Brilliant Ethiopia: The Unique Wonder

Ethiopia is one of Africa’s most beautiful countries and its landscapes are epic in both scale and beauty. Here are some of Ethiopia’s endemic birds and the country’s landscape, that can be found nowhere else but Ethiopia. The Danakil Depression, where there are lush highlands and stirring deserts, vertiginous canyons and sweeping savanna, vast lakes, and high plateaus, and the lowest place on the African continent, (the Simien and Bale mountains, which are more than 9800ft above sea level). If you look hard enough, you’ll also find landmarks of great significance, from the source of the Blue Nile to the mesmerizingly desolate Danakil Depression, peppered with an astonishing Africa’s active volcanoes.

The **Blue Nile Falls** is a waterfall on the Abbay river in Ethiopia. It is known as Tis Abay in Amharic, meaning “great smoke”. It is situated on the upper course of the river, about 30 kilometers (19 mi) downstream from the town of Bahir Dar and Lake Tana. The falls are one of Ethiopia’s best-known tourist attractions.

Ethiopian Birds

Ethiopia is gradually becoming known as one of Africa’s top birding destinations and the numbers really speak for themselves – there are no less than 835 bird species found in Ethiopia, with an incredible 23 that are unique to the country. Serious birders may want a guide to help them spot and identify rare species, but even to travelers with a completely untrained eye, catching a glimpse of electric-bright feathers or hearing huge wings beating overhead during a forest walk is an undeniable thrill. Keep your eyes peeled for the red-cheeked cordon bleu, Ethiopian guinea fowl, and the endemic blue-winged goose. It’s your ears that may twig you to the arrival of a bearded vulture soaring overhead in Simien Mountains National Park – their wings are so enormous that the wind almost whistles as it flows over them. Lake Awasa, in the Main Ethiopian Rift south of Addis Ababa, is home to some magnificent, prehistoric-looking marabou storks, while Lake Shala, to the north of Awasa, is the place to go to see flamingos.

The black-winged lovebird also known as the Abyssinian lovebird is a mainly green bird of the parrot family. At about 16.5 cm long, it is the largest of the lovebird genus, a group of small parrots. The adult male is easily identified by its red forehead, and the adult female by its all-green head. They are native to Eritrea and Ethiopia, and they are uncommon as pets

Male-mostly green; red forehead and lores; black flight feathers and underwing coverts; green lower back to upper tail coverts; green tail, the lateral feathers yellow at the base and banded black near tip. Bill coral red. Feathered eye-ring red. Eye dark brown. Female-green head; green underwing coverts, sometimes with black markings. Colour Juvenile: As in adult female, but underwing coverts black in male. Bill dusky yellow with black at the base.

The Wattled ibis is a medium-sized, dark brown, crested bird, distinguished by the combination of its dark color, its crest, and its extensive white wing patch. It has a relatively short bill, a fairly long tail, and a thin wattle hanging from its throat. The basic color of the adult is dark brown. The brown face is feathered with a dusky red bill. The eye is red and surrounded by a white ring. The plumage is glossed dull green; the waddle is small and red, about 20 mm long. Body length is about 65–75 cm

Erlanger’s lark is a small passerine bird of the lark family endemic to the highlands of Ethiopia. The name of this bird commemorates the German ornithologist Carlo von Erlanger. It is considered to be a subspecies of Blanford’s lark. Alternate names include Erlanger’s red-capped lark, Erlanger’s short-toed lark, and Ethiopian short-toed lark.

The Nechisar nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is endemic to Ethiopia. The species was first discovered in 1990 when researchers discovered a decomposing specimen in the Nechisar National Park

A relatively colorful, mid-sized, long-tailed **cisticola**. Note the gray-brown back with thick black streaks, the rufous on the wing and cap, and the whitish underparts. Tail is slightly longer in non-breeding plumage. Found in wetlands, moist grassland, and scrub. Similar to Stout **Cisticola**, but has a slimmer bill, longer tail, and brighter rufous wing panel.

