Itinerary

Day 1: Addis Ababa to Awash national park via Debre Zeith.
After an early breakfast drive to Debrezeith (Bishoftu) town. Debrezeith is situated on the main highway to the eastern and southern parts of Ethiopia about 175 kms from Debre Birhan. It is famous for its five craters and one seasonal lake within and around the town. Three of the lakes in the area have been identified as having a large congregation of water birds. Both Great and Long-tailed Cormorants, Hamerkop, African Fish Eagle, African Paradise Flycatcher are common at Hora Lake. You will have a chance to do birding on two at least of these lakes. Continue to Awash National park about 200 km from Debrezeith, via Methara town.
 
Days 2 & 3: Awash National Park.
These two days will be spent exploring the magnificent Awash National Park. We will bird around the Bilen Plains, Fulhowa Hotsprings, the Awash River, and Kirayawa Gorge, exploring riverine forests, wetlands, thorn woodlands, savanna grasslands, rocky hills, cliffs and escarpments. The park boasts a bird list of 460 species and we will make an effort to find, amongst many other species: Egyptian Vulture, Bateleur, Tawny and Greater Spotted Eagles, African Harrier-Hawk, Eastern Chanting Goshawk, Scissor-tailed Kite, Pygmy Falcon, Shikra, Kurrichane Buttonquail, the nocturnal Three-banded Courser, Eastern Plantain-eater, Bare-faced Go-away-bird, White-browed Coucal, the diminutive Pearl-spotted Owlet and giant Verreaux´s Eagle-Owl, the mega Star-spotted Nightjar, Blue-naped Mousebird, gaudy Rufous-crowned, Lilac-breasted and Abyssinian Rollers, Abyssinian Scimitarbill, Eurasian Hoopoe, Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbill, Red-and-yellow Barbet, Greater Honeyguide, Wire-tailed Swallow, Red-winged and the rare and enigmatic Gillett's Larks, Singing Bush Lark, White-browed Scrub Robin, over-wintering Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush and the localised Ashy Cisticola. During our explorations, we hope to find the dazzling Northern Carmine Bee-eater perched atop the backs of striding Kori Bustard, a seldom observed phenomenon. In fact this is bustard kingdom deluxe and nowhere else on the planet can boast the chance of no less than six bustard species in one day (Kori, Arabian, Buff-crested, White-bellied, Black-bellied and Hartlaub's)! Mammals are well represented and we may see Aardwolf, Lion, Leopard, Beisa Oryx, Aardvark, Soemmering's Gazelle, the elegant Gerenuk, the giraffe-proportioned relative of the widespread Impala, Abyssinian Hare, African Wild Cat, Black-backed Jackal, Spotted and Striped Hyenas, Greater and Lesser Kudus, Warthog and Salt's Dikdik. Overnight Awash Falls Lodge inside the park.
 
Day 4: Awash River- Kereyu lodge- Ziway town
After breakfast we will bird along the Awash River, birding along the Awash River and waterfalls with a park ranger, a good opportunity to walk inside the park. Expect to see Senegal Thick-knee, Woodland Kingfisher, Hadada Ibis, Blue-napped Mousebird, Tropical Boubou, Red and Yellow-Billed Hornbill among others. Lunch at Kereyu Lodge, with a great view over the Awash River gorge. After breakfast we will drive towards Fentale Mountain with an altitude of 2007 mts. situated some 50 km from Awash town, we will have a stop at Beseka lake in search of the near endemic Sombre Rock Chat and some water birds. We will go birding at the Fentale slopes, where you can expect to see Yellow-breasted Barbet, Nile Valley Sunbird, White-throated and Little Bee-eaters, Yellow-bellied Eremomela, Ruppell's Weaver, Pale Flycatcher, Chestnut-headed Sparrow Lark and Black-cheeked Waxbill, whilst Bush Petronia, Northern White-crowned Shrike and Common Redstart have also been recorded. The immediate acacia forest at the Fentale mountain is also a great place for birding. We will do birding in the morning exploring the Fentale slopes and leave the site before it is getting too hot. Continue to Ziway in time for check in and overnight. Lunch at any appropriate place towards Lake Langano. Overnight Ziway town by the lake.
 
