Eastern Ethiopia Tour Packages

Babille Market

If you’re traveling east of Harar on a Monday or Thursday, don’t miss the super-atmospheric livestock market in the village of Babille – it's one of Ethiopia’s biggest, attracting buyers of camels, cows, donkeys, and goats from as far as Djibouti and Somaliland. The market runs from about 10 am to 2 pm, but because sales go fast it’s best to visit early. Buses from Harar (Birr12, 45 minutes) are frequent.

Koremi

With its superb architecture and dramatic setting, the clifftop village of Koremi, 19km southeast of Harar above the Erer Valley, is a definite must-see. It's the largest of several villages of the Argoba, a deeply traditional people whose ancestors arrived in these parts in the 12th century. Unlike most of the Adare homes of Harar, the old stone houses here are unpainted and unplastered.

Old Town

Harar’s old walled town (known as Jugal) is a fascinating place that begs exploration. The thick, 5m-high walls running 3.5km around town were erected in the 16th century in defensive response to the migrations northward of the Oromo, and little development occurred outside them until the early 20th century. There are six gates: five 16th-century originals and the car-friendly Harar Gate, also known as Duke’s Gate after Ras Makonnen, the first duke of Harar, who added it in 1889.

Lakes Afambo & Gumare

The little-explored territory and salt lakes scattered around Asaita are something of a holy grail for serious adventurers. This area remains one of the Horn's most inhospitable corners, appearing much the same as when explorer Wilfred Thesiger laid eyes upon it in the 1930s. Here the Awash River disappears into a chain of lakes, including Lakes Gumare and Afambo, which can be fairly easily visited from Asaita. The scenery is as stark, desolate, and surreally beautiful as it is foreboding.

Northern Hyena Feeding Site

Located north of Fallana Gate, this is one of Harar's two hyena feeding stations. A highlight of any visit to Harar, this impressive spectacle begins around 6.30pm. There are generally two to four hyenas that make an appearance after the 'hyena man' calls them. If none turn up, you'll be taken to a nearby hyena den where hyenas can be seen with their pups.

Eastern Hyena Feeding Site

One of Harar's two infamous hyena feeding sites, is located about 1.5km east of Erer Gate (near the garbage dump). This site is usually more productive than the other one because of its isolation and location near the garbage dump (although there's no guarantee).

Eastern Ethiopia

Easily accessible from Addis Ababa, 756-sq-km Awash National Park is one of Ethiopia’s most visited parks. However, if you’re here for the thrill of staring slack-jawed at lions crunching through bones, you’ll be seriously disappointed. It’s much more low-key than that, and ongoing incursions by Kereyu pastoralists have done little to help wildlife numbers. Nevertheless, it’s a must for birders and the volcanic landscape of blister cones and fissures is interesting and beautiful.

Babille Elephant Sanctuary

Despite considerable tree cutting, livestock grazing, and land encroachment, Babille is better protected than many of Ethiopia’s national parks, and the population of elephants (which some authorities identify as a unique subspecies, Loxodonta africana orleansi) has risen to around 400. Also, residents, though unlikely to be seen, are lions (notable for their black manes), leopards, Menelik’s bushbucks, Soemmerring’s gazelles, and greater and lesser kudus. The bird list is at least 227 species strong.