Rift Valley and Bale Mountains National Park (7 days)

Included in the travel price

• 6 nights with breakfast in high-end eco lodges and resorts
• All ground transport according to the program
• Professional tour guide tour guide (English, German, French, Italian and Spanish-speaking available)
• All entrances and fees for national parks and attractions
• All local guides, rangers and scouts
• Traditional dinner on the last evening before departure
• 1 liter of mineral water per day

Day 1: Arrival and Addis Ababa City Tour

Upon arrival at Bole International Airport, you will be met by a Welcome Ethiopia Tours representative and be taken to your reserved hotel. Depending on your arrival time, we have various sightseeing options:

• Mount Entoto with the best views over the capital.
• Institute of Ethiopian Studies, where you can see a variety of artifacts from all the different regions reflecting the history and culture of the country
• Natinal Museum which among other exhibits the 3.5-million-year-old bones of Lucy.
• Trinity Cathedral: this is the burial place of members of the imperial family and noted patriots; the cathedral is the most magnificent of its kind in the country, ornamented with carvings, mosaics and other artistic works.
• The Mercato, the largest open-air market in Africa

Accommodation: Hotel, Addis Ababa

Day 2: Addis Ababa – Lake Langano (200 km)

After breakfast, we drive to the Hara Langano Lodge at the shores of Lake Langano (approx. 4 hours). Hara Langano Lodge is an eco-lodge beautifully situated within genuinely preserved nature. You may relax on the beach (swimming is possible), take a walk through the lodge and encounter wild animals such as Warthogs or Olive Baboons in front of your bungalow. The lodge can arrange many activities, such as trekking through the nearby forest, mountain biking, bird watching, fishing, hippo spotting or horse riding.

Accommodation: Hara LanganoLodge, Lake Langano

Day 3: Lake Langano – Bale National Park (250 km)

Morning:
We drive from Langano via Shashamane to the Bale Mountains National Park headquarters in Dinsho, where we will undertake a gentle but very interesting walk and usually encounter a great variety of animals and birds, particularly a large number of the endemic mountain Nyalas.
Afternoon:
We continue to drive into the Bale Mountain National Park, the second national park in Ethiopia underway to be become soon an UNESCO world nature site due to its stunning landscapes, rich flora and fauna. We explore the highest all-weather road of Africa to the largest moorland tract in Africa, the Senetti plateau. With a little luck, we should encounter here the endemic Ethiopian Wolf and its favourite prey, the Giant Mole Rat. In addition to the Senetti Plateau, we will also explore the Harena escarpments and its equatorial rainforests. Highland birding includes the Abyssinian Catbird, Abyssinian Woodpecker, White-backed Black Tit, Abyssinian Ground Thrush, Yellow-crowned Canary, Somali Chestnut Winged Starling, Olive Pigeon and Mountain Buzzard. In the late afternoon, we will arrive at the Bale Mountain Lodge where we will spend the night.
Accommodation: Bale Mountains Lodge, Bale National Park (www.balemountainlodge.com)

Day 4: Full Day in the Bale National Park

The Bale Mountains Lodge, situated beautifully within the Bale National Park is surrounded by rare wild animals that you may encounter during your stay there. There are marked routes for guests to walk along and explore the forest. Nature enthusiasts may enjoy many activities such as Bird Watching, a trip to the Sanetti Plateau, where you may spot the Ethiopian Wolf and more bird life or walking through the forest where you can spot endemic Bale Monkeys, other primates, birds, rare cats and unusual plants.

Accommodation: Bale Mountains Lodge, Bale National Park (www.balemountainlodge.com)

Day 5: Bale National Park – Hawassa (280 km)

After breakfast, we drive to Hawassa (approx. 5hrs.), the capital town of the Southern People’s Nations and nicknamed as “The town of endless Love”. In Hawassa, you can recover from the strengths of travelling in the 4-star resort of the famous Ethiopian runner Haile Gebre Selassie. From Sauna, steam bath to beauty treatment nothing should be missing here and the sunsets over Lake Hawassa are usually fantastic!

Accommodation: Haile Resort, Hawassa (www.hailehotelsandresorts.com)

Day 6: Hawassa- Yirgalem (40 km)

Early in the morning we will visit the authentic fish market in Hawassa, and then continue to Aregash Lodge in Yirgalem, a beautiful nature retreat with own forest as well as vegetable and fruit gardens. During your visit, you should see also see Black and White Colobus Monkeys, Vervet Monkeys and numerous bird species. Not to be missed is the feeding at dusk of the hyena living in the forest near the lodge.
Accommodation: Aregash Lodge, Yirgalem (www.aregashlodge.com)

Day 7: Yirgalem – Addis Ababa (320 km)

After breakfast, we drive back to Addis Ababa (approx. 6 hrs) and we will reach in the afternoon (a day room can be provided until 6pm). In the evening, you are be invited to a memorable farewell dinner in one of Addis Ababa’s traditional restaurants with cultural songs, dances and traditional food. After dinner, you will be transferred to Bole International Airport for your departure or back to your hotel if you continue your stay in Ethiopia.

Departure or Individual Extension