The Bare-**faced** **Go-away** **bird** ( **Corythaixoides** **personatus**) is a species of **bird** in the Musophagidae family. It is found in two areas of Africa: one in southern **Ethiopia**, and the other in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. It is named after its distinctive “**go-away**” call.

**Cyanochen** **cyanoptera** is endemic to the highlands of **Ethiopia**, and although it remains locally common and widespread. Behaviour This species is mostly sedentary but demonstrates some small-scale seasonal altitudinal movements (del Hoyo et al.

The Abyssinian Roller (Coracias abyssinicus), or Senegal **roller**, is a member of the **roller** family of birds that breeds across tropical Africa in a belt south of the Sahara, known as the Sahel. It is resident in the southern part of its range, but northern breeding populations are short-distance migrants.

**Harwood’s** **Francolin** has been reported from only three localities along about 160 kilometers of valleys and gorges within the upper Blue Nile system extending to the east and north of the Addis Ababa – Debre Marcos – Dejen Bridge; this **francolin** is a very poorly known Ethiopian endemic. It was first recorded for science in 1898 at Ahiyafej, then again in 1927 at Bichana, and in 1930.

Archer’s lark, also known as Liben lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in Somalia and Ethiopia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland. It is threatened by habitat loss. The bird’s common name and binomial commemorate the British explorer and colonial official Sir Geoffrey Francis Archer.

The white-tailed swallow is a small swallow belonging to the family Hirundinidae and is endemic to Oromia, Ethiopia. It is commonly referred to as “Benson’s swallow” after the ornithologist Constatine Walter Benson, who named the species.

The banded barbet is a species of bird in the family Lybiidae. It is found in Eritrea and Ethiopia. The little-known banded barbet is very widely distributed throughout Ethiopia between 300 and 2400 meters.

A large and relatively colorful member of the pipit family. Note the black necklace, orange throat, and partially yellow eye-stripe. The white corners of the black tail are conspicuous during the weak, fluttering flight. Found on the ground in montane grassland, often in wet areas. Brownish immatures can be confused with pipits, but are larger and more robust.

An unusual and distinctive **wheatear** with a dark throat, face, and chest. The crown is gray in both sexes, but the throat and breast are black in males and gray in females. The tail shows a bold black-and-white “T” pattern that is conspicuous in flight. Found in arid savanna, desert, open thorn scrub, and semidesert.

Geographic range: Pytilia phoenicoptera phoenicoptera: Senegambia to Burkina Faso, n Nigeria, and Cameroon. Pytilia phoenicoptera emini: Cameroon to South Sudan, the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and northern Uganda. **Pytilia** **lineata**: Highlands of w and central Ethiopia.

A spectacular green **turaco** with a fluffy whitish crest. Shows large crimson wing patches in flight. An Ethiopian endemic that is found very locally in lush woodland and scrub, often in areas with fruiting trees. Acts like a typical **turaco**, bouncing through the trees and flying occasionally with short bursts of wingbeats and long glides.

An attractive and distinctive chat of the Abyssinian highlands. Both sexes have dark upper parts and a large **white** patch in the middle of the wing. Males have a clean black hood and a red-orange belly, while females appear entirely dark save for the **white** wing patch, though close inspection reveals fine barring on the belly and rufous tones near the vent.

The **Spot-breasted** **Lapwing** ( **Vanellus** **melanocephalus**) is a species of bird in the Charadriidae family. It is endemic to the Ethiopian highlands. Source: Wikipedia. ( 0 votes) Photo powered by flickr.com

Stresemann’s bush crow, also known as the Abyssinian pie, bush crow, Ethiopian bush crow, or by its generic name Zavattariornis, is a rather starling-like bird, which is currently thought to be a member of the crow family, Corvidae, though this is uncertain. It is slightly larger than the North American blue jay and is a bluish-grey in overall color which becomes almost white on the forehead

Ethiopian Guinea Fowl cross a dirt road in the Hamar area of the Omo Valley. Image by Universal Stopping Point Photography / Moment Open / Getty — Ethiopian guinea fowl cross a dirt road in the Hamar area of the Omo Valley. Image by Universal Stopping Point Photography/ Moment Open/ Getty

