One of Ethiopia’s finest areas of savannah for a typical safari, this beautiful park combines excellent antelope watching, rare birds and perhaps the best chance in Ethiopia of seeing lions.
Established in 2007, Maze National Park is one of Ethiopia’s lesser-known treasures, a beautiful plain surrounded by rolling hills, and still remains off the most travelled routes. It encompasses some of Ethiopia’s best preserved savannah woodland, with the Maze River running through the heart of the park, providing water for a large range of wildlife.
Although not comparable in sightings to the more established national parks in East Africa, this 2,000 hectare park provides a refuge to Ethiopia’s largest population of Swayne’s hartebeest, an endangered subspecies endemic to the country. Over 800 of these elegant antelopes can be easily observed on a safari drive through the park’s golden grasslands.
The high grass and limited network of roads makes the viewing of smaller animals a little more challenging, but greater kudu, waterbuck, oribi, warthog and troops of olive baboon are all commonly seen. The park also supports one of the higher densities of lion found in Ethiopia and although not common, they're occasionally observed patrolling or resting along the main road through the park. Cheetah, leopard and African golden wolves are also present, but rarely seen.
Another highlight is the varied birdlife, which includes typical open grassland species such as lilac-breasted and Abyssinian rollers, black-bellied bustard, four-banded sandgrouse, white-browed coucal and fiscal shrikes.
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