Duration
12-Day
Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia
12-Day Insights into Southern Ethiopia
Overview
A tour created to give you true insights in to what Southern Ethiopia is like. Culturally and geographically so diverse and only few in common with Ethiopia's northern parts it is a world of one's own. The southwestern regions have one of the most colorful and miscellaneous cultural diversity all over the world. Almost fifty different peoples with their own cultures, lifestyles, and beliefs inhabit these regions.
Plan snapshot
Quick Facts
Route
Addis Ababa to Addis Ababa (City)
Via Konso (Cultural Village), Arba Minch (City), Yirga Alem (Town)
Country & park
Ethiopia / Bale Mountains National Park
Style
Mid-range safari
Group size
1-12 travelers
Starts
Any day if available
Minimum age
18 years
Activities
game drives, nature hikes/walks & boat trip
Accommodation
Sunspot Hotel Mid-range hotel in Addis Ababa (City) – All Meals Included +5 Photos +4 Photos - Mid-range hotel in Addis Ababa (City) – All Meals Included
Meals
All Meals Included
Pickup
Airport transfer included
Booking
Request quote
Currency
USD
Rates
Rates Per Person
USD
Start datesSingle2+ people
Jan 1, 2026 - Dec 31, 2026
$7,414 USD
$4,752 USD
Jan 1, 2027 - Dec 31, 2027
$7,414 USD
$4,752 USD
Before booking
Important To Know
Rates are per person and exclude the international flight from/to your home country.
This tour is offered in US dollars (USD).
This tour is unavailable for children.
Rates include a fixed budget for flights during this tour. Flights may cost more, depending on travel dates. If so, your quote will reflect this.
Quote flow
Request Guidance
We advise requesting quotes from 3 operators ()
Requests are sent directly to the tour operator
If preferred, you can contact the tour operator directly
Route
country
Ethiopia
Start
Addis Ababa (Day 1)
Day 2
Konso (Cultural Village)
Day 3-4
Arba Minch (City)
Day 5-6
Yirga Alem (Town)
Day 7-9
Bale Mountains NP
Day 10-11
Lake Langano
End
Addis Ababa (City) (Day 12)
Tour Features
Mid-range tour
This mid-range tour uses lodges and hotels.
Private tour
This tour will be organized exclusively for you and won't be shared with others.
Can start any day
If availability permits, this tour can start on any day.
Can be customized
You can request minor changes to the accommodations and destinations of this tour.
Suitable for solo travelers
Solo travelers can book this private tour.
18
Minimum age of 18 years
The minimum age for this tour is 18 years.
Activities & Transportation
Activities: game drives, nature hikes/walks & boat trip
Game drives: normal 4x4 vehicle
Getting around: boat, normal 4x4 vehicle & air transfer
This operator can select your international flights, but you'll have to book them yourself
A transfer from and back to the airport is included
Accommodation & Meals
Day 1
Sunspot Hotel Mid-range hotel in Addis Ababa (City) – All Meals Included +5 Photos +4 Photos
Mid-range hotel in Addis Ababa (City) – All Meals Included
All Meals Included
Day 2
Kanta Lodge Mid-range lodge in Konso (Cultural Village) – All Meals Included
Mid-range lodge in Konso (Cultural Village) – All Meals Included
All Meals Included
Day 3-4
Haile Resort Arba Minch
Mid-range hotel in Arba Minch (City) – All Meals Included
All Meals Included
Day 5-6
Aregash Lodge
Mid-range lodge in Yirga Alem (Town) – All Meals Included
All Meals Included
Day 7-8
Bale Mountain Lodge
Luxury lodge inside Bale Mountains NP – All Meals Included
All Meals Included
Day 9
Wabe Shebelle Hotel Goba Budget hotel less than 1hr drive from Bale Mountains NP – All Meals Included
Budget hotel less than 1hr drive from Bale Mountains NP – All Meals Included
All Meals Included
Day 10-11
Hara Langano Eco Lodge
Mid-range lodge at Lake Langano – All Meals Included
All Meals Included
Day 12
End of tour
(No accommodation)
All Meals Included
Day By Day
Tour step
Arrival
You'll be collected from the airport. Accommodation before the tour starts can be arranged for an extra cost.
