Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Yabelo to Mega
The 100km between Yabelo and Mega offers up some interesting cultural and physical
phenomena.
Delve into Borena territory near
Dublock
, about 70km south of Yabelo, where there's a
big Friday
market
and some of the famous
ela
, or
'singing wells'
(
Click here
)
. They're
only genuinely worked during the dry season (December through May), but the men are
glad to demonstrate at other times, for a hefty fee: tour companies usually pay Birr150 per
person and another Birr150 for the guide to arrange it.
The village of
El Sod
('Chew Bet' in Amharic), 35km south of Dublock, lies beside a
bizarre crater lake known as the
House of Salt
(admission per person Birr50, per vehicle
Birr50, compulsory guide Birr150)
. It's about 800m across and 600m below the crater rim
and is so dark in colour that it looks like an oil slick amid the ruddy rocks. Valuable and
muddy, black salt has been extracted from the lake for centuries, carried up on the backs
of donkeys. It's a half-hour, knee-trembling walk down and a full-hour, thigh-burning slog
back up. It's best to visit during the morning's cooler temperatures when the salt gatherers
are actually working. Don't expect to learn much about this fascinating endeavour from
the guides; their English is very limited. There's also a 'singing well' here.
Just before you arrive in Mega you'll see the ruins of an Italian
fort
.
Many buses and even more minibuses ply the Yabelo and Moyale road and can drop
you off at the various turn-offs. From the turn-off for El Sod, you'll need to hitch the
14km to the village.
THE SINGING WELLS OF THE BORENA
The Borena are seminomadic pastoralists who occupy lands that stretch from northern Kenya to the dry, hot plains
around Yabelo. Their lives revolve entirely around their cattle and during the dry season it's a constant struggle to
keep their vast herds alive. To combat the problem, the Borena developed a unique system of deep wells. A long
channel drops about 10m below the ground and funnels the cattle to troughs dug close to each well's mouth.
When it's time to water the cattle, the men create a human chain down the well (which can be 30m deep), tossing
buckets of water between one another from the bottom up to the top, where the troughs are gradually filled. The
men often sing to keep rhythm as they pass up the buckets, hence the name. Several hundred or even thousand
cattle come to drink at a time. For travellers, it's certainly a memorable and unique sight, though new pumps are
slowly ending the tradition.
