28/06/2023
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g6755852-d15691069-Reviews-Bale_Mountains_Eco_Tours_Ethiopia-Bale_Mountains_National_Park_Oromiya_Region.html
Raissa Talehata
The Most Breathtaking Experience Exploring Ethiopian’s Extraordinary Highlands.
Jun 2023
My husband, Steve and I had one of the most incredible trips of our life exploring the wonderful Bale Mountains National Park (BMNP) with Ayuba and his crew. We were one of the luckiest to witness this Afroalpine highland beautifully covered in red hot poker and to appreciate the Milky Way in a magical clear night sky during our visit in early June.
We went for a 5-days and 4-nights camping trip where we trekked 53 km of the Northern part of Bale Mountains starting from Dinsho HQ, to Sodotta, followed by Adlye Woodland, then on the 4th day we hiked back down to Dinsho. We then continued our journey exploring the Southern Part of Bale Mountains: Sanetti Plateau and Harenna Forest in a van.
The Most Awesome Guide
Choosing Ayuba as our guide was the best decision we made for this trip without a doubt and we couldn’t have done it better without him. As a tour guide, Ayuba is very knowledgeable, experienced, but most importantly is very passionate about protecting the wildlife and nature at BMNP. He is a Bale Mountains born-and-raised, so he deeply understands the ecology and endemic animals in the area while also knows how to navigate around really well. He partners with local and international wildlife conservations and has worked with many notable scientists, researchers, and journalists throughout his career in Ethiopian wildlife & cultural conservation. He communicates really well, is very flexible in accommodating our needs, while also often challenges us for thrilling adventures. Trekking with him feels very secure, insightful, and full of excitement - simply pure joy.
Service Beyond Measure
Ayuba also brought along the best and most resourceful cook, Awole, who prepared us truly delicious meals and snacks for the whole trip. We had the healthiest meals and the freshest diet throughout this camping trip. Beyond that, Ayuba also brought a team of 2 horsemen who traveled together with us to help us carry our hiking gear and who even went so far as to set up and break down our tent for us every day. The services provided by Bale Mountains Eco Tours are exceptionally generous and delightful. Through his eco-tour business, Ayuba is essentially improving the livelihoods of local communities. But beyond that, his core mission is to improve international tourism as a great tool to raise awareness and build the network of support to preserve the unique biodiversity at Bale Mountains National Park.
Sneak-Peak of Our Experience in BMNP
BMNP is a biodiversity haven, which is a home to many endemic and endangered plants and animals in Ethiopia, the largest of its kind on our planet. Every single place we visited has such a remarkable characteristic and personality, each hosts a variety of living things uniquely its own. We were so enchanted by the intimacy with the wildlife as we walked amongst the Mountain Nyalas, Menelik Bushbucks, and Pumbas (aka Warthog) through this African Redwood (Hagenia) & Juniper Woodlands. Then, it was so eye-opening to experience camping in such a raw place where you’re surrounded by red hot poker by the Web Valley Waterfall, observing Giant Mole Rat, Rock Hyrax, Blue-Winged Goose, and Ibis living. We were so lucky to have Ayuba helped us spot some Ethiopian wolves - namely the rarest canid in the world; and pointed out many endemic birds (Augur Buzzard, Black-Headed Siskin, Sunbird, Ruddy Shelduck, etc) who reside in the plateau as we traversed across this Afroalpine. It was also mind blowing when we took the journey 2000m down the highland to the tropical Harenna forest where clouds often settle down amongst the African Redwoods covered in ferns and Erica Trees coated with moss. This lush forest is an important place for the authentic Arabica coffee and organic honey farmers in Ethiopia who harvested these produce that famously travel the world.
We would really recommend all nature and adventure lovers to experience this raw natural beauty if you ever visited Ethiopia. It is such an inspiring and life-changing journey!
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