Day 1
Addis Ababa - the third highest capital in the world
Travel: 1 h, 30 km After your arrival & immigration, you will meet with your guide at the airport and you will be transferred to your hotel/lodge for some refreshment. Depending on your arrival time your guide will go on a city tour through Ethiopia’s vibrant and lively capital. In the National Museum, you can discover the cradle of mankind where the skeleton of “Lucy” is kept. Entoto Mountain with its Eucalyptus forest is a nice short escape out of town to see Mariyam Church and Menelik Palace, the place where the Emperors resided. Others might enjoy one of the city’s weekly markets. You can choose your itinerary with your guide. Mid-range hotel located in Addis Ababa (City) All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Destination: Addis Ababa (City) Stay: Sunspot Hotel Mid-range hotel located in Addis Ababa (City) Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Day 2
Flight to Arba Minch and onwards to the Konso villages
Flight time: 1 h Travel: 2-3 h, 130 km You will be transferred to your domestic flight to Arba Minch. The town is the hub for Southern Ethiopia and from here your journey moves on along Lake Chamo through fertile regions where most of the countries tropical fruits are grown to the Konso highlands where your cultural adventure can start. Kanta Lodge will be your get away to visit the people of the Konso community. Mid-range lodge located in Konso (Cultural Village) All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Destination: Konso (Cultural Village) Stay: Kanta Lodge Mid-range lodge located in Konso (Cultural Village) Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Day 3
UNESCO World Heritage of the Konso
Travel: 3-4 h, 160 km Today you have a full day to visit some of the non-touristic Konso villages in the surrounding highlands. Strolling around the fortressed villages your guide will explain a lot about Konso beliefs and cultures. Generation trees are erected on a central court in the village not only telling the history of the villages but also being used a sacrificial sites for the locals. The Konso are among only few peoples in Ethiopia that established permaculture as a means of getting more and better harvests in dry environments which makes them well off compared to other communities in this region. These are just some of the interesting things to discover while visiting the Konso. A meeting with their friendly king (if available) will also give you another chance to learn more about the Konso before you will set off in the late afternoon to Arba Minch. Mid-range hotel located in Arba Minch (City) All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Destination: Arba Minch (City) Stay: Haile Resort Arba Minch Mid-range hotel located in Arba Minch (City) Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Day 4
The weavers of the Dorze people
Travel: 3-4 h, 100 km This morning you will have a sunrise breakfast overlooking Nechisar Nationalpark crammed between the two lakes Abaya and Chamo. Certainly, one of the best breakfast spots in Ethiopia! After breakfast a motor boat will sway you to crocodile beach on Lake Chamo to see the massive Nile crocodiles warming up in the morning sun. You will have good chances to see hippos and plenty of waterbirds as well. Back in town for lunch before you head for your next cultural experience with the Dorze people that live up in the Chencha highlands. Your car brings you to meet the villagers and their homesteads. The false banana tree supplies them with their staple food kojo. How? You will learn about tis amazing technique. The Dorze are also skilful weavers that market their cotton shawls all over Ethiopia. Late afternoon return to Arba Minch to the lodge. Mid-range hotel located in Arba Minch (City) All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Destination: Arba Minch (City) Stay: Haile Resort Arba Minch Mid-range hotel located in Arba Minch (City) Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Day 5
Drive to where the coffee grows
Travel: 5-6 h, 250 km Another gorgeous breakfast overlooking nature awaits you this morning before you will start heading north where the huge Lake Abaya accompanies your journey for quite some hours before you reach the coffee forests of the Sidama region where some of the finest coffee beans grow. In the early evening you will get a chance to experience your first Ethiopian coffee ceremony watching, smelling and tasting while hyenas lace from the woods and their laughter echoes all over the place. Mid-range lodge located in Yirga Alem (Town) All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Destination: Yirga Alem (Town) Stay: Aregash Lodge Mid-range lodge located in Yirga Alem (Town) Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Day 6
Spend your time with the Sidama people
Hiking: 2-3 h, 6 km (difficulty: easy, altitude difference: ↑100m, ↓100m) This morning you awake in your traditional bamboo-woven house (traditional Sidama houses) surrounded by the sounds of birds and hyenas. Early birds are welcome to go on a nature walk with the lodge guides to spot some black and white colobus monkeys in the tree tops. After breakfast, your guide will take you on a village tour on foot to the Sidama villages. A truly unique experience close to the locals and their culture on lush forest trails and through farmlands. Free afternoon at the beautiful lodge. Mid-range lodge located in Yirga Alem (Town) All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Destination: Yirga Alem (Town) Stay: Aregash Lodge Mid-range lodge located in Yirga Alem (Town) Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Day 7
The nature oasis of Bale Mountains National Park
