Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Guides are mandatory and can be found at the newly organised Besa Gamo Chencha
Local Guide Association ( 0916-345341; per day Birr150; 8am-5pm) near the of-
fice, though most people hire a guide (same price) from Mekonen Lodge further up the
hill.
The standard short tour usually kicks off with a look inside one of the famed Dorze huts
( Click here ) , followed by visits to the weaving cooperative (women spin the thread and
men work the looms) and pottery workshop. You'll probably also get to bake and eat
kocho, a delicious, fermented, unleavened bread made from enset (see the boxed text,
Click here ) . It's eaten with honey or data (a delicious hot sauce). With more time you can
see and do pretty much anything else, like visiting coffee plantations, fruit farms and local
hooch stills. A dance demonstration (per person Birr100, minimum Birr300) can also be
arranged.
Colourful markets can be found at Hayzo on Monday and Thursday and at Chencha ,
8km further up the road, on Tuesday and Saturday. The Monday and Saturday markets are
the biggest.
The Guge Mountains are also trekking territory. A 30m-tall waterfall is just an hour's
walk away and others are further afield. A longer option is the five-day trip up Mt Guge
(4200m) and then down to Arba Minch. A guide for overnight trips is Birr300 a day and
Mekonen Lodge charges Birr300 per day for tent and sleeping bag hire. Pack horses are
also available.
DORZE HUTS
Standing 12m high when first built, Dorze homes are essentially massive upturned baskets. Woven from bamboo
and thatched with enset leaves, they don't use a central pillar for support and can be picked up and moved to a
new location. On the inside a partitioned area is reserved for livestock (which provide heat), while the section that
juts out at the entrance serves as a small reception room. If you imagine this as the trunk and the upper vents as
eyes, the homes resemble massive elephant heads.
Though fragile-looking, the huts can last 60 to 80 years. Smoke from the central fire helps keep them dry (pre-
venting rot) and largely termite free, though termites do slowly eat the homes from the base up. As they do, the
lower portion is sliced off, resulting in a progressively shorter home.
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