Join our 17 days birding tour starting on February 7 2024. 2 places remaining in our Landcruiser. Contact us  for all details

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Some people are afraid of security issues in Ethiopia.
Notice that all the birding areas are in the central and Southern part of the country, away from the former conflict in the North. We did a 20 days  photography birding tour in December 2022 through all the important birding areas. Updated travel advice can be found here.

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Classical Endemic Birding Tour Ethiopia

 

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In recent years, Ethiopia has rightly become one of Africa`s leading birding destinations. Its avifauna represents an interesting mixture of east and west African, Palearctic and some strikingly unusual endemic components.

In addition to more than 800 species of birds, of which a staggering 29 are endemic to Ethiopia and its neighbour Eritrea, Ethiopia has a number of peculiar mammals, and a scenic diversity and cultural uniqueness that are hard to equal.

The highlands, which dominate the country, are bisected by the Rift Valley, and fall away to arid desert and bushlands in the north, south and east, and to moister Guinea woodland in the west. Much of the highlands are under subsistence agriculture, but there still exist considerable tracts of Afro-alpine shrubland and pockets of Afromontane forest.

For birders, the most popular access to really high altitude is the Bale Mountains National Park in the southern part of the eastern south-eastern highlands. Here the highest all-weather road in Africa crosses the Sanetti plateau (4377m), allowing easy access to alpine moorlands, grasslands and lakes. 342 birds observed in an 8 days trip, shows the high potential of this country for attracting more and more birdwatchers to Ethiopia.

 

This tour is divided into 5 parts. For those who like to see the endemics, these 5 parts are necessary. If you like a shorter trip, you can cancel some parts to arrive at the trip that is the most convenient for you.

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 First part : Arrival in Debre Zeit and Awash Park

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• Day 1: From Addis Ababa, drive to the Babogaya Lake Viewpoint lodge in Debre Zeit.

• Day 2: Birding Around Bishoftu; Drive to Awash National Park; Birding Awash National Park

• Day 3: Birding Awash National Park

• Day 4: Birding Awash National Park and Aledeghi Wildlife Reserve

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Second  part : Ethiopian Highlands

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• Day 5: Fentale Volcano; Birding Along the Ankober–Debre Sina Escarpment at Melka Ghebdu and Gemessa Gedel

• Day 6: Birding the Jemma Valley; Birding Around Debre Libanos

• Day 7: Birding Sululta Plain.  Drive to the Rift Vally Lakes with stops on Lake Koka and Lake Ziway.

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Third part : Rift Vally Lakes and Bale Mountains

 

• Day 8: Birding on Lake Ziway. Birding at Abiata-Shalla National Park.

• Day 9: Area Around Lake Chitu and Lake Shalla

• Day 10: Drive  to Dinsho; Birding Around Dinsho

• Day 11: Explore the Sanetti Plateau

 

Fourth Part : African Savanna in Southern Ethiopia

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• Day 12:  Drive to Negele with several stops on the road.

• Day 13: Birding Around Negele, Liben Plain, and Filtu

• Day 14: Drive to Yabelo

• Day 15: Birding around Yabelo.

• Day 16: Birding around Mega

• Day 17: Birding Yabelo Area  and drive to Awassa.

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Fifth part : Awassa and Wondo Genet

 

• Day 18: Awassa and Wondo Genet.

• Day 19: Birding in Primairy Forest of Wondo Genet ; Return to Addis Ababa