elephants, hippos, buffalo and waterbuck all mingling together, with black-crowned cranes flying overhead against a backdrop of lush forested hills.
Within the mature riparian forests we hope to observe the striking De-Brazza’s monkey and large families of olive baboons, and along the forest tracks we hope for an encounter with the shy bush pig or giant forest hog.
This stunning, yet little explored park supports over 200 species of bird, in addition to an extraordinary diversity of butterflies that we can discover within its forest clearings.
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Day 7:
Final morning in Chebera and transfer to Halala Kella Lodge
In the morning, we take one final game drive or forest walk in search of any species we are yet to find. We then set off for a scenic drive from the lush green hills of the Kafa region into the drier Dawro zone.
Later in the day we arrive at our next base, the charming Halala Kella Lodge, overlooking the Gilgel Gibe III Dam on the Omo River. After our long drive, we can enjoy some restful time at this high comfort lodge, perhaps taking a swim in the inviting pool before soaking up the spectacular views from the sunset deck with a drink in hand.
Accommodation: Halala Kella Lodge, 1-night
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Day 8:
Halala Kella Lodge and transfer to Sodo
This morning, we could start with a gentle birding walk in the surrounding bush, hopefully discovering pygmy falcons, skinks and butterflies’ before the day heats up.
After a leisurely lunch, we then set off for the transfer to Sodo, stopping along the way at good birding locations around the Omo River. We arrive at our comfortable hotel in Sodo in time for dinner.
Accommodation: Haile Resort Wolaita Sodo, 1-night
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Day 9:
Morning excursion to Maze National Park and transfer to Yirga Alem
Starting the day just after sunrise, we take an early drive south into Maze National Park for a half-day safari. A beautiful and remote national park of savannah grassland and scattered woodland, our morning here's a contrast to the verdant forests of Chebera.
As we drive along the network of tracks through the park, we look for herds of the endangered Swayne's hartebeest, an Ethiopian endemic subspecies, in addition to greater kudu, waterbuck, oribi and warthog. The park also supports a growing lion population, and we do have a small chance of encountering them along the road, early morning. Birdlife is also very different here, with rollers and shrikes perched atop the prominent bushes and African orange-bellied parrot and many colourful starling species within the woodlands.
We then return to Sodo for lunch and continue on to the coffee growing lands of Yirga Alem and our next base at the lovely Aregash Lodge. Before dinner, we have the excitement of watching the resident clan of spotted hyenas emerging just metres away from us on the edge of the forest.
Accommodation: Aregash Lodge, 2-nights
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Day 10:
Wildlife watching and coffee tour around Lake Awassa
Early this morning, we start with a wildlife walk in our tranquil lodge grounds and adjacent forest trails. We may observe the hyenas returning to their den to sleep during the day, and locate a bush hyrax or Menelik’s bushbuck on the edge of forest. There are also plenty of vervet monkeys and a rich birdlife.
The grounds of the lodge are one of the best locations to marvel at the colours of white-cheeked turaco, narina trogon and black-winged lovebird among many others.
After breakfast, we can see the lodge’s organic farm and wild coffee plantations, before visiting one of the coffee washing stations in the town to learn more about the whole coffee growing and harvesting process.
We then head to nearby Lake Awassa for a delightful boat trip around the marshy edges of this great rift valley lake, seeing hippos, African fish eagles and a huge variety of waterbirds up close. After this, we visit an urban park on the shores of the lake where we can savour remarkably close views of marabou storks, hamerkops, kingfishers and sunbirds, plus habituated guereza colobus monkeys and even possibly more spotted hyenas.
We then return to the lodge for a second evening of hyena watching.
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Day 11:
Transfer to the Bale Mountains
Today we make a long but highly rewarding drive into the Bale Mountains National Park. Our route to our lodge takes us right through the park, and we stop to first enjoy time in the wildlife rich Gaysay grasslands and juniper forests at Dinsho, the park headquarters.
As we enter this lush area we're greeted by the sight of mountain nyalas, bohor reedbuck and warthogs grazing at the roadsides. With careful scanning and luck, we may also encounter a serval stalking rodents amongst the long grasses, or locate the Abyssinian long-eared owl at its day roost, tucked into a moss clad juniper tree.
We complete our journey crossing the Sanetti plateau, to the Bale Mountain Lodge, arriving in time for dinner.
Accommodation: Bale Mountain Lodge, 3-nights
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Days 12-13
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Exploring the Bale Mountains
We have the next two full days to explore the rich variety of habitats across this special national park. One of the highlights is spending time on the Sanetti Plateau, a vast alpine landscape, studded with ancient boulders and giant lobeilas, and numerous moorland pools. This is the home of the largest remaining population of the highly endangered Ethiopian wolf. This beautiful canid is now very rare, but as we drive across the plateau we have excellent opportunities to observe them.
In addition to the wolves, the plateau also offers us the chance to see the giant mole rat, Stark’s hare, Ethiopian klipspringer and a great range of birds including Rouget’s rail, spot-breasted lapwing and blue-winged goose.
Away from the plateau, we also spend time within the dense Harenna Forest that surrounds our lodge. Here there are more local specialities to discover including the localised Bale monkey, two species of horned chameleon and majestic crowned eagles. On evening drives through the forest we hope to find giant forest hog and if we're very lucky, maybe even Bale’s unique population of forest dwelling lions.
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Day 14:
Bale Mountains and Addis Ababa
Today we have a final early morning to explore the Harenna Forest in search of its secretive wild inhabitants. Later, we transfer back across the Sanetti Pleatau passing Mount Tullu Dimtu, one of the highest peaks in Ethiopia and again hope for some final encounters with the Ethiopian wolves.
We then reach Goba airport, where we check in for our flight back to Addis. On arrival back in Addis Ababa, we transfer to the hotel where we have day use of the rooms and facilities to relax before a special farewell dinner together as a group, and our overnight flight back to the UK.
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Day 15:
Arrive in the UK
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