Rift Valley Lakes
Rift Valley Lakes
Nechisar
This large national park is among the most beautiful game reserves in Africa, encompassing parts of Lakes Chamo and Abaya, as well as the mountainous 'Bridge of God' that lies between the two lakes. The name Nechisar means white grass, and it derives from the Nechisar Plain which lies within the park boundary to the east of the lakes. A wide variety of animals are present; some 70 mammal and 350 bird species have been recorded.
- Written by Super User
- Category: Rift Valley Lakes
Gambela
The small town of Gambella is an oddity among Ethiopian towns, and a most appealing one. Lying at an altitude of 450m in the swampy, mosquito-ridden lowlands, Gambella exudes an atmosphere of tropical languor, dictated as much by its lush vegetation and almost unbearable humidity as by its remoteness from just about everywhere. Historically, ethnically and scenically, Gambella is barely a part of Ethiopia at all.
Two main ethnic groups live in Gambella - the Anuwak, who are strikingly tall and very dark-skinned for Ethiopians, and the Neur, who are smaller but even more dark skinned. They could not be friendlier to farangis. Don't be put off by advance notices - Gambella is a lovely place and the people are utterly charming.
- Written by Super User
- Category: Rift Valley Lakes
Omo River
By Neil SheaPhotograph by Randy Olson
Dunga Nakuwa cups his face in his hands and remembers his mother's voice. She has been dead nearly two years, but for Dunga's tribe the dead are never very far away. In the villages they are buried just below the huts of the living, separated from hearths and sleeping skins by only a few feet of dry, depleted soil. They remain near in the mind too. This is why Dunga still hears his mother: When will you take revenge on your brother's killer?
- Written by Super User
- Category: Rift Valley Lakes
Omo and Mago
Omo and Mago National Parks lie on opposite sides of the Omo River in the far south-west near the Kenyan and Sudanese borders. They are two of the least developed national parks in East Africa and, although game is quite plentiful, the animals are shy and far less visible than in the more heavily-touristed parks of Kenya and Tanzania.
Omo and Mago are not the parks to visit if you're a first-time visitor to Africa hoping for a few quick snaps of lions and elephants. Any visit to the area should be treated as an expedition, and the parks will be most attractive to visitors who want to see a holistic picture of the African wilderness as it was before the colonial era and the more recent influx of mass tourism.
- Written by Super User
- Category: Rift Valley Lakes
The Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley, formed about 20 million years ago, is the single largest geographical feature on the African continent. Its gradual expansion has been accompanied by a large amount of volcanic activity: the valley floor is studded with dormant and extinct volcanoes such as Fenatle in Ethiopia.
The Rift Valley runs through Ethiopia from the Red Sea to the Kenya border.
In northern Ethiopia it forms the Danakil Depression, an inaccessible and inhospitable desert that dips to the lowest point on the earth's surface.
Along with the historical circuit in the north, the southern Rift valley is probably the most touristed part of Ethiopia, with easy access on public transport and fair tourist facilities.
- Written by Super User
- Category: Rift Valley Lakes
