Your Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Addis Ababa and city tour
Welcome to Ethiopia!
Upon arrival at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, you will be welcomed by our staff members. Then the tour starts with a drive up towards and then drive up to the Entoto Mountains, the best location to observe the panoramic view of the capital. After a short break, the tour continues with a drive back to Ghion Hotel, which has very extensive grounds for birding. Among the species spotted here are the White-backed Black Tit and the brown Tit Warbler. After lunch in the hotel, we leave for Gefersa Reservoir, some 20 kms west of Addis Ababa, where we can see the Blue-winged Goose, black-headed Siskin, Abyssinian Long Claw, and Wattled Ibis. Finally, you will drive back to your Hotel and spend the night.
Accommodaction;
Overnight: Magnolia Hotel or similar.
Day 2: Trip to Debre Libanos
After breakfast,
embark on a scenic drive north to Debre Libanos Monastery, one of Ethiopia’s most revered religious sites.. Before reaching Debre Libanos, we cross the famed Sululta Plains, a brilliant place to find beautiful Spot-breasted Lapwing, the taxonomically strange Blue-winged Goose, and other endemics. We also hope to find our first gelada baboon (nicknamed bleeding heart baboon)
These ferocious-looking but vegetarian baboons have huge vocabularies and a complex social system. We’ll eventually reach our destination, from where we will look for Egyptian Vulture, Griffon Vulture, Bearded Vulture, and other raptors as they gracefully sail by, as well as Little Rock Thrush and many other mountain birds. Finally, Drive to Fiche to spend the night.
Accommodaction;
Overnight: Silale Hotel or similar.
Day 3: Jemma Valley
After breakfast,
we will continue visiting the Jemma River, one of the tributaries of the Nile, and there is a drop of nearly 1000 meters to the valley below. Here at the gorge, and in the forest around the church we can expect to see the Banded Barbet, the Black headed forest oriole, the White billed starling, the Red Billed starling, the White winged cliff chat, the White backed black tit, white cheeked Turaco and Hemp Rich’s hornbill. We’ll be birding around the stunning Jemma River Valley. Here on the rocky valley rim, we will be looking for a number of species but the main agenda will be to find the elusive and well-sought-after endemic Ankober Serin, occurring only along the spectacular Ankober escarpment. Then, continue to Debre
Birhan for overnight.
Accommodaction;
Overnight: Getva Hotel or similar.
Day 4: Drive to Awash via Melka Jebdu
After breakfast,
start driving to Awash National Park. On the way, we’ll be visiting Melka Jebdu to look for species such as Erckel’s Francolin, Crested Francolin, Speckled Pigeon, White-collared Pigeon, Dusky Turtle Dove, Emerald-spotted Wood Dove, Bare-faced Go-away-bird, Eastern Plantain-eater, Abyssinian Nightjar, African Grey Hornbill, Yellow-breasted Barbet, Shining Sunbird to name a few! We will arrive at Doho lodge in the afternoon, where a rich diversity of birds hopefully will make their appearance. We will spend the rest of the day enjoying the natural hot spring and beautiful swimming pools.
Accommodaction;
Overnight: Doho Lodge or similar.
Day 5: Birding around the Ali Dege Plains
Gerenuk, Beisa Oryx, Simmering Gazelle, Grant’s Gazelle, Somali Ostrich and for some rare birds. Then drive to Doha Lodge for lunch and enjoy the natural hot spring.
Overnight: Doho Lodge or similar.
Day 6: Drive to the Great Rift Valley Lakes
On this day, we will drive to Lake Langano, where we will spend the night. We will bird this and other lakes, among them, beautiful Lake Ziway, and wetland sites of the Great Rift Valley, looking for Black Crowned Crane, Collared Pratincole, African Snipe and several other shorebird species, various Tern species including Gull-billed, Lesser and African Jacanas, Fulvous Whistling-Duck, African Pygmy Goose, Western Marsh Harrier, and many others. Other highlights today might be Greater Spotted Eagle, Egyptian Vulture, White-headed Vulture, Clapperton’s Francolin, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse, Buff-bellied Warbler, Northern Black Flycatcher, Blackstar, Black-headed and Pygmy Batises, the striking Masked Shrike, Green-winged Pytilia, and Red-fronted Warbler, as well as many others.
Accommodaction;
Overnight: Rosetta Marina Beach
Resort or similar.
