Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(d with/without bathroom Birr92/40)
is more noteworthy for its
restaurant-cum-bar
(mains Birr15-25)
than for its simple rooms, even though its selection of dishes is limited
and vegies are few and far between. It's near the Commercial Bank, 1.4km east of the bus
station.
Getting There & Away
Buses depart for Gambela (bus/minibus Birr64/80, three hours, several daily), Bedele
(Birr44, three hours, five daily) and Addis Ababa (Birr182, 1½ to two days, 6am) via
Jimma (Birr82, eight hours).
To reach Tepi take a minibus to Gore (Birr7, around 35 minutes) and then catch a bus to
Masha (Birr20 to Birr27, three hours) and go from there. If you start early enough, you
can reach Tepi or Mizan Tefari in a day.
Metu to Tepi
Twenty-five kilometres south of Metu is the inconsequential junction town of
Gore
, from
where the road strikes south for Tepi and west to Gambela.
Heading south, the road snakes along a ridge and offers sublime vistas over a lush,
green quilt of small fields pockmarked with thatched-roof huts, and patches of dense
forest ringing with the sound of birds and monkeys. Some of the larger trees, shrouded in
vegetation, seem to have ecosystems of their own. You may spot a colobus monkey or two
peering from vine-draped trees.
North of muddy
Masha
you'll pass through rolling hills carpeted in neat tea planta-
tions, before entering thick sections of forest and the occasional stand of bamboo south of
town.
After
Gecha
, the road winds through
enset
('false-banana' tree) plantations, traditional
villages and yet more jungle. As you near Tepi, you'll start to see coffee drying outside
homes along the roadside.
All up we rate it as one of the most
scenic drives
in Ethiopia.
In a private vehicle the journey takes between 5½ and seven hours, depending on the
season. It's also possible in a day by riding local minibuses, though you'll likely have to
change minibuses at Gore and Masha.