Travel: 8-9 h; 350 km You will enter the highland ecosystems today leaving the Great African Rift Valley behind for a couple of days. Bale Mountains National Park – one park, but many worlds are awaiting you and one of the most diverse landscapes in the world! The park hosts some of Ethiopia’s rarest endemic wildlife lives such as the Ethiopian wolves, the Mountain Nyala antelopes and dozens of endemic and semi-endemic bird species and also the home to fourteen of Ethiopia’s endemic birds. In the following days the fine Bale Mountains Lodge will be your get away for several excursions to the evergreen tropical forests and the highest plateau in Africa that you will cross already while you are arriving to the lodge today. Do some game watching from the car and don’t worry because you will come back to the plateau in some days for a deep experience on foot. Luxury lodge located inside Bale Mountains NP All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Destination: Bale Mountains National Park Stay: Bale Mountain Lodge Luxury lodge located inside Bale Mountains NP Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Day 8
The Harenna Forest and the remote coffee village of Manyete
Travel: 2-3 h; 80 km Hiking: 2-3 h, 6 km (difficulty: easy/moderate, altitude difference: ↑150m, ↓150m) After yesterday’s drive today’s schedule is rather easy. You have the opportunity to get some resting at your forest cottage at Bale Mountains Lodge. Your veranda is a beautiful place to spot wildlife or you go on one of the guided walks right from the lodge to trek the endemic Bale monkeys and to experience one of the countries last evergreen rain forests. An afternoon excursion to visit the coffee cooperative in the close-by village of Manyette is another option or your driver takes you on an late afternoon game drive to find the Black-maned lions that still live in the forests. Luxury lodge located inside Bale Mountains NP All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Destination: Bale Mountains National Park Stay: Bale Mountain Lodge Luxury lodge located inside Bale Mountains NP Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Day 9
The high afro-alpine Sanetti Plateau
Travel: 2-3 h; 80 km Hiking: 2-3 h, 3-6 km (difficulty: easy/moderate, altitude difference: ↑150m, ↓150m) Southern Bale is certainly a peaceful oasis and your guide shares another Bale experience today. He takes you once more to the 4.100 m (13.400 ft.) high Sanetti-Plateau. Don’t worry, the highest all-weather road in Africa makes your arrival easy. Hiking at this altitude and climate is not for everyone but so unique. Discuss with your guide what is capable for you. The plateau is not only the habitat of the largest Ethiopian wolf population (aprox.300 individuals) which got very rare and endangered almost all over Ethiopia but also for endemic birds such as Rouget’s Rail, Wattled Ibis, Blue-winged Goose and the spot-breasted Plover as well as migratory populations of Wattled Cranes. Sanetti’s barren landscapes will stand in contrast to its vast birdlife and open landscapes. Augur Buzzards are commonly seen are also Steppe Eagles and Cape Eagle Owls. Budget hotel located less than 1hr drive from Bale Mountains NP All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Destination: Bale Mountains National Park Stay: Wabe Shebelle Hotel Goba Budget hotel located less than 1hr drive from Bale Mountains NP Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Day 10
Drive into the Great African Rift Valley
Travel: 6-7 h; 250 km On your today’s long drive to Lake Langano, you will have the chance to make stops at the northern outposts of Bale Mountains National Park for a last time. We undertake a walk in the old juniper forests searching in particular for roosting owls. The area is also rich in Bohor reedbucks and the endemic Mountain-Nyala-Antelopes and Menelik’s Bushbucks. From here your journey steadily slopes downhill back into the Great African Rift Valley where you will reach Lake Langano in the afternoon. Mid-range lodge located at Lake Langano All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Destination: Lake Langano Stay: Hara Langano Eco Lodge Mid-range lodge located at Lake Langano Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Day 11
Excursion into the savannah national parks of the Rift Valley
Travel: 2-3 h; 100 km With the first sunlight you will have the chance to go on a nature walk (1.5 hrs.) along the lake shore and into the groundwater forest. Walk under giant fig trees and spot birds. Return for breakfast in the lodge garden and set off for a half day excursion to the picturesque Abijata-Shalla National Park with its three lakes and a resident population of the thousands of Lesser and Greater Flamingos. A rather more impressive savannah landscape is the Swayne’s Hartebeest Sanctuary which can be visited in another half day. Famous for its endemic population of about 300 Swayne’s hartebeest antelopes it is the only sanctuary over the country where this game still survives. Discuss with your guide the night before if you prefer a full day game day or just half day and some relaxing at the only lake in Ethiopia that is suitable for swimming. Mid-range lodge located at Lake Langano All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Destination: Lake Langano Stay: Hara Langano Eco Lodge Mid-range lodge located at Lake Langano Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Day 12
UNESCO Site Tiya - a medieval graveyard
Travel: 6-7 h; 260 km Your last day takes you back to the capital but along the way there lies some lush green highlands where the Gurage people live. Their homesteads are well kept and inviting and your guide is happy to make stops along the way. In the Gurage region lies also one of Ethiopia’s mysterious UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The steale field of Tiya is almost a must although archaeologists quarrel about the cultures that buried their dead people there. Definitely, a controversial stop before you return to the capital. After a nice traditional farewell dinner your driver will transfer you to the airport. All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Destination: Addis Ababa (City) Stay: No accommodation (End of tour) Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Tour step
End of tour
Additional accommodation can be arranged for an extra cost. You'll be dropped off at the airport.
