YuShan
Well-known member

I gotta research this, thanks!!
Some low hanging fruit in Ethiopia (2014):
- Hotel grounds of the Ghion hotel in Addis Ababa was already excellent birding. I didn't even stay there (I stayed somewhere super budget) but just walked in and nobody seemed to care.
- Entoto Hills right outside Addis Ababa. Is just a short bus ride away (or even walkable from where I stayed)
- Debre Libanos. Can be reached by bus (few hours from Addis). You can stay in a hotel (not too expensive) on location overlooking the gorge, where you can see many birds but also Gelada Baboons. Explore the area on foot by yourself.
- Bahir Dar. Truly excellent birding place. Many birds can be seen within the town itself around the lake, at hotel grounds (I always just walked in without staying there, nobody cares). You can also go on foot outside town and explore the countryside around it and tick off tons of birds. The spectacular Nile Falls are a short bus ride away, and also in that area you can see many birds and it's very scenic too.
- In Harar (nice town, but remote) take a bus to Dakata and bird that area by yourself. At the end of the day stop a bus along the road to go back to Harar.
- Awash, Hawassa, Ziway and Bishoftu. Just walk in and around town and pick up birds.
- Metahara, simply walked out of town and picked up Sombre Rock Chat (and some others)
- Yabello (reached by bus). I stayed in a hotel at the junction where the road splits off to the actual town (basically in the middle of nowhere). From there I spent a few days exploring on foot the direct area. It was unbelievable the amount of new birds I kept ticking off there.
I have done some more serious hiking there too, for example a multiple day hike / camp in the Simien Mountains (the only time that I didn't explore alone, because an armed guard is mandatory and arranged by the national park. I also hired a mule + muleman to carry all stuff, because this team of 2 people plus mule only costed $15 per day). On this super scenic hike I picked up many more birds (incl Ankober Serin).
Also visited some other places like Lalibela (super expensive world heritage - ticket for 3 days was $50, which is quite ridiculous) and even there I picked up more birds around the churches. The birds are simply everywhere. I visited more places, but I listed the best ones already, with Bahir Dar and Yabello getting my top rating for abundance of good birds and the ease of birding on foot.
Without your own transport you still miss out on many birds because many areas are simply too remote to visit. But there is so much that is within reach with buses and on foot, that your birding will be excellent anyhow. But do note that I'm fit and healthy and I love walking. If you are old and fragile and require many comforts, then it might be different for you.
Ethiopia is one of the best places where I ever birded. And certainly the cheapest. In 53 days (in 2014) I spent a grand total of €943 including visa, food, accommodation, all transport inside Ethiopia, entrance fees, etc. (Edit: actually, I just checked and Ecuador worked out even cheaper, but there I camped in my own tent for more than half of the time - accommodation is usually your biggest expense, even in cheap countries).
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