14 Days Ethiopia Mammal Watching Tour
Day 1. Flight Addis Ababa – Gondar
You will arrive via Addis Bole International airport and you will be welcomed by our guide and you will be checked in to board your domestic flight to Gondar. Here you will meet with another team that will drive you to Simien Mountains. The simian mountains are a UNESCO world natural heritage site. When you get to the Simien mountains, you will check into the lodge and then head out to explore this scenic area. The escarpment of this area is a good spot to see the baboons. This particular spot is called the ‘bleeding heart baboon’ and it houses the Gelada baboons that are endemic to Ethiopia and can be seen in big numbers here. There are attracted here in large numbers due to the presence of good vegetation since they feed on herbs, grass and roots. They also eat insects like grasshoppers and locusts. You will head back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Overnight Simien Lodge.
Day 2. Simien Mountains National Park
We shall have an early morning breakfast and then drive to the Chennek camp area. The camp is about 3,620 meters above sea level and it will also give you excellent views of the mountains and the Gelada monkeys. As we hike higher, the scenery becomes better. We drive to the Bwahit Mountain at an latitude of about 4200 meters above sea level. On the top of this mountain, we shall have good views of the ImetGogo and Inatiye rocks. Depending on where your luck, you may also see the Walia Ibex ( Capra ibex Walia). This is endemic to the Simien Mountains. Another species special to this area is the Ethiopian Wolf and this is very rare.
Overnight Simien Lodge.
Day 3. Drive to Awash National Park
We shall have an early breakfast and head to the Gondar airstrip and fly back to Addis Ababa. When you get to the capital, our representative will drive you to Awash National Park. We shall stop for lunch on our way there. When we get to the national park later in the afternoon, we shall do an evening game drive before heading to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
O/night Camping
Day 4. Awash National Park
We shall head out before breakfast and drive to the bushes of the National park and meet the animals before they are disrupted by Human activity. We shall also hike to the banks of the River Awash and have views of the Awash waterfalls. While here, we shall have high chances of seeing animals like Salt’s Dik-dik, Lesser Kudu, Warthog, Hamadryas Baboon, Aardwolf, Aardvark, Grivet Monkey, Black-backed Jackal, Spotted Hyena, Olive Baboon, Abyssinian Hare and Nile Crocodiles.
Overnight Camping.
Day 5. Drive to Alideghe Wildlife Reserve
We shall have our breakfast early in the morning before driving off to the North Eastern sector of the Awash Natonal park where the Alideghi game reserve is located. The game dive is this sector of the park will reward us with animals like Grevy’s Zebra, Hamadrias Baboons, African Golden Wolf, Gerenuk, Beisa Oryx, Simmering Gazelle, Grant’s gazelle, Olive and Somali Ostriches. Some of the other birdlife to expect here is Abyssinian Roller, bee eaters, Arabian Bustard and Kori bustard.
Overnight Camping.
Day 6. Drive to Harar
We shall drive about 300km this day to the area of Harar. This will require us to have our breakfast early such that we can get on this journey quickly. This city is a hostorial on and it has very beautiful architecture with 16th century walls. This city is among the 5 most important cities in the country. This city has an Islamic heritage. There is the hyena man that feeds the hyenas every night; you will meet him while here. The practice of feeding the hyenas started many years ago as the people tried to prevent the hyenas from hunting their own food which in turn would help them from hunting from the domestic homes. You can be given a chance to feed the hyenas as well.
Overnight Ras Hotel.
Day 7. Harar – Awash
We shall have our breakfast at around 7am and then we shall walk to the walled town of Harar. Some of the highlights are the visit to the house of Arthur Rimbaud. He was a French popular poet; he lived in Harar for the most of his life. There is the Harari museum, the RasMekonnen house, the harari traditional homes and the Islamic market here.
Overnight Gennet Hotel.
Day 8. Drive to Langano with stops on the way
We shall drive today to the famous Lake Langano. We shall stop at Lake Ziway on our way to have some view of the aquatic life. We shall arrive at lake Langano later in the afternoon. The lake will give us a chance to see animals like Hippos. A forest walk will be organised for you. The Walk may yield wildlife like Bat Eared Fox, Bush Babies, Aardvark, Crested Porcupine and Genet families.
Overnight Hara Langano Lodge.
Day 9. Drive to Senkale Wildlife Sanctuary
After our breakfast, we leave the Lake Langano area and drive to the Sankale wildlife sanctuary and this is home to the endemic Oribi and the Swayne’s Hartebeest. We shall have a brief stop at the Abjatta National park were we shall meet the African Golden Wolf, African Ostriches and Grants Gazelle. We shall head to Sankale and do a game drive then head back to Awassa where we shall sleep for the night. The Awassa area is a good spot to see the African Clawless Otters.
Overnight Haile Resort.
Day 10. Drive to Bale Mountains National Park
Today we shall drive to the South Eastern part of the country. Here we shall go to the Bale Mountains National park. The park boundaries are good areas to spot the mammals in the area that are not able to cross to the southern part of the park that is colonised by the Serval cats. The area has the Nyala and Menelik’s Bushbuck that are endemic to this area.
Overnight WabeShabale Hotel or similar
Day 11. Bale Mountains Sanneti Plateau
We shall have an early morning breakfast and then drive to the Sanetti Platau that is about 4000 meters above sea level. The area has very beautiful scenery of the alpine and moors land vegetation of this Plateau. You have a very high chance of meeting with the very special and endangered Ethiopian Wolf. The Afro Alpine vegetation on this Plateau is the largest in the entire Africa. Some of the wildlife you will interact with here is the Stark’s Hare, Giant Mole Rat, Rock Hyrax an many other grass rats.
Overnight WabeShabale Hotel or similar.
Day 12. Bale Mountains Harenna Forest
We shall wake a little earlier than the usual. After our breakfast we shall head to the Harenna forest. The time here will give us more chance of nteracting with more mammals like the Gaint forest hog, Bush pig and the endemic Bale Monkey that’s usually hang on the bamboo trees. We shall also the night game drive to interact with the Nocturnal animals.
O/night Harena Cultural Lodge.
Day 13. Bale Mountains Gassay Grasslands
We shall have breakfast and then drive out of the forest area and head to the Gassay Grasslands. We shall interact with both the woodlands and grasslands vegetations of the national park. Both the Night and day safaris will give us animals like Serval Cat, African Golden Wolf, Civet Cat and Caracals. We shall then drive to Goba for our dinner and overnight.
Overnight WabeShabale Hotel.
Day 14. Return Back to Addis
Our breakfast and time of wake up will be determined by your departure flight. We shall after our breakfast drive to Addis Ababa. We shall make several stops to interact with the locals like the cultural dancers and have some of the local cuisines. You may refresh before you take your flight back home.
