Bale Mountains National Park

Bale Mountains National Park is in Southern Ethiopia. In 2023 the park was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Understand

Landscape

Bale Mountains National Park protects 2,220 square kilometres (860 sq mi) of the Bale Mountains, the highest range in Ethiopia. The range hosts the Harenna Forest, one few remaining natural forests in the country, and the largest.

Landscape

The park is divided into five distinct and unique habitats: the Northern Grasslands (Gaysay Valley), Northern Woodlands (Park Headquarters), Afro-alpine Meadows (Sanetti Plateau), Erica Moorlands, and the Harenna Forest.

Flora and fauna

The park is home to the endangered Ethiopian wolf, mountain nyala and the Bale Mountains vervet, along with Menelik's bushbuck, common duiker, klipspringer, Bohor reedbuck, Ethiopian highland hare, honey badger, warthog, spotted hyena and serval. Wild forest coffee (Coffea arabica) grows in the montane forests.

Climate

Temperatures vary widely throughout the park: on the plateau, daytime temperatures are usually around 10 °C (50 °F) with strong winds; in the Gaysay Valley average daytime temperatures are around 20 °C (68 °F), and the Harenna Forest is around 25 °C (77 °F). However, the weather changes frequently and sometimes drastically. In elevations over 3,000 metres (9,800 ft), night frosts are common. The rainy season is from May until November.

Get in

The nearest international airport is in Addis Ababa. The drive from Addis take 6–7 hours.

Get around

The park is reasonably drivable. You can cross the Sanetti Plateau on Africa's highest all-weather road.

See

• Sanetti Plateau

Do

• Hiking
• Birdwatching

Sleep