Day 5:  Wondo Genet.
We will leave Awash early this morning in order to drive to the lakes of the Rift Valley and, in particular, to enable us to make short stops at Lakes Koka and Zwai, where we have a chance of seeing Hippopotamus, as well as numerous waterbirds. Lake Koka offers a great variety of waders, herons, spoonbills and egrets, patrolled by overhead harriers and vultures, Ethiopian and Wire-tailed Swallows. At Lake Zwai, as well as the huge numbers of waterbirds, including pelicans and storks, we will be looking for the endearing Tree Hyrax which is generally uncommon in central Ethiopia. In the afternoon, time permitting, we will visit the Abiata-Shala Lakes National Park, taking a walk on the high ridge that separates Lakes Shala and Abiata. The afternoon/evening views over the two lakes are magnificent, and driving through the park we have a good chance of seeing Grant's Gazelles, and perhaps a Spotted Hyena or Golden Jackal. Then, continuing southwards to Wondo Genet Forest via the dusty and chaotic ‘crossroads town’ of Shashemene, we climb into the lush green hills that are fed by hot springs. The Wabe Shabelle Hotel at Wondo Genet, set in beautiful tropical gardens, is of a very basic standard, but the rooms are large and en-suite and the gardens are a paradise for birds and plants.   From this hillside retreat, the views of the fertile farmlands in the valley below and of Lake Awassa are quite beautiful (though, our arrival here may be too late for us to be able to enjoy the views tonight!). It is easy to see why our guesthouse was once the favourite home of Haile Selassie's daughter. In the gardens, jacarandas, roses, amaryllis and bourganvilleas provide abundant colour and a home for sunbirds, woodpeckers, Silvery-cheeked Hornbills, White-browed Robin Chats, Double-toothed Barbets, African Firefinches and a host of other species. In the adjacent forested valley four endemic birds may be found: Black-headed Forest Oriole, Yellow-fronted Parrot, White-winged Cliff Chat and Golden-backed Woodpecker, whilst Half-collared Kingfishers, Spotted Creepers, African Hobbies, Crowned Eagles and Olive Pigeons are amongst other specialities of the region. Birdwatching here can be as relaxing or exhausting as you choose it to be. You may prefer to enjoy the view and the birds from the terrace of the bar or to walk just as far as the natural hot shower, which cascades from a nearby stream. You may decide to scramble on precipitous slopes in search of elusive White-winged Cliff Chats. The choice is yours - though it will almost certainly have to wait until tomorrow morning.
 
Day 6:  Wondo Genet to Goba
We will spend this morning exploring our hotel gardens and in the nearby forests, and will enjoy our first taste of Ethiopian forest birding.  The hotel grounds themselves support families of Grivet Monkey, but the regal Guereza Colobus monkeys will certainly steal our attention as they leap through the trees, their shaggy pelts and long tails trailing behind. We will finally bid farewell to this pleasant oasis and wind our way upwards towards the world famous Bale Mountains National Park.   

Day 7:  Goba 
0600 hrs before breakfast, birding with a local guide at the area.After breakfast start driving our way upwards towards the world famous Bale Mountains National Park. At the park headquarters in Dinsho we will search the trails for the colourful Chestnut-naped Francolin, Groundscraper Thrush (of the distinctive, endemic race simensis), the secretive Abyssinian Ground Thrush, vocal Abyssinian Catbird and the endemic White-backed Black Tit. We also hope to see a variety of mammals, including Mountain Nyala, now entirely restricted to the Bale Mountain massif, Menelik’s Bushbuck and Warthog, unusual at this high altitude. Overnight at Goba town Wabishebele hotel.
 
