Ethiopia's Wildlife Highlights

Let me take you on a journey to a place bustling with ancient cultures and unique wildlife; where ancient churches are built into mountainsides and hundreds of endemic gelada baboons roam across dramatic rift valley plateaux … in short, to Ethiopia, the most distinctive country I have ever visited. Through my work as an environmental photojournalist and natural history cameraman, I have been fortunate enough to visit many parts of the world and seen a wonderful variety of wildlife – from projects with pygmy elephants in the jungles of Borneo, to tracking Bewick’s swan migrations from their breeding grounds in Arctic Russia – but the country I am most looking forward to returning to is Ethiopia.

This trip offers an excellent introduction to three regions of this extraordinarily beautiful country. In addition, there will be a variety of photography exercises and talks, from evenings focusing on dramatic landscape photography amongst the valleys of the Simien Mountains, to creating a diverse set of wildlife images around key species such as gelada baboon and, with luck, the Ethiopian wolf. Wildlife Worldwide already offers a fantastic range of photography holidays; the tours led by me, however, will be distinctive in that they will be directly linked with at least one NGO.

I am passionate about ‘putting a face to conservation’ so, during one of our wildlife encounters, we will aim to document an example of hands-on conservation, giving you a more rounded portfolio. This human focus will be continued during our visit to the UNESCO-listed city of Lalibela, world-famous for its 11 rock-hewn churches carved directly into granite bedrock. These are truly breathtaking constructions, still maintained by practising priests who kindly allow visitors the opportunity to develop their portrait and documentary photography in a respectful manner amongst the complex of holy buildings.

Ethiopia is a country of contrasts and surprises, offering a vast range of cultural and wildlife experiences: its bustling capital, Addis Ababa, is a centre for international trade and innovative ideas, while the city of Gondar in the north is famous for its ancient cultural riches and natural beauty. Ethiopia is also the birthplace of coffee! In terms of wildlife, although it is possible to see Africa’s iconic large mammals, including black-manned lions, our focus will be on the endemic species which call this country home, including over 20 endemic mammals, from handsome walia ibex to the bizarre-looking giant mole-rat.

With comfortable accommodation throughout the tour, I hope you will join me on this varied trip for an in-depth introduction to the culture, wildlife and landscapes of this exciting country.

For more information, take a look at our wildlife photography trip to Ethiopia with Ben Cherry.