Drive from Goba onto the Sanetti Plateau

Drive from Goba onto the Sanetti Plateau — the highest plateau in Africa — where the alpine moorland opens at around 4,000 meters altitude into one of the continent's most extraordinary high-altitude landscapes. A 2 to 3 hour hike across the vast open plains offers excellent chances to observe the Ethiopian Wolf, the Giant Mole-Rat, falcons, raptors, and numerous endemic bird species against a backdrop of wild alpine scenery and plateau lakes.

Continue by vehicle to Tulu Dimtu at 4,377 meters — the second-highest peak in Ethiopia — for a short acclimatization walk around the summit and a picnic lunch at altitude. The return drive to the plateau is made slowly, with multiple stops to increase your chances of a second Ethiopian Wolf sighting as the animals become more active in the late afternoon light. Few places in Africa place you simultaneously at this altitude, in this ecosystem, with this density of endemic species.

In the afternoon, descend gradually from the Sanetti Plateau into the Harenna Forest - the second-largest tropical rainforest in Ethiopia - at an altitude of 2,977 meters. The transition from open alpine moorland to dense bamboo forest and towering cloud forest trees happens within a single drive, making this one of the most dramatic ecological contrasts in any Ethiopian national park. A 2 to 3 hour hike through the bamboo forest leads to a waterfall, with excellent opportunities to observe the endemic Bale Monkey, baboons, and black-and-white colobus monkeys in the forest canopy. Continue deeper into the forest to watch for leopard, giant forest hog, bush pig, and numerous endemic bird species. The forest is alive with sound in a way the plateau is not — your guide identifies species by call as much as by sight. The slow drive back toward the Sanetti Plateau includes additional stops for Ethiopian Wolf as the day closes.