*The Shoe-billed Heron is found in the most western tip of Ethiopia.*

*The Rüppel’s Vulture lives in the highlands of Ethiopia.*

The Hoopoe (*Upapa epops*), pictured above, is found across Africa and Asia and is the national bird of Israel. It has a brown breast, black and white striped wings, and a long, thin black beak. One of its more striking features is its crown of brown feathers tipped in black. The hoopoe eats a wide variety of food, from insects and small animals to berries and plants. The bird uses its long beak to forage and probe for food among grasses and in the dirt. Eggs and brooding females give off a nasty odor to discourage predators and parasites. The Hoopoe appears in ancient Egyptian tombs and temples and ancient Minoans believed the bird to be sacred. There are also references to the Hoopoe in the Old Testament and the Quran. According to Leviticus and Exodus, the hoopoe is not kosher.

The Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu (*Uraeginthus bengalus*), found across Sub-Saharan Africa, is a member of the finch family. The male has a distinctive bright blue breast and bright red spots on its cheeks. Both the males and females of the species sing and their song has been described as “wit-sit-diddley-diddley-ee-ee.” As a granivore, the cordon-bleu mainly eats small grains and other seeds. Females usually lay 4 to 5 eggs at a time.

The Pin-tailed Wydah (*Vidua macroura*) is a small bird that lives all over Sub-Saharan Africa. Male wydahs are black and white with long, sweeping tail feathers and bright red beaks. Females are less bright: brown and off-white feathers and no tail plumage. Females lay eggs in the nests of other birds, usually finches, which makes them brood parasites. During courting, males hover to allow females to see their tail feathers in a flight display.

The Giant Kingfisher (*Megaceryle maxima*) is the largest kingfisher in Africa. Native to southern Africa, it has a black and white spotted back and chest, brown feathers around its neck, spiky feathers on top of its head, and a wide, long black beak. The kingfisher’s cry sounds like “wak-wak-wak.” As a carnivore, its diet includes crab, fish, and frogs.

The White-cheeked Turaco (*Tauraco leucotis*) is found in the northeast part of Africa. It has green feathers, black wings, and white spots on its neck and around its eyes. One turaco has been spotted numerous times around London over the past several years, and witnesses report that it seems to be thriving, despite the vast differences in climate.

Afar: Extrem Landascape

The area around the DALLOL volcano in Ethiopia is like nowhere else on Earth. Toxic chlorine and sulfur vapors clog the air and giant “mushrooms” made of iron-rich salt cover the landscape. The groundwater is near boiling when it bubbles up through the Earth’s crust, creating springs you absolutely would not want to bathe in.

Extreme environments—whether an incredibly dry desert, an acidic river system, or an extremely hot hydrothermal vent—host some of the hardiest life on Earth. Organisms that can survive in these places are called extremophiles, and they’re pretty much the closest you can get to alien life without leaving our planet. So instead of packing their bags for a trip to Mars, scientists on the hunt for alien life can head to locations on Earth that resemble the Red Planet to figure out what they should be looking for when they finally get their hands on some Mars rock.

Colorful potassium salt crust formed by hot springs in the Danakil Depression, near Dallol, Ethiopia.

Lake Karum is lumped into the same area of the Danakil Depression, and the fiery Erta Ale. Stretching for as far as the eyes can seemingly see, the calm Lake is full of gritty salt deposits that give the body of water a crystallized appearance. Accessible from Dallol, the lake’s main purpose other than being utterly striking, is, of course, its salt. To this day miners transport the substance to be used for a variety of reasons, but Lake Karum is a photographer’s dream as well.

Studying polyextremophiles in Dallol could also help us think about what life might look like in dramatically different but potentially inhabited worlds, such as Saturn’s moon Enceladus or Jupiter’s moon Europa. “The more work we do to understand life here, and the different ways that life could run, it forces us to really expand our view of what habitable is,” says Kennda Lynch, an astrobiologist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas

The Danakil depression is a shining example of a Mars analog, with a unique combination of extremities all wrapped up in one ecosystem. Compared to other big hydrothermal systems, this one was completely different and totally unique,

Mars is rich in iron and sulfur, and billions of years ago was a hotbed of volcanic activity. The hydrothermal systems that existed on ancient Mars would have been much like those at Dallol today. Scientists trying to pin down how the earliest life on Earth formed think that the chemical disequilibrium found in hydrothermal systems should make them ideal places for life to start.

