Overview
There is no other place in sub-Saharan Africa where one can enjoy great wildlife and landscape photography and combine it with extraordinary cultural experiences. Ethiopia has all of this and more: the awesome landscapes and wildlife of the Bale and Simien Mountains, the spectacular cranes and other waterbirds of the Rift Valley Lakes and the palaces of Gondar, home of many of Ethiopia’s kings and emperors. Our special Ethiopia wildlife photography tours combine all of these wonders. See them for yourself!
Ethiopia’s highlands embrace the central part of the country like a necklace. The extraordinary Bale and Simien Mountains are home to some of Africa’s rarest wildlife, including the Walia Ibex, the Ethiopian Wolf and the gentle, vegetarian Gelada Baboon. It is a high altitude wonderland filled with wonderful wildlife, soaring cliffs, tussock grasses and stands of iconic Giant Lobelias. While we explore the dramatic scenery of these mountains, we will also be looking for Mountain Nyala, Menelik’s Bushbuck, Ethiopian Klipspringer, a variety of birds of prey (including the huge Bearded Vulture or Lammergeier), the iconic Thick-billed Raven, the lovely Spot-breasted Plover and the strange-looking Wattled Ibis, to mention just a few of our targets. The wildlife highlight of the Simien is undoubtedly the encounters we are going to have with huge troupes of Gelada Baboons. These large but gentle monkeys are vegetarian and here in Simien they are usually quite accustomed to, and tolerant of, close approach by humans.
Even the big males will feed right next to you, provided you keep low and still. When we find a troupe, we will simply sit or lie among the feeding animals or walk with them as they move across a mountain meadow to graze on grasses and shrubs, while baby baboons play near our feet. As the sun goes lower in the sky we will search for them on the cliff edges as they return to their cliff nests to sleep after a day of grazing on the Simien plateau. During the optional extension we continue our Ethiopian adventure by heading east to the arid bushlands of Awash National Park