Day 7: Langano and area
We will explore the forest around the lodge and the lake shores – here again will find good numbers of species. The endemic Yellow-fronted Parrot and the Black-Winged Lovebird are found around the lodge, also Broad-billed Roller, Narina Trogon, Red-shouldered and Emerald Cuckoos, Lemon, Blue-spotted, and Tambourine Doves, different woodpeckers, Sharpe’s Starling, Double-toothed Barbet, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Red-breasted Wryneck, Masked Weavers, Beautiful Sunbird and many more. It is home to a few mammals including the Bushbuck, Vervet and Black Colobus Monkeys, Olive Baboon and Golden-backed Jackal. Afternoon, After a relaxed Lunch, touring around Langano, visit the villages of the Oromo people,
interact with locals and learn their real ways of life.
Accommodaction;
Overnight: Rosetta Marina Beach
Resort or similar.
Day 8: Drive to Bale Mountains National park
African Wood Owl, Wattled Ibis, Chestnutnaped Francolin, Moorland Francolin, Wattled Crane, Red-billed Chough, Abyssinian Crimsonwing, and, with luck, Golden Eagle, as well as a long list of other birds. Interesting mammals here are mountain nyala, klipspringer, Menelik’s bushbuck, Bohor reedbuck, and others. The days in this area are also a botanical treat, with vegetation ranging from Hagenia-dominated forest to giant Erica woods to high-altitude moorlands, sometimes with fabulous giant lobelias.
Overnight: Wabe Shebelle hotel or similar
Day 9: Sanetti Plateau and Harenna Forest
After breakfast,
we will be driving on Africa’s highest road, passing close to the summit of Ethiopia’s second-highest mountain. We will search for Black Stork, Wattled Ibis, Rouget’s Rail , the endemic Blue-winged Goose, Spot-breasted Lapwing, Wattled Crane, Thekla Lark, migratory
flocks of Red-throated Pipit, Abyssinian Longclaw, Red-breasted Wheatear,the dumpy Moorland Chat, and flocks of the endemic Black-headed Siskins. Then, we will continue to the south of the Park lies a 1200m (3700 ft) escarpment, below which is one of the largest and most extensive forests remaining in Ethiopia, the Harenna Forest. Here rare Bale Monkeys inhabit the trees and the birdlife is spectacular. Wild coffee is harvested to the south of the lodge and delicious Bale honey is obtained by the local people from hives placed high within the canopy. Here is also found 3% of
Africa’s remaining bamboo forest.
Accomodaction;
Overnight: Wabe Shebelle hotel or similar.
Day 10: Bale Mountains National Park - Negele Borena
The Sidamo lark is quite secretive and like many Ethiopian endemics inhabits a very small area. we may also encounter dik-diks running along the
road on the way.
Day 11: Negele Borena - Yabello
Ethiopia’s most sought-after endemic birds, both listed as globally threatened: the enigmatic Stresemann’s bush crow and glistening White-tailed swallow. You should spot the Swallow threading its way through the termite chimneys and groups of Bushcrows in the thorn bushes. For the entire day explore the Yabello Wildlife Sanctuary and Reserve; species to look for include: Somali Ostrich, Secretary Bird, Ruppell’s Griffon Vulture, African Pygmy Falcon, Kori Bustard, Starspotted Nightjar, Yellow-billed Hornbill, Lilac-breasted Roller, Rufous-crowned Roller, Red and Yellow Barbet, Short-tailed Lark, Northern Grey Tit, Black-capped Social Weaver, Grey-headed Silverbill, Taita Fiscal, and Somali Golden-breasted Bunting.
Overnight: Yabello motel or similar.
Day 12: Yabello Wildlife Sanctuary
A full day in bushcrow country – but we’ll also look for tons of other birds such as Somali Courser, Somali Fiscal, Taita Fiscal, Short-tailed Lark, and
Red-naped Bushshrike, and also for many less range-restricted species like Speke’s Weaver, Black-faced Waxbill, Black-breasted Snake Eagle, Eurasian
Hobby, Black Cuckoo, and two spectacular Whydah species, Steel-blue and Straw-tailed. Throughout this epic tour, we should stumble across a plethora of Eurasian migrants, which could include many different warblers, and all the others.
This place also contains the improbably long-necked gerenuk, an antelope that feeds high up in trees and bushes while standing on its hind legs. A night drive might yield yet another mammalian treat, the Somali bushbaby.
Accommodaction;
Overnight: Yabello motel or similar.
Day 13: Yabello –Lake Hawassa
Overnight: Lake view Hotel or similar.
Day 14: Drive back to Addis Ababa
Morning, you will visit the beautiful city of Hawasa, including Lake Hawasa and the most famous fish Market. Then After breakfast, start driving back to Addis Ababa. The tour ends with a transfer to Bole international airport