Walking in Oromia's Bale Mountains

Travel advisory, November 2026: The US State Department rates Ethiopia Level 3, Reconsider Travel, and tells Americans not to travel anywhere in the Oromia region except Bishoftu and Bale Mountains National Park. The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) advises against all travel to the Wollega zones, parts of North and West Shewa and the strip along the Kenya border, and against all but essential travel to most of East Shewa outside the Addis Ababa to Adama Expressway, the rest of North Shewa and the Guji zones. It reports kidnappings in Oromia, including in the Adama special zone, and advises against driving after dark outside Addis Ababa. Fighting resumed in northern Ethiopia in late September 2026. Read the UK FCDO advice and the US State Department advisory before you book and again before you travel. This page sticks to Bishoftu and Bale Mountains National Park.

The best walking in Oromia is in Bale Mountains National Park, where marked day walks start from the Dinsho headquarters, from the Sanetti Plateau road and from the Rira sub-headquarters in the Harenna Forest. Most are short and need no camping kit. There are no verified guided city walks elsewhere in the region, and the US advises against travel to most of it, so this page sticks to the park.

Before you walk

  • Enter at the headquarters gate north of Dinsho, pay the per-day park fee in Ethiopian birr and keep the receipt.
  • A guide from the Nyala Guides Association is compulsory for treks and a good idea on longer day walks; hire one at the gate.
  • Much of the park lies above 3,000 metres and the plateau reaches about 4,000 metres. Walk slowly the first day, drink plenty and carry warm, waterproof layers.
  • Carry small birr notes (about 160 to 165 to the US dollar in October 2026) for guides and tips.

Headquarters loop, Dinsho

The easiest walk in the park starts at a small footbridge on the road between the entrance gate and the lodge buildings. It climbs on a gravel path through Hagenia and juniper forest to the main campsite and returns downhill by the road. Warthog, mountain nyala, Menelik’s bushbuck and bohor reedbuck are very common here, and many endemic birds use the woodland.

Web Valley walk

From headquarters, a walk into the Web Valley takes about 3.5 to 4 hours one way. It passes a waterfall with a campsite beside it; the fall runs strongly from June to November and more gently the rest of the year. Along the way look for grey duiker, serval, spotted hyena, common jackal, colobus monkeys and Starck’s hare, as well as tawny and steppe eagles. Arrange a vehicle pick-up or plan a night at the campsite.

Gaysay grasslands

Seven kilometres from headquarters by road, the Gaysay grasslands are good for open views and grazing nyala. A short trail of under an hour leads to a waterfall on the Web River.

Tullu Dimtu summit

On the Sanetti Plateau road from Goba, a turning 4 kilometres off the main road leads toward Tullu Dimtu, at 4,377 metres the park’s highest point. The final walk to the top takes under an hour, but at this height every step is slow. Go early, when wolves are more likely on the plateau and the weather is clearer.

Harenna Bamboo and Waterfall Trail, Rira

The trail starts at the park sub-headquarters, about 1.5 kilometres south of Rira village, and takes about 2 hours there and back. It drops through mountain forest into open rangeland and a bamboo-filled canyon, crosses a natural land bridge with a view of the first, smaller waterfall, and reaches a second fall with a large, cold pool at its base. Colobus, Bale monkeys and Menelik’s bushbuck are possible. A longer version links the falls to Bale Mountain Lodge, 5 to 6 hours one way.

Gushuralle trail and Manyete coffee forest

Also in Harenna, the Gushuralle Peak Forest Trail climbs through the forest, and further south, at Manyete village, a 6 kilometre nature trail winds through wild Arabica coffee forest to a mineral spring. The Sankate Association there can provide a local guide and a coffee ceremony.

Getting there and staying

Fly from Addis Ababa to Robe on Ethiopian Airlines and transfer by road to Goba or Dinsho. The park’s walks pages give route notes. For a bed between walks, see a Goba hotel search ; the headquarters campsite is also open.

Read more: multi-day treks in Bale and Oromia sightseeing .