Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting There & Away
A dozen daily minibuses serve Addis Ababa (Birr33 to Birr37, three hours). Price depends
on vehicle type. One daily bus serves Nekemte (Birr66, five hours). For Guder (Birr4, 15
minutes), minibuses run approximately every 30 minutes.
Mt Wenchi
ELEV 3280M
Resting within the beautiful collapsed caldera of Mt Wenchi, 31km south of Ambo, is
Lake Wenchi
, an
island monastery
and several
hot springs
. The scenery, a patchwork of
cultivation run through with the occasional stand of natural forest, is a tonic for any city-
weary soul. If you want a quick taste of the highlands within easy reach of Addis this is
absolutely the place to come.
Visiting Lake Wenchi is a refreshingly well-organised experience. The
Wenchi Eco
Tourism Association
( 0113-560009, 0912-968516; 8am-5pm)
, the office of which
is located a kilometre or so before the parking area on the Ambo side of the crater,
provides the compulsory guide (Birr150 for up to five people) and optional horses (Bir-
r100 per horse). This is also where you pay your entry fee (Birr30), boat transfers to the
island monastery (Birr25 return) and hot springs (Birr50 return via the monastery), and
car parking (Birr20).
Without a horse, it takes about 45 minutes to walk the 4km down to the lake and just
over an hour for the hot slog back up. Horses can do it in half this time. If you have a
4WD it is also possible to drive.
Once at the lake's edge, little wooden boats ferry visitors across to the tiny island mon-
astery of
Cherkos
. Other than a small church, there isn't much here but you can ask to see
the large 'Gonder bell', which once belonged (according to tradition) to Emperor Fasila-
das.
From Cherkos the boats continue to the far side of the lake, where you begin a stunning
walk (four to five hours in total) through a countryside of grazing horses, babbling brooks
(not so good in the wet season) and water-powered mills to the
hot springs
. The springs
are said to have magical curative properties and the caves in the surrounding area house
pilgrims, here to treat their afflictions.
For accommodation, the most enjoyable option is to bring your own tent, food and
plenty of warm clothes and camp near the springs. Otherwise there's the open one minute,
