Langano Lake

Langano Lake



Lake Langano is situated about 205km south of Addis Ababa. It is one of three Rift Valley lakes lying in this beautiful volcanic landscape, the others being Abyata and Shalla. The region is arid but has plenty of wildlife to make your stay interesting. The Lake Langano area is considered to be the most popular resort area in the region.


The soft brown waters of Langano are set against the blue backdrop of the Arsi Mountains which soar to 4000m. The lake's beaches are sandy and allow for comfortable sunbathing, water-skiing and fishing.
Lakes Shalla and Abyata have abundant wildlife. Lake Abyata is well known for its large numbers of flamingos. It is a volcanic crater with brown water surrounded by steep slopes and rocks. Lake Shalla on the other hand is a shallow, large basin. The water looks blue, and there are muddy coastlines which flamingos flock to.


Both lakes provide the region with several species of bird life (it is believed that there are over 150 species) and other animals. The islands in Lake Shalla are nesting grounds for the birds whereas the shallow waters of Lake Abyata offer the best feeding grounds.


With Wenney Eco-lodge as your base this can be a very exciting region to visit.
In the park surrounding Lakes Shalla and Abyata, water birds, including the great white pelican, predominate. Over 150 bird species have been recorded here including sacred ibis and flamingo. The forests in this park are a great place for sighting cockatoos and rare weavers.


The park’s altitude ranges from 1540 to 2075m, the highest peak being Mount Fike situated between the two lakes. The park is 887 square kilometers in size including the water surface area. It attracts a large number of visitors to the Langano area and is an ornithologist's paradise.
Axum

Axum



Axum is an ancient town in northern Ethiopia. It lies at an elevation of about 2100 meters just west of Adwa in Tigrai region. Once the seat of the kingdom of Axum, it is now a tourist town and religious centre best known for its antiquities tall granite obelisks, 126 in all, stand (or lie broken) in the central square. Once measuring 33 meters, now fallen, is said to be the tallest obelisk ever erected. The obelisks range from nearly plain slabs to intricately inscribed pillars. Door and window-like shapes are carved into some of the pillars, giving them the appearance of slender buildings. The most recent of the obelisks announces the adoption of Christianity in the 4th century by king Ezana. At least 27 carved stone thrones have been unearthed in the overgrown ruins of the ancient palace.
Lake Abayata

Lake Abayata



Abyata-Shala Lakes National Park is formed by the twin lakes of Abyata and Shala. It has a total area of 887 square kilometers (550 square miles) in size, of which 482 square kilometer (300 square miles) is water.
Both lakes are terminal lakes but very different in nature. The park was created for the many aquatic bird species that use the lakes, particularly Great White Pelicans and Greater and Lesser Flamingos. The surrounding area is mainly acacia woodland, some of which is very degraded by man.
Lake Abyata is a shallow pan, only 14 meters (46 feet) deep and its level fluctuates periodically. The beaches are unstable and saline, which creates a very real danger of sinking on the vehicles that venture too close. The lake provides the main source of food for the colonies of great while pelicans on the nearby Lake Shala.
Lake Shala by contrast, is, at 260 meters (853 feet), Ethiopia’s deepest rift valley lake, possibly the deepest lake in Africa north of the Equator. Shalla’s islands are used as breeding sites by many birds, and are home to the continent’s most important breeding colony of Great White Pelicans. The color of the water is like cold tea and there is a high concentration f salts, making it feel soapy. Few fish are found in this lake. It is also one of the seven nesting sites of the bird in the whole of Africa.
Apart from the above mentioned birds, some others include White-necked Cormorant, African Fish Eagle, Egyptian Geese, various Plover species, and Herons. Local mammals are not numerous but include Grant’s gazelle, Greater Kudu, Oribi, Warthog and Golden Jackal. Besides, some of the scenery is very beautiful, especially at dusk; the sight of Pelicans dipping into the silver waters of Lake Abyata is unforgettable.
Abaya And Chamo

Abaya And Chamo



Arba Minch meaning ‘forty springs’  is situated at an elevation of around 1300m in the foot hills of the Rift Valley and  amid a country with abundant water, on a high, cool ridge overlooking two of the southern Rift’s most beautiful lakes Chamo and Abaya. The town is directly opposite Nechisar National Park entrance. ‘Nech’ means white and ‘Sar’ means grass- and the combination ‘white grass’ clearly describing the broad plains area of Nechisar National Park supporting a good number of mammals including, the large greater kudu, with spectacular spiral horns and white-striped flanks, the tiny Guenther’s dik-dik, usually seen in pairs, herds of Burch ell’s zebra, which mingle with Grant’s gazelle and an occasional Swayne’s hartebeest – an endemic subspecies.



The two lakes are divided by a hilly ridge with the delightful name of the ‘Bridge of Heaven’. . Many small rivers empty into both lakes. Crocodiles and hippos abound and hippo hunters from the local Ganjule and Guji tribes carry on a lucrative trade in those parts of the lakes not inside the national park. There is also a crocodile market at the mouth of the small Kulfo River which flows into Lake Chamo. Further north on the shores of Lake Abaya is a crocodile farm, also outside the park boundary.

