This is an ancient forest protected since King Zera Yacob, with the super forest in Afro Alpine vegetation at over 3,000m (peaks at 3,600) and dropping down through Juniper Olive and Podocarpus forest to below 2,500m It is a short drive to Debre Berhan , and then the now almost completely asphalted road to to trail heads for the treks into the forest. There are 4 guesthouses, two higher up and two lower down in the forest. You can make this a weekend escape (nice to include Friday afternoon) or a longer trip.
A Land of Milk & Honey, and much more; Wof Washa forest blankets over 6,000 hectares of the Rift Valley escarpment with natural forest. Its only 130km north east from Addis Ababa, and the forest extends from Ankober (seat of Emperor Menelik’s former palace) towards Debre Sina. Here an NGO called SUNARMA has supported forest cooperatives to develop guesthouses to accommodate tourists around the forest. Tesfa Tours has signed an agreement with these cooperative to market and manage the bookings for this wonderful trekking setup.
At the highest levels (around 3,500 meters above sea level) the forest consists of Afro-alpine vegetation: Giant Lobelia and Giant Heather trees (Erica arboreal). As you go lower increasingly there are massive Juniper, African Olive, Podocarpus, Hagenia Abysinica (Kosso), Hypericum and many other species. Some of these trees are over 500 years old.
With the changing altitude was a variety wildlife. At the top of the escarpment was Guassa grassland with little rodents scuttling into burrows before us and large troops of Geladas. Reliable reports indicate that Ethiopian wolves can be seen here too best seen early morning and late afternoon. The great raptors patrol the escarpments on thermals in search of rodents or Rock hyrax (which look like overgrown guinea pigs). As you descend into the forest down on the escarpment edge it rapidly warms up and the lower altitude trees appear. In addition to the trees you will notice a myriad of different coloured flowers. Anyone with an interest in plants will be fascinated and be scrabbling for their notebooks. The regular rain with the varied altitude make this one of the best places to see flowers and different plants. In terms of mammals, lower down are Colobus monkeys, heard Hamadryas baboons, Grivet (a type of vervet) monkeys, leopards (you will be lucky to see them but may hear their cough or see their spore), hyenas, tree hyrax, Cerval and Civet cats, Menelik’s bushbuck Porcupines – and more. Among the birds you will be excited to see the White-cheeked Turacos with their scarlet wings. At the lower levels there is agricultural land abutting the forest – green a verdant, with the jagged forested peaks rising behind. Low level fields maybe full of crops such as barley a bean called Bakela. And all the while water gurgles by in streams.
Photo Caption: View from Lik Marefya guesthouse in Wof Washa
Tesfa Tours
Supporting Community Tourism in Ethiopia
mark@tesfatours.com
+251(0)11-124 5178 /-126 0303 /-126 0301 (landlines)
+251(0) 92 160 2236 (mobile)
www.tesfatours.com
