Safari & Wildlife

Ethiopia’s wildlife experience is a dramatic departure from the typical “Big Five” safari, trading vast savannahs for rugged Afroalpine plateaus and rare, endemic treasures found nowhere else on Earth. In the “Roof of Africa,” the Simien Mountains and Bale Mountains National Parks serve as the ultimate strongholds for the country’s unique biodiversity. Here, you can witness the charismatic Gelada monkey (often called the bleeding-heart baboon) grazing in massive, photogenic troops, or catch a glimpse of the Ethiopian wolf, the world’s rarest canid. The vertiginous cliffs are the exclusive home of the Walia ibex, while the lush Harenna Forest hides the elusive mountain nyala and the genetically distinct black-maned lion. Beyond the highlands, the Great Rift Valley offers a different rhythm, where the acacia woodlands of Awash National Park and the lakes of Nechisar teem with Beisa oryx, hippos, and over 800 species of birds, making Ethiopia a premier, albeit off-the-beaten-path, destination for the adventurous naturalist.