Days 8 & 9:  Bale National Park
Goba and excursion to the Bale Mountain National Park. Today will be a day of great contrasts and amazing scenery and birding. We will depart early, and ascend the Bale Mountain massif onto the Sanetti Plateau, which lies between 3800 and 4377 mts. above sea level. As we ascend we will enter a Tid or Juniper forest zone, and here we will search for African Goshawk, Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk, White-cheeked Turaco, the localized Abyssinian Woodpecker, Cinnamon Bracken Warbler, African Hill Babbler, Montane White-eye and Yellow­bellied Waxbill. Once we reach this unique plateau, we will be driving on Africa's highest road, passing close to the summit of Ethiopia 's second highest mountain. This habitat is termed “Afro-alpine moorland”, and is characterised by Jibrra and Giant Lobelias, which tower like monolithic giants over the rich tussock grasslands and extensive cushions of yellow Everlasting flowers. This site is of immense importance, supporting seven globally threatened species and nearly all of Ethiopia's Highland biome species. The grasslands are estimated to support an incredible biomass of 4,000 kg of rodents per hectare. This obviously attracts an array of raptors and we should see Steppe and Golden Eagles, Augur Buzzard and the elegant Pallid Harrier courting over this green sea. They share this abundant food source with the plateau's most celebrated resident, the Ethiopian or Simien Wolf, crowned with the unenviable title of “the world's rarest canid.” Watching these vibrantly coloured animals, most closely related to the European Timber Wolf, exhibiting their hunting prowess whilst pouncing on Giant Mole-rats (another endemic to the Sanetti Plateau), is surely amongst Africa 's greatest wildlife experiences. We should enjoy excellent photographic opportunities in this unique montane wonderland. Finally we will reach the escarpment of this elevated plateau and stare down, through the clouds, at the vast Harenna Forest below. This remarkable forest is the largest intact forest block in Ethiopia and the largest protected Afro-alpine forest on the continent. It still supports populations of Lion and the only surviving forest-dwelling African Wild Dog. Although unlikely that we will see either of these species, the descent through this breathtakingly beautiful, moss-draped forest is inspirational. Here we will search for the uncommon African Olive Pigeon, Lemon and Tambourine Doves, Brown Parisoma, represented by a subspecies endemic to this National Park, Abyssinian Crimsonwing, African Citril and Cape Canary. In the afternoon, we will return across the Sanetti Plateau to our lodging in Goba. Overnight at Wabishebele Hotel.
 
Days 10 &11 : Lake Langano, Lake Abijataand Lake Shalla.
These three neighbouring lakes in the central Ethiopian Rift Valley could not be more different from each other. The medium depth reddish-brown Lake Langano, shallow Abijatta, and the extremely deep blue Shalla, once a volcanic crater and now home to several bubbling sulphuric hotsprings. We will spend today exploring these lakeshores and their surrounding woodlands and forests. Little Rock Thrush, African Thrush, Buff-bellied Warbler, Red-faced Crombec, Beautiful Sunbird, Rüppell’s Starling, Red-billed Oxpecker, Red-billed Firefinch, Bare-faced Go-away-bird, Hemprich’s Hornbill, Black-winged Lovebird, Abyssinian Wheatear, White-winged Black Tit, Black-billed Wood Hoopoe, African Pygmy Kingfisher, Bearded Woodpecker and Masked Shrike occur in dry acacia woodland surrounding the lodge, whilst Lemon Dove, Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, Black-billed, Banded and Double-toothed Barbets, African Grey Woodpecker, White-rumped Babbler, Ethiopian Boubou, Scaly Francolin and Abyssinian Ground Thrush are resident in forest areas. We will search the lake edge for the impressive Saddle-billed Stork and attractive White browed Coucal. At Lake Abijata, we hope to find flocks of Greater and Lesser Flamingo, Northern Shoveler, Southern Pochard, Cape Teal, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Asian Imperial and Long-crested Eagles, Grey Kestrel, Little Ringed, Common Ringed and Kittlitz’s Plovers, many species of Palaearctic waders, Great Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls, amongst several other species of gulls and terns, Little Bee-eater, family groups of the wonderful Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Sand Martin, African Pipit and Isabelline and Pied  Wheatears. Mammals: we will see Grant’s Gazelle, Oribi and Warthog. Leave the site before dark to head to Bishangari eco-lodge. Overnight at Bishangari

Day 12:Drive to Addis Ababa
After breakfast drive to "Amora gedel" a lakeside fish market for some great opportunities to photograph various birds accustomed to human company at close distance, continue birding along the shores of Lake Hawasa. This lake is particularly rich in fish and the fishermen gut their fish and discard the waste around the fish market. This attracts large numbers of Marabou Stork, Great White Pelican, and Cormorants and other birds. We will have roadside birding all the way to reach Addis Ababa. Preparation for your departure flight and dinner.