A camel caravan carrying salt mined by hand is led across a salt plain in the Danakil Depression near Dallol, Ethiopia. The depression lies 100 meters below sea level and is one of the hottest and most inhospitable places on Earth.

Extreme environments—whether an incredibly dry desert, an acidic river system, or an extremely hot hydrothermal vent—host some of the hardiest life on Earth.

Organisms that can survive in these places are called extremophiles, and they’re pretty much the closest you can get to alien life without leaving our planet.

**Erta Ale** is a continuously active basaltic shield volcano in the Afar Region of northeastern Ethiopia. It is situated in the Afar Depression, a barren desert area. Erta Ale is the most active volcano in Ethiopia

Erta Ale is 613 meters (2,011 ft) high, with one or sometimes two active lava lakes at the summit which occasionally overflow on the south side of the volcano. It is notable for holding the longest-existing lava lake, present since the early years of the twentieth century (1906). Volcanoes with lava lakes are very rare: there are only eight in the world.

*Erta Ale* means “smoking mountain” in the local Afar language and its southernmost pit is known locally as “the gateway to Hell”. In 2009, it was mapped using three-dimensional laser techniques, in order for the mapping team to maintain a distance and avoid the lakes’ searingly hot temperatures.

Erta Ale is centered over the East African Rift system, which is a triple junction setting whose movements are resulting in the formation of a pull-apart basin or rift. The volcano comprises mainly mafic material which has been brought up to the surface caused by unroofing of the mantle due to this rift formation.

Salt canyons and pillars made of layers of halite and gypsum in the Danakil Depression, near Dallol, Ethiopia

Not much is known about Erta Ale, and the surrounding terrain is some of the most inhospitable on Earth, making travel difficult and dangerous. T

A tourist stands in front of a lava lake in the crater of Erta Ale volcano, in Ethiopia’s Afar region

An aerial view of the El Sod volcanic crater lake where Borana tribesmen dive to collect salt, in Ethiopia’s Oromia Region.

Aerial view of a truck passing in the Konso hills and terraces in Ethiopia’s Omo Valley.

A large tree stands above a plain near Alaba Kuito, Ethiopia.

Bale Mountains

Located 400km southeast of Addis Ababa, Bale Mountains National Park contains a spectacularly diverse landscape. The high altitude, afro-montane Sanetti Plateau rises to over 4,000m and includes the highest peak in the southern Ethiopia highlands. This undulating plateau is marked by numerous glacial lakes and swamps and surrounded by higher volcanic ridges and peaks. The southern slopes are covered by the lush and largely unexplored Harenna Forest.

It’s a long drive from Addis Ababa to Bale Mountains National Park. Long, but absolutely glorious – past donkeys, sunny fields, hills, plateaus, red dirt paths, and traditional circular houses painted in upbeat shades of purple, green and blue. It’s the kind of drive that lulls you into a trance as the sky slowly changes color.

The view from Bale Mountain Lodge. Image by Helen Elfer / Lonely Planet — This particular clearing is in the park’s Harenna Forest, which is the largest cloud forest in the country. Solemn-faced colobus monkeys with bright white beards swing in the trees, looking after their babies and letting out the occasional hoot. Keeping them company is the noisy silver-cheeked hornbills, Abyssinian oros, with their cheerful, bubbly call, starlings, and iridescent tacazze sunbirds. Down on the ground (keeping a careful distance from human visitors), a family of giant forest hogs snuffles about in the grass. Butterflies flit about and the odd bushbuck picks its way quietly through the undergrowth.

