
The Best of 2018
What did we, and our travellers, get up to in 2018?
It’s safe to say that not many make the six-hour journey to the southeast of Addis to the Bale Mountains, but those that tackle the vertiginous roads are rewarded with scenery of the staggering kind. From deep gorges, fairy-tale glacial lakes and clouded forests to undulating hillsides peppered with juniper trees, the landscape was shaped by volcanic fires and glacial ice – just a hint toward the drama that’s in store. The next drawcard is the wildlife. The mountains are home to one of the highest incidences of endemic species in the world, including the Bale monkey, the giant mole-rat and almost half of the remaining population of Ethiopian wolf.
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Trek across otherworldly highlands where russet-coated Ethiopian wolves—among the rarest canids on Earth—stalk endemic giant mole rats amid stark moorlands punctuated by alien-like giant lobelias, then descend into the mystical Harenna Forest where mist embraces ancient trees harboring secretive lions and charismatic black-maned colobus monkeys; twitchers can tick off over 300 species including the blue-winged goose, while village guides reveal medicinal plants and animal signs invisible to untrained eyes, all before witnessing golden dawn light bathing Africa's fourth-highest plateau—a landscape simultaneously harsh and achingly beautiful.
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