Lake Bishoftu: How we kept a cool head in hectic Ethiopia

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On the calming banks of the Bishoftu lake we take a break and review a challenging month in Ethiopia

It was our fourth week in Ethiopia and I have to say we were tired. Ethiopia is a huge country with great sights like Erta ale and Dallol; It has fantastic food, a rich culture and a fascinating story - but Wow, it's exhausting.

Let's be honest: If you share the joys of a travel destination, travel authors often leave out the difficulties, annoyances and challenges that it brings. In Ethiopia, this was increased by a factor of five. Apart from the many logistical challenges, there were several unpleasant events that ranged from troubling to almost disturbing.

alt = “calming our stress at the lake bishoftu”> Atlas & Boots calming our stress at the See Bishofu

There were the children who threw stones in Gondar in Gondar, the men who insulted us because I ignored their "Hey, pretty lady", the teenager who raised our car door in Mek’ele, the boys who contained us on the bus, the young people who followed us on three different occasions in three different cities. Sometimes it felt relentless.

Together Peter and I visited 70 countries on six continents. We are not exactly forest children, so believe me when I say that we needed a break.

alt = “Lazy afternoons on the Lake Bishoftu”> Atlas & Boots Faule afternoons at Lake Bishoftu

enter the Lake Bishoftu, a glittering fortress of calm, 45 km southeast of Addis Ababa. We Umed and Ahhed on the way there. The last days of our trip should be spent in the Bale Mountains, but after we received a usury price for the transfer, we simply gave up. It was another fight and we didn't have a fight anymore.

and so we drove to Bishoftu instead, a city with seven crater lakes, which were created by a series of volcanic eruptions near the city of Bishoftu. In the internal borders of Ethiopia, the lakes offer a welcome connection to the water.

alt = "The perfect place for" lockdown mode ""> Atlas & Boots The perfect place for "lockdown mode"

We selected the Lake Bishoftu due to its call as a weekly back for the broken Addis Ababans, which urgently needs peace. The lake offers views of gently rippling water, which is surrounded by a steep crater rim. With a maximum depth of 87 m, it is the second deepest lake of Ethiopia and, according to local tradition, houses a sleeping devil. From time to time, his evil power kills fish and sends it to the surface to be carried away by hungry water birds - or at least we heard that.

When there was a devil, we did not see horn or fur from him - and we spent a lot of time to watch Asham Africa directly on the rim of crater from our balcony.

alt = "The gardens at the lake bishofu Asham africa"> Atlas & Boots The gardens of Asham Africa

with access to well-groomed gardens, all-day food and pleasant views we had no reason to leave the hotel site, and so we went to the lockdown mode, this enjoyable travel phase, in which you take a few days to do nothing.

Sure, Mount Yerer was nearby and yes, we thought about riding briefly, but after a month in the country we were satisfied with just lazing and relaxing.

Alt = "Sunset above the Bishoftu-See"> Atlas & Boots sunset above the Bishoftu-See

We spent three days to eat delicious wat and injera, stroll through the gallery on site, to make long evening walks on the lake and watch the well -heeled visitors from Addis and the surrounding area.

At Asham we saw another face of Ethiopia: fashionable women in silk abayas and professional men in weekend clothes, whose designer sunglasses and wide collars give a touch of Côte d’Azur.

The break at Lake Bishofu reminded us of how important it is to plan some days of failure to avoid burnout on the trip. Our stay was completely invigorating and prepared us for the next and last stop of our Ethiopian epic: the great extensive city of Addis Ababa.

lake bishoftu: The essentials

Was: Three days at Lake Bishofu in Ethiopia.

Where: We stayed in Asham Africa, a collection of spacious rooms with a far-reaching view over Lake Bishoftu. Our room with a four -poster bed and sunny balcony was the perfect balance to four hectic weeks in Ethiopia.

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Atlas & Boots

In addition to the enchanting view of the lake bank, the hotel offers an in -house art gallery and a well -kept, multi -storey garden that is perfect for afternoon walks in the setting sun.

The hotel regularly organizes conferences and still manages to keep an Aura absolute calm. In fact, during our three nights, we thought that the hotel was almost empty and were surprised when we found out when checking out that it was actually fully booked. All in all, Asham Africa is a nice little place to recover from the hardships of independent travel in Ethiopia.

When: The best travel time for Bishoftu in Ethiopia is October to March, when most parts of the country have pleasant temperatures, blue sky and low rainfall.

How: We took a private transfer from Addis Ababa to Bishoftu: 45 km, 700 ETB (25 USD). We organized the transfer via the Hotel Celeste in Addis Ababa and were originally given as 1,500 ETB, so they were ready to file.

Addis Ababa is the most important international airport in the country. Book international flights via skyscanner.net.

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LONELY PLANET ETHIOPIA is a useful travel guide for the country, ideal for those who want to explore the most important sights and take less busy roads. If you prefer to travel on a tour, we recommend G Adventures and their Ethiopia tours in small groups.

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