Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Whichever village you choose to visit, a local guide (Birr300 per group) is not just es-
sential, but compulsory, as is a letter granting permission to enter a village (Birr100). Both
guide and letter are provided by Gambela's Culture and Tourism Bureau (
Click here
)
and
take about 15 minutes to sort out. You'll also have to pay a little extra for any photos you
take. Note that the Culture and Tourism Bureau is closed at weekends and on holidays so
try to time your stay to coincide with weekdays. If you do arrive at the weekend try call-
ing
Aychlum
( 0917-804646)
, who works at the tourist office and will hopefully come
and sort everything out for you.
GAMBELA NATIONAL PARK
Less than 50 years ago, Gambela National Park, spreading over 5061 sq km and abutting the even larger Boma Na-
tional Park of South Sudan, was considered one of Ethiopia's richest places for large mammals. Elephants, lions,
leopards, giraffes, buffaloes, topis, tiangs, roan antelopes, hartebeests, white-eared kob, Nile lechwe and waterbucks
were found here in huge numbers.
Then to both Ethiopia and neighbouring Sudan (now South Sudan) came decades of war, civil unrest and
refugees. And with these Gambela National Park became largely forgotten and abandoned. War and wildlife gener-
ally don't mix well and experts quite logically assumed that the wildlife of both Gambela and Boma National Parks
would have been decimated. But then in 2007, when peace started to return to the wider region, conservationists
from the New York-based
World Conservation Society
(
www.wcs.org
)
embarked on aerial surveys of South
Sudan's Boma National Park and were shocked to find that not just had the wildlife merely survived the dark years
of violence but that it was flourishing. In fact, what they discovered were herds of migrating white-eared kob and
Nile lechwe over a million strong. In addition they found thousands of elephants and buffalo and healthy popula-
tions of predators.
Between 2007 and 2012 all the focus was on Boma park, but logic always said that it was likely the wildlife
would be following the rains and grazing over the border and into Gambela National Park. Today surveys are also
taking place here, and the first indications are that Gambela park is also home to huge numbers of animals.
Planning
Just because Gambela National Park might have wildlife populations to rival the famous reserves of Kenya and Tan-
zania that doesn't mean you'll actually see much wildlife. This is a very remote and swampy park with absolutely
nothing in the way of an infrastructure (although there are plans afoot to build a road system within the park as well
as establish designated camping areas and even a lodge). To make matters more complicated the animals are thought
to be concentrated in the southwestern parts of the park - the swampiest, and hardest to reach area. Anyone visiting
this park must be totally self-sufficient and have a LOT of time at their disposal. From August to October the park is
largely flooded and impossible to visit. The best time to visit is between January and early April, with January to
March being the peak for the antelope migration. The
Gambela National Park Headquarters
( 0475 510912;
omotagwa@yahoo.com; admission per 24hr Birr200; 7am-noon & 3-5.30pm Mon-Fri)
in Gambela organises
the compulsory guides (Birr200 per day) and is where you pay your entrance fees and can offer sound advice.
