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Ethiopia birdwatching holiday in Bale Mountains

country:Ethiopia
departures:This trip can be tailormade at a time to suit you and can be adapted to suit your interests, budget and requirements as necessary. Minimum 2 people
price:From £674 (10 days) excluding flights. Price based on 2 people sharing
 
the amazing things you'll be doing
No other aspect of Ethiopia’s biology typifies its unique situation more than its prolific and numerous bird fauna. With our bird watching holidays package you may find yourself spoiled for choice with over 830 recorded species and 23 species found nowhere else in the world. Of the ten bird families endemic to the African mainland eight are represented in Ethiopia. In fact in a recent report, Ethiopia's Bale Mountain region was voted No.4 on a list of the best birding sites by the African Bird Club. Bale Mountains is also a favorite destination among birders and famous for its large number of Ethiopian endemics. We have guides who have rich experience in accompanying international or local bird watchers to the best bird sites of Ethiopia.

This tour is one of our best vacation packages designed to serve the needs of anyone looking for adventure trekking, bird watching, observing wildlife and sight seeing in one of the most beautiful parts of Ethiopia. It is my pleasure to offer you one of our most exciting vacation packages.
day-by-day itinerary
Day 1:Arrival in Addis Ababa. A welcoming reception and transfer to your hotel.
Day 2:Drive via Debrezeit. Journey to a series of crater lakes and enjoy viewing birds. Proceed to lakes of the Great Rift Valley to Lake Zewai rich in varieties of water birds. Also lakes and park of Shala and Abyata.
Day 3:Drive to Dinsho. 'Headquarters of the bale mountains national park' and where your trek begins. Trek to the Web and Wollo Valleys to the Finchaya Habera waterfall and continue to Mararo.
Day 4:Wasama Valley. Trek the Wasama valley to the Sanetti plateau visiting the mineral springs at Worgona and the giant molerats; o/n camping at Shaiya Valley.
Day 5:Mt Batu. Trekking Mt Batu for terrific views of birds of pray; eagles, Lammergeyers, short eared and cape eagle owls and buzzards. Walk to the very picturesque camp site in the Tagona valley under the sheer cliffs beside the Garba Guracha.
Day 6:Crane Lakes. Trek to the Crane lakes known for their water birds including the crane. Also recognised as one of the best spots to see the endemic Ethiopian wolf.
Day 7:Tullu Deemtu. Trek Tullu Deemtu where you will have good views over the Harena forest to the south. Here you meet your vehicle on the road to Goba Dolomena.
Day 8:Drive to Wondogenet. Drive to the popular hot spring resort "Wondo genet" where you will be able to enjoy the relaxation and viewing of birds. Birds like the yellow fronted parrot, Hemprichs, and crowned hornbills, lesser honey guide and others.
Day 9:Drive to Addis. Stop over for a lunch break and an en-route visit at Sodore, a popular resort. Here you can enjoy the Olympic size swimming pool, the beautiful scenery of Awash River, and Nazreth city. Then proceed to Addis Ababa where a farewell dinner party awaits you.
Day 10:Departure. Departure to the airport.


If you want a customized itinerary, quotation, or any other tour information about this trip we are very happy to help.
travelling with a local operator
This holiday is operated by a company based in the holiday destination and they will be able to provide expert local knowledge. They will be able to tailor make your holiday to suit your requirements not only concerning the dates of travel but also typically the standard of accommodation, and thus price. It is rare for local operators to be able to help with the booking of your flights.
how this holiday makes a difference
By booking this tour you will support the development and conservation efforts of the park and add income to the families of the small restaurants and shop owners who provide services for the visitors. Families will also have the chance to provide their children with an education. When you visit the park you will stay in lodges run by the park. Accommodations outside the park are run and owned by the locals. Unless are unavailable, they hire their staff and get their needs from the locals sources.

The park has an environmental conservation policy which helps protect the ecosystem, the wildlife, and the local community. Accommodations also have put in place energy usage, waste minimization, and economic policies like employing their staff from the local communities, purchasing their resources from the local market, and giving away plastic materials to recycling agencies.

All our guides are professionals and are very well trained. All of them but one are locals residents. We hire scouts from the park and cooks from the community. Also for your trekking arrangements, we hire mules from the local farmers and purchase most of the items that are necessary for your stay from local shops. For you to have a better knowledge of the places you visit, we will provide you accurate pre-trip information. And in order for you to have a better understanding of the places, the environment, and the local community we will supply you with our Travelers Code of Conduct which is also supplied to our staff and local suppliers.

This trip also helps a project on our list named 'Yezelalem Minch'. It is founded by a woman once in a foster home and who now works with a vision of seeing needy orphans and vulnerable children are cared for. It is highly appreciated if you can bring some little gifts for the children. Your contributions small or large, allow the initiative to address the needs of these marginalized children.

As an environmental impact of the trip, we understand that the bad utilization and mismanagement of natural resources, waste, and the over use of energy are the major causes of land degradation and pollution. Thus we promote waste and energy usage minimizations and environmental friendly initiatives through our website and on our Travellers Code of Conduct. Accommodations have also put in place policies of environmental conservation, water and energy usages. They participate in conserving the environment and support various initiatives like '2 trees for 2000', a nation wide millennium initiative against the deforestation and land degradation in Ethiopia. They also help protect the environment by giving away plastic bags to recycling agencies.

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