ETHIOPIAN TOURS & SAFARIS

Natural Attractions

The natural beauty of Ethiopia amazes the first-time visitor. Ethiopia is a land of rugged mountains (some 25 are over 4000 meters high) broad savannah, lakes and rivers. The unique Rift Valley is a remarkable region of volcanic lakes, with their famous collections of bird life, great escarpments and stunning vistas. Tisissat, the Blue Nile Falls, must rank as one of the greatest natural spectacles in Africa today. Ethiopia, after the rains, is a land decked with flowers and with many more native plants than most countries in Africa. Among the many natural tourist attractions only the principal ones are briefly given below.

The Simien Mountains
The Simien Mountains Massif is one of the major highlands of Africa, rising to the highest point in Ethiopia, Ras Dejen (4620 m), which is the fourth highest peak in the continent. Although in Africa and not too far from the equator, snow and ice appear on the highest points and night temperatures often fall below zero.

Dallol Depression
The lowest place (over 116 meters below sea level) in the world is located in Northeast Ethiopia. The daytime temperature reaches between 50 and 60 degree centigrade. Here the earth's crust is thin and hot yellow sulphur fields staining the dazzling white of salt beds are a constant reminder of continuing seismic activity. Amidst the yellow and reeking sulphur fields, alarming earth tremors are frequently felt, and there are several still-active volcanoes - dying reminders of the past furies that once ravaged this zone and bequeathed to it a burnt to and ravaged landscape that seems carved from the infernos of hell.

The Blue Nile Falls - Tisissat Falls
The river Nile, over 800 km in length within Ethiopia and the longest river in Africa, holds part of its heart in Ethiopia. From lake Tana, the Blue Nile, known locally as Abbay, flows for 800 km within Ethiopia to meet the White Nile in Khartoum to form the great river that gives life to Egypt and the Sudan. It has been said that the Blue Nile contributes up to 80% of the Nile's flow. Nowhere, is it more spectacular than where it thunders over the Tisissat Falls literally "smoke of fire" - near Bahir Dar. Millions of gallons of water cascade over the cliff face and into a gorge, creating spectacular rainbows. It is one of the most awe-inspiring displays in Africa.

The Lake Tana
The largest lake in Ethiopia, is the source and from where the famed Blue Nile starts its long journey to Khartoum, and on to the Mediterranean. The 37 islands that are scattered about the surface of the lake shelter fascinating churches and monasteries, some of which have histories dating back to the 13th century. A boat trip on lake Tana is one of the most pleasant excursions for visitors. Along the lakeshore bird life, both local and migratory visitors, make the site an ideal place for birdwatchers.

The whole of the lake Tana region and the Blue Nile gorge host a wide variety of birds both endemic and migratory visitors. The variety of habitats, from rocky crags to riverside forests and important wetlands, ensure that many other different species should be spotted.

The Sof Omer Cave
Sof Omer is one of the most spectacular and extensive underground cave systems in the world. Formed by the Weyb River, as it changed its course in the distant past and carved out a new channel through limestone foothills, the Sof Omer system is an extraordinary natural phenomenon of breathtaking beauty. The Cave which is now an important Islamic Shrine, was named after the saintly Sheikh Sof Omer, who took refuge many centuries ago, have a religious history that predates the arrival of the Muslims in Bale - a history calibrated in thousands of years.

The Rift Valley
The Ethiopian Rift Valley, which is part of the famous East African Rift Valley, comprises numerous hot springs, beautiful lakes and a variety of bird life. The valley is the result of two parallel faults in the earth's surface between which, in distant geological time, the crust was weakened, and the land subsided. Ethiopia is often referred to as "water tower" of Eastern Africa because of the many rivers that pour off the high tableland. A chain of seven lakes marks the Great Rift Valley's passage through Ethiopia. Rift Valley is endowed with many beautiful lakes, numerous hot springs, warm and pleasant climate and a variety of wildlife.

If you wish to visit Ethiopia, please contact us at
holidays@safari-africa.co.uk

If the navigation bar does
not appear above, please
click here to goto our Home Page

Pictures in this column were
taken in Ethiopia.