Included
Park fees (For non-residents)
All activities (Unless labeled as optional)
All accommodation (Unless listed as upgrade)
A professional driver/guide
All transportation (Unless labeled as optional)
All flights during the tour
All Taxes/VAT
Roundtrip airport transfer
Meals (As specified in the day-by-day section)
Drinking water (On all days)
Excluded
International flights (From/to home)
Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
Tips (Tipping guideline US$10.00 pp per day)
Personal items (Souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc.)
Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees
Getting There
This tour starts and ends in Addis Ababa
This operator can select your international flights, but you'll have to book them yourself
Fly to/from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD - Check price)
A transfer from and back to the airport is included
Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour can be arranged for an extra cost
Offered by
SimienEcoTours
5.0 operator rating
46 reviews
We organise individual & group tours through whole Ethiopia in an ecologically & socially responsible & sustainable way. The founders of SimienEcoTours are manager Marco from Italy, who currently lives in Addis Ababa, Franziska from Germany, who lived in Ethiopia for more than 7 years, and Birhan, Tadele, Yirga and Solomon, four experienced Ethiopian tour guides. What brought us together is our social and ecological commitment in Ethiopia as well as our love for this country.
Office In
Ethiopia
Size
10-20 employees (Founded in 2014)
Tour Types
Custom mid-range tours that can start every day
Destinations
Ethiopia
Traveler feedback
Reviews
Overall
5.0/5Communication
5.0/5Accuracy
5.0/5Value
5.0/5Safety clarity
5.0/5Cultural value
5.0/5Very well organized tour !
Best way of visiting Ethiopia is a Tour organized by Simien Eco Tours. Our guide, David, spoke good French and was able to give us all explanations of the places we’ve been visiting.
Sandra · France
Meeting communities in harmony with nature.
I went on a 4 day trip with SimienEcoTours to the Guge Mountain near to Arba Minch. It was such a unique experience. Meeting communities on the way to the top, eating and participating in daily lifestyle and routines, crossing agricultural land in perfect harmony with nature and being accompanied by kind, knowledgeable, sensitive, amazing guides. It was a one-kind experience. My heartfelt thanks !! I will carry the memories fondly with me.
Bärbel · Netherlands
Experience Ethiopia's peoples
I had the pleasure of going on a group trip to southern Ethiopia in February and it was simply unforgettable! The insights into the lives of Ethiopians were impressive and gave me a whole new perspective on this wonderful country. The trekking tours through the remote villages allowed us to experience the incredible diversity and warm hospitality of the people at first hand. Every day was a new adventure and I am grateful for the many wonderful memories I was able to take home with me. Special thanks go to our guide Abebe, who inspired us with his knowledge and passion for the country. The entire team - from the cook to the driver - also did a great job and made sure that we felt comfortable and well looked after at all times. A big thank you also to Marco for organizing this fantastic trip. I highly recommend this experience!
Sandra · Germany
The best experience
Excellent expérience. Well balance itinerary. Reliable hotels. Most of all an outstanding guide who lead the entier trip
Frédéric Jochem · United States
Practical answers
Tour FAQs
Are rates charged per person?
Rates are per person and exclude the international flight from/to your home country.
Which currency is this tour priced in?
This tour is offered in US dollars (USD).
Can children join this tour?
This tour is unavailable for children.
Can this tour start on my preferred date?
If availability permits, this tour can start on any day.
Can the itinerary be customized?
You can request minor changes to the accommodations and destinations of this tour.
Where do travelers stay during this tour?
Sunspot Hotel Mid-range hotel in Addis Ababa (City) – All Meals Included +5 Photos +4 Photos - Mid-range hotel in Addis Ababa (City) – All Meals Included. Meals: All Meals Included
Where does this tour start and end?
This tour starts and ends in Addis Ababa
Are airport transfers included?
A transfer from and back to the airport is included
Operator policy
Terms and Conditions
Disclaimer
This tour is offered by SimienEcoTours, not SafariBookings.
This operator reserves the right to change rates advertised on SafariBookings.
If you request changes to this tour, the advertised rates will likely change.
Rates include a fixed budget for flights during this tour. If flights cost more, your quote will reflect this.
The exact order, contents and rates of this tour are subject to availability.
If an accommodation is fully booked, the operator will suggest a comparable alternative.
This tour is subject to the terms & conditions of SimienEcoTours.
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