Eastern Ethiopia and Harar

Babile
A small town about 30km east of Harar. Ten kilometers beyond is the fascinating Valley of Marvels. Given its name by the Italians, it is renowned for its gravity defying balancing rock formations, where tall columns of black and red rock, withered and twisted by the elements, stand topped by loose on Monday and Thursday, there is an atmospheric livestock market in the village of Babille – it’s one of Ethiopia’s biggest, attracting buyers of camels, cows, donkeys and goats from as far as Djibouti and Somaliland. The market runs from about 10am to 2pm.

Babille Elephant Sanctuary
Babille is better protected than many of Ethiopia’s national parks, and the population of elephants (which some authorities identify as a unique subspecies, Loxodonta Africana Orleans) has risen to around 400. Also resident, though unlikely to be seen, are lions (notable for their black manes), leopards, Menelik’s bushbucks, Soemmerring’s gazelles and greater and lesser kudus. The bird list is at least 227 species strong.

Koremi (Argoba Tribes Village)
This is around 19km southeast of Harar above the Erer Valley, is a definite must-see. It’s the largest of several villages of the Argoba, a deeply traditional people whose ancestors arrived in these parts in the 12th century. Unlike most of the Adare homes of Harar, the old stone houses here are unpainted and unplastered.

Lakes Afambo and Gumare
Is a salt lakes scattered around Asaita are something of a holy grail for serious adventurers. This area remains one of the Horn’s most inhospitable corners, appearing much the same as when explorer Wilfred Thesiger laid eyes upon it in the 1930s. Here the Awash River disappears into a chain of lakes, including Lakes Gumare and Afambo, which can be fairly easily visited from Asaita. The scenery is as stark, desolate and surreally beautiful as it is foreboding.