South of the Awash River in the Oromia Region in southeast Ethiopia, the Bale Mountains, often referred to as the Urgoma Mountains, are mountain ranges that are a part of the Ethiopian Highlands. They consist of Mount Batu and Tullu Demtu, the second-highest mountains in Ethiopia. These mountains east of Goba are the source of the Weyib River, a tributary of the Jubba River. These mountains span 2,200 square kilometers within the Bale Mountains National Park. The park’s untamed alpine environment and the ease with which tourists can view rare birds and creatures are its principal draws.
The most adventures and Wildlife awaits you here
Many of Ethiopia’s endemic wildlife species, including the Sanetti Plateau’s Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis), are found in the Bale Mountains. The park also includes the Harenna Forest, which is a mainly unknown area to the south of the mountains and is believed[by whom?] to be home to numerous undiscovered species of reptile as well as lions, leopards, and many kinds of antelope. The National Park offers trekking options from the park’s headquarters at Dinsho in addition to animals. (Dodola makes an excellent starting point for exploring these mountains. Here is where the largest pack of Ethiopian wolves may be found. Mountain nyalas, Menelik’s bushbucks, warthogs, and bohor reedbucks are further distinctive big mammals.
Between 2,500 and 3,300 meters above sea level, the Juniper-Hagenia forests are primarily found on the northern slopes. The Abyssinian rose with white flowers is a peculiar shrub found in the Dinsho region. The Saneti Plateau’s alpine moorland is covered in heath-like vegetation, including stands of enormous lobelia that can reach heights of 6 meters in places. The red-hot poker, an aloe that is distinguishable by its orange spear-shaped blossoms, is one of the most prevalent and distinctive plants in the Bale region.
At the Fincha Habera site in Ethiopia’s Bale Mountains, more than 11,000 feet above sea level, archaeologists 2019 discovered a 30,000-year-old Middle-Stone Age rock shelter. This home served as the earliest example of the highest-altitude human occupation, according to a study that appeared in Science journal. The earth revealed tens of thousands of animal bones, hundreds of stone tools, and old furnaces.
