Trekking and wolf-spotting in the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia

With group members arriving during the afternoon and evening, today is a 'free' day for you to arrive, be transferred to the start hotel, and to shake off any travel fatigue before the start of your adventure in earnest, tomorrow.  Your YellowWood guide will be on hand to welcome you in the evening with an adventure briefing, and advice on where to grab a bite to eat. If you would like us to help you organise any free time you have today, then do just ask.

Our adventure begins with a tour of the highlights of this liveliest of cities including the Ethnographic & Red Terror Museums, and the magnificent panoramic views of the city, from Entoto Mountain. We offer an optional (but highly recommended) visit to Hamlin Fistula Hospital in Addis, run by the charity Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia, our linked charity for this adventure, where you can learn more about the challenges faced by women living in remote Ethiopian villages. In the evening we will watch traditional musicians and dancers performing different tribal dances in a culture house before dinner at a restaurant and a jazz club or two for any interested parties.

Making an early start we will drive south to the town of Dinsho (around 380kms), in the Bale zone of the Oromia region, and in the heart of the Bale Mountains. We take our time, pausing as required to stretch our legs, take photos and eat, enjoying travelling through the incredible and striking southern Ethiopian countryside. Our campsite is situated inside the Bale Mountains National Park, and affords beautiful views of the endemic Mountain Nyalas, huge warthogs and Redback and Bushback deer who all drop past to say hello, as well as an abundance of local birdlife for which the park is famous. In nominating the mountain park as a World Heritage site, the UN noted that more mammal species would go extinct if the Bale Mountains habitat disappeared, than any equivalent parcel of land on the planet!

An introductory walk for around 4-5hours at a gentle pace, today we will trek from Dinsho, east, along to Sodota camp, through farmsteads and vast plains. The camp and tents will be constructed for us.The terrain is at times uneven but we are walking along fairly well-trodden paths. Our belongings are transported by horses so we need only carry a day pack, and as well as your YellowWood guide, we are accompanied by our local walking guide and Bale Mountains expert, Ayuba.This is the natural habitat of the endemic Ethiopian Red Wolf, and we will keep a sharp eye out for either solitary hunters or small packs with their young, here, in their hunting grounds. 

Today we climb right up onto the Sanetti plateau, through beautiful landscapes of silvery everlasting flowers, to camp near the base of the stunning Mt. Waaswma. From the plains, we gain some real height and are rewarded with fantastic views of the pyramid mountain as well as the sensation of being in a remote and magical place that very few people will have had the opportunity of seeing. We take the trek gently as usual, walking for around 5 hours today, up at 3900m.

We enjoy a slightly shorter day today (walking for around 4 hours) across the Rooftop of Africa, with views of Mt Waaswma, to Rafu camp situated in the incredible mind-bending natural ‘stone forest’ of the plateau. Formed by the uneven erosion of an ancient lava flow, what is left is a field of towering rock pinnacles, some over 10m high. Our camp will be set up, nestled in between the stones in this surreal and beautiful setting. For the more energetic there is the option to ascend a small peak from camp, affording incredible views of the Harenna Forest to the south, which we will soon be exploring.

On the final day of our trek, we walk along the windswept plains with the advisable option of a short hike on a rough gravel road up to the summit of Mt. Tulu Dimtu (4377m), Ethiopia’s 2nd highest mountain. The 360° views from the top are undoubtedly one of the highlights of this adventure and well worth the effort involved! After descending, we are met with private transport and driven through beautiful villages and barley fields into the mountain bamboo groves and lichen-covered Harenna Cloud Forest. Here we celebrate the day’s achievements with the first of a 2-night stay in the exceptional and memorable Bale Mountain Lodge, offering us a wonderful treat after our camping and trekking experiences.

Knowing we can return this afternoon to the comfort and stunning surroundings of the mountain lodge, the goal this morning is to explore and enjoy the beauty of the Harenna Forest on foot; the hidden natural waterfalls cascading down into rock pools as well as the exotic looking Colobus monkeys. 

Reluctantly leaving the tranquillity of the Harenna Cloud Forest (and Bale Mountain Lodge!) behind us, we have a long (around 9 hours) but scenic car journey back to Addis today, giving us the opportunity to absorb and commit to memory, more of the scenery of Africa. Being back in the hustle and bustle of Addis will offer a strong contrast to the incredible and natural experience we have just had in Bale Mountains National Park, but we make the most of it, taking our dinner as a group in a vibrant restaurant in town, before our final night in Ethiopia.

We transfer you to the airport for flights out of Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa. Leaving the beauty of Ethiopia is going to feel all wrong but ‘normal life’ awaits you. It must be time to plan your next escape!