Original Booking Details

Morning start drive heading to west of Addis on new paved Ambo Road. We will pass Menagesha Forest to the north of the road, the Holeta River (a tributary of the Awash), the small town of Addis Alem where Menelik II once planned to make his capital. The area between Addis Alem and Ambo contains the intersections of three of Ethiopia’s major river basins: those of the Awash, Omo and Guder. We will stop for some refreshment in the town of Ambo before driving up nearly 1000 meters in 27 km to the edge of the Wonchi crater, where we will see one of the most beautiful sites in Ethiopia - verdant forests, a lake with islands, all within the crater. We can leave our vehicles here and descend either on foot or on horse, all the way to the crater. We will have a picnic lunch here and spend some hours walking or horse riding through the forest, visiting the hot springs, and taking a dug-out boat over to the island to visit the church. Midafternoon we will start our journey back to Addis Ababa.