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Wildlife Safaris in Bale Mountains
A high-altitude national park in south-central Ethiopia spanning the Sanetti Plateau and the Harenna Forest, the best place on earth to see the endangered Ethiopian wolf alongside endemic Bale monkeys and mountain nyala.
Why here
Bale Mountains National Park is the surest place in the world to see the Ethiopian wolf, the rarest canid on the planet, with only a few hundred left and the largest population living here on the Sanetti Plateau above 4,000 metres. Drive or walk the plateau and you watch russet wolves hunting giant molerats across afro-alpine moorland, while the road down through the Harenna Forest passes endemic Bale monkeys, mountain nyala and the calls of the Abyssinian owl. It is a wildlife destination that runs on walking and slow game drives rather than crowded convoys, at altitudes that make it feel closer to the Andes than to a lowland safari. The endemism density here is among the highest in Africa.
Best months
The drier months from October to March give the best plateau access and wildlife viewing, with wolves active in the cool mornings and late afternoons. The Sanetti Plateau sits above 4,000 metres, so it is properly cold and thin-aired, while the Harenna Forest below is milder and wetter. The long rains from roughly June to September can make forest tracks difficult. Bring warm layers even in the dry season.
Getting there & around
The park is roughly a full day's drive south of Addis Ababa via Shashemene, with the town of Dinsho and the Sanetti Plateau road as the main access points. Most visitors combine game drives on the plateau with guided walks in the Harenna Forest. Distances and altitude mean a sturdy vehicle and a park guide are needed, and lodging inside and around the park is limited, so book ahead.
Skill levels: beginner
Schools & guides (1)
Bale Mountain Lodge
OutfitterBale Mountain Lodge is an eleven-room wilderness lodge set at 2,380 metres in the Katcha clearing of the Harenna Forest, deep inside Bale Mountains National Park. It began operating in October 2013 and opened officially on 18 January 2014 as the first lodge concession granted inside an Ethiopian national park. Guided drives on the Sanetti Plateau and forest walks target the Ethiopian wolf, with the lodge reporting that almost all of its guests see the world's rarest canid during their stay.