Imagine your friends’ questioning tones and raised eyebrows when you mention you’re taking a tailor-made holiday to Ethiopia. But when you begin to tell them about Bale Mountain Lodge you’ll see their expressions change to keen excitement, tinged with a touch of envy.
It’s an amazing and much under-visited setting perched 2380 metres above sea level, high in an atmospheric cloud forest. It’s surrounded by pristine wilderness and the largest tract of Afro-alpine moorland on the continent. And it’s a place full of secret wildlife, some unknown to science. Many of its creatures are found only in the park; the largest packs of Ethiopian wolves roam free here; there are lions, giant forest hogs, mountain nyala, bushbuck and large numbers of rare birds. Time to discover this part of Ethiopia.
Bale Mountain Lodge, at a glance
- A true forest wilderness lodge, with eco credentials, tucked away in the heart of a pristine natural wilderness
- Built from local slate to minimise environmental impact
- Choice of just eight boutique-style rooms
- Superb, sweeping views of the natural clearing and mountains beyond
- Hand crafted furniture using sustainable local wood
- Colourful furnishings in the traditional idiom
- Quaint, wood-burning stoves in each room
- Tukul-style thatched dining room serving local specialities and international food
For leisure and pleasure
- Forest expeditions to see primates, including the endemic Bale monkeys with their distinctive grey beards and sideburns
- Bird watching for many rare and indigenous species
- Nature trails through the woodlands
- Unique flora and fauna that includes big cats
- Trips to Sanetti Plateau to see Ethiopian wolves and unusual bird species
- Astonishing 4000-metres-above-sea-level views
- Central African Rift Valley easily accessible
- Day trips to Sof Omar caves, Dolo Mena and Negele