The birds of this area are many and varied, reflecting the different habitats within the park. Hornbills are particularly striking; the fish eagle is ever-present; kingfishers are numerous along the Kulfo River, and rollers can be seen in the bushes. The shores and islands of Abaya and Chamo are populated by farming peoples such as the Ganjule and Guji, both of whom also have ancient traditions of hippo hunting.
Blue Nile Falls

Blue Nile Falls


As it plunges more than 2,000 metres (6,560 feet) in its 800-kilometre (497-mile) course from Ethiopia to the Sudanese plains, the Blue Nile is what embodies the drama and mystery of the great river of history -beginning its journey with a thundering cascade over the exceptional Blue Nile Falls, thirty kilometers (19 miles) downstream from the point where it leaves Lake Tana.

Known locally as Tis Isat _’ Smoke of Fire’ - the Blue Nile Falls are the most dramatic spectacle that the whole Nile system has to offer. Four hundred metres (1,312 feet) wide when in f1′od (which normally occurs in September and October, after the raily season) and dropping over a sheer chasm more than forty-five metres (150 feet) deep, the falls throw up a continuous spray of water droplets which drench onlookers up to a kilometer away. This misty deluge, in turn, produces rainbows that shift and shimmer across the gorge and a perennial rainforest of lush green vegetation -much to the delight of the innumerable monkeys and multi-coloured birds that inhabit the gorge.

It is only a five-minute drive from the lakeside town of Bahar Dar, across the Blue Nile Bridge, to the spot where the famous river flows out of Lake Tana. But the falls are about thirty-five kilometres (22miles) south of the town and are best approached from Tis Isat Village, a market settlement of the Amhara people who live in this area farming crops like wheat, sorghum and teff (from which injera, the national bread, is made).

On leaving the village the footpath meanders first beside fertile open fields, then drops into a deep basaltic rift spanned by an ancient, fortified stone bridge built in the seventeenth century by Portuguese adventurers and still in use. After about a thirty-minute walk, a stiff climb up a grassy hillside is then rewarded by magnificen t view of the falls, breaking the smooth edge of the rolling river into a thundering cataract of foaming white water.

The site overlooking the waterfall has been visited over the years by many notable visitors, including the late eighteenth-century Scottish traveller James Bruce, and, in more recent times, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.

Although not so spectacular, the Blue Nile Gorge near the falls- often providing views reminiscent of America’s Grand Canyon -also has breathtaking scenery. Other impressive gorges are formed by various tributaries of the Nile, such as the one near Debre Tsige, which is about sixty-nine kilometres ( 43miles) from Addis Ababa. Thirteen kilometres (eight miles) further on, a sheer cliff drops more than 1,000 metres (3,000feet) into another awesome gorge, formed by the Zega Wodel River, one of the Blue Nile tributaries.
Sof Omar Caves

Sof Omar Caves


One of the most spectacular and extensive underground caverns in the world: the Sof Omar cave system, an extraordinary natural phenomenon of breathtaking beauty, is to be found at 120 kilometers (74 miles) eastward from Gobba, in Bale, in a low valley filled with thorn trees and weird funnels of termite hills.
The caves currently constitute an important Islamic shrines named after the saintly Sheikh Sof Omar, who is said to have taken refuge here many centuries ago. The site has a religious history of thousands of years, which predates the arrival of the Muslims in Bale.Yet another mysterious site takes visitors from Gobba, in Bale, for 120 kilometers (74 miles) eastward through a low valley filled with thorn trees and weird funnels of termite hills. The visitors are sure to be awestruck with one of the most spectacular and extensive underground caverns in the world: the Sof Omar cave system, an extraordinary natural phenomenon of breathtaking beauty. The caverns are formed by the Web River, which vanishes into this giant underground world with its arched portals, high, eroded ceilings, and deep, vaulted echoing chambers.
The caves are where nature has worked wonders of architecture, where one can see soaring pillars of stone twenty meters (66 feet) high, flying buttresses, fluted archways, and tall airy vaults. Finally, the river itself is reached, sunless sea flowing through a deep gorge.
The large central hall of Sof Omar, the "Chamber of Columns" (so named after the colossal limestone pillars that are its dominant feature) is one of the highlights of the cave system.
Torches and, of course, a map are a must when on a visit to the Sof Omar caves. Maps are provided by the Ethiopian Tourism Enterprise. Local guides also carry a copy of the map.
Bats (no trouble to the visitor), fish, and crustaceans are the only living creatures inhabiting the caves. There are crocodiles in the nearby river, but they seem to shun the caves themselves' fortunately! The countryside around the caves has an abundance of dik-dik and kudu, serval cat, rock hyrax, giant tortoises, snakes, lizards, and more than fifty species of birds.
Ras Dashen mountain

Ras Dashen mountain



Ras Dashen is the highest mountain in Ethiopia, and the highest of the Simen range, a group of eroded mountains that rises stunningly from the surrounding 9,000 foot plateau in northern Ethiopia. Despite the overall high elevation of Ethiopia, the Simen range is the only place in the country that is regularly snow-covered in Winter. The mountains are composed of basalt volcanic rock, though there are no active volcanoes today. In the midst of the Simen range, Ras Dashen is a cluster of nine rocky peaks. The mountain trails of the Simen Range are dotted with many small agricultural villages. Traditionally the local people believed the mountains to be inhabited by hostile spirits, so the peaks remained unclimbed until Italy's occupation of Ethiopia in 1935.