Travelling to Africa for wildlife usually means one thing and one thing alone: Big Five spotting in one of the continent’s well-loved safari parks. But for anyone that wants to get further off the beaten track, Ethiopia is incredibly rewarding. Its unusual geography, particularly the more isolated regions such as those within the Bale Mountains National Park, means there is a high number of endemic species and the very real possibility of glimpsing species that only a handful of people have ever seen. Here are just some of the creatures you could encounter while you’re there.

a high altitude wonderland filled with wonderful wildlife, soaring cliffs, tussock grasses, and stands of iconic Giant Lobelias. The wide valleys and undulating, hilly terrain are the perfect habitats for the handsome animal.

ethiopia Simien Mountains photo tour — The sun had already set as we descended the other side of the plateau to our well-located lodge in the Harenna Forest below. We scurried to put down our gear and made our way to the lodge’s dining area where we were soon greeted with a scrumptious dinner served around the fire place.

ethiopia ethiopian wolf photo tour — Ethiopian wolves are endemic to Ethiopia, where they are restricted to just seven isolated enclaves in the country’s highlands. The largest population can be found here in the Bale Mountains in southern Ethiopia. Once reach the plateau, Africa’s highest road visitor arrives (between 3,800m and 4,377m above sea level).

photographic tours to Ethiopia’s Omo Valley — Incredibly, the moorlands here are estimated to support amazing biomass of 4,000kg of rodents per hectare! Unlike other wolf species, Ethiopian wolves are solitary hunters which meant we often came across single individuals on the hunt. A rodent of special interest is the Giant Mole Rat, a large species that feed above ground in the daylight and makes hefty craterlike depressions.

ethiopia Simien Mountains photo tour An interesting place that is worth a visit to view and photograph endemic antelope species is the national park headquarters in Dinsho. Warthog, Mountain Nyala, Menelik’s Bushbuck, and Bohor Reedbuck are likely to be seen within the area as are many endemic birds species.

Simien Mountains

The Simien Mountains National Park in Northern Ethiopia is an exotic setting with unique wildlife and breath-taking views on a landscape shaped by nature and traditional agriculture. The natural beauties of this region have always filled visitors from Ethiopia and abroad with awe. Gentle highland ridges at altitudes above 3600 meters above sea level (m asl), covered with grasses, isolated trees (Erica &bored), and the bizarre Giant Lobelia (Lobelia rhynchopetalum) are found on the high plateau that ends abruptly at 1000- to 2000-m deep escarpments.

A gelada monkey admires the view of the Simien Mountains. Image by Anup Shah / The Image Bank / Getty — A gelada monkey sitting atop an Abyssinian abyss in the Simien Mountains. Image by Anup Shah/ The Image Bank/ Getty

Gelada monkeys

Gelada monkeys, which only live in the Simien Mountains, are a completely intriguing species. They’re the only grass-grazing monkeys left, and of all primates, have one of the most varied ranges of sounds, from high-pitched cries to gurgling that sounds almost like human speech. Elsewhere in Ethiopia, you’ll be able to spot black-and-white colobus monkeys with their snowy mantles, and Bale monkeys, who also have white beards.

ethiopia gelada photo tour Here presented with some of the most dramatic scenery in Africa—ancient volcanic plugs that have eroded over the eons into fantastic crags, pinnacles and flat-topped mountains—“the Chess Pieces of God”, as one writer aptly described them.

ethiopia photography tours Troops of Geladas up to four hundred strong thrive here, and we spent quality time observing and photographing these unique and fascinating primates. With long woolly capes, tasseled tails, bare red chests and an arrogant swagger, these remaining relics of once widespread grass-eating baboons are now restricted to the highlands of Ethiopia.

ethiopia wildlife tours

Climbing to an altitude of 4,620m, stretching 100 miles east to west, the Simien Mountains are one of the largest ranges in Africa. With their vaulting granite columns, towering escarpments and plummeting valleys, they are also among the most spectacular.

Walia ibex

Like the gelada, this endangered species is found in the highlands of northern Ethiopia, with the highest concentration of numbers living in the Simien Mountains. The males have distinctive black beards and sport ridged horns that arch backward and reach lengths of over a meter. The latter is used in impressive head-on-head battles of dominance with other males; the sharp cracks of clashing of horns often reverberates through the thin mountain air. The confrontations can take place on impossibly steep slopes and the results can mean life or death.