NATIONAL PARKS SAFARIS ETHIOPIA

HIGHLIGHTS, WHERE THEY ARE AND HOW TO VISIT

BLUE NILE FALLS, ETHIOPIA: FACTS & LOCATION

ETHIOPIA BLUE NILE FALLS BEST TIME TO VISIT: While regulated for the Blue Nile Power plant, find out when they still offer a marvelous spectacle

Ten amazing Blue Nile Falls facts:

1. The Blue Nile Falls are among the great falls in Africa;

2. They are 37 - 45m high and about 400m wide;

3. In Amharic they are called "Tis Abay", meaning "smoking water";

4. The Blue Nile drains Lake Tana and its tributaries;

5. Nearby the Blue Nile is crossed by the oldest stone bridge of Africa;

6. Since 2003 a hydro-electric plant has reduced the flow of the falls;

7. The Blue Nile is not blue, but brown with sediments;

8. The Blue Nile forms part of the headwaters of the Nile, the world's longest river;

9. The falls formed a barrier for fish, which allowed the upstream fish to develop into separate endemic species;

10. The Blue Nile has carved out a the Blue Nile Canyon, almost as long as the Grand Canyon.

BLUE NILE FALLS, ETHIOPIA, FACTS: WHILE REGULATED FOR THE BLUE NILE POWER PLANT, THEY STILL ARE A MARVELOUS SPECTACLE, EVEN IN THE DRY SEASON WHEN THE WATER IS WHITE AND THE SKY IS BLUE

Blue Nile Falls, Ethiopia, Facts & Best time to visit

Blue Nile Falls, Ethiopia, Facts & Location: are 37 - 45m high; the largest waterfalls of Ethiopia at a distance of ± 35km from Bahir Dar and Lake Tana. They can be conveniently combined with a visit to Lake Tana, the origin of the Blue Nile. In Amharic they are called "Tis Abay", meaning "smoking water". During the full dry season, there only runs a trickle of water trough the falls, or none at all. As the upper Blue Nile is fed by Lake Tana, there is a certain delay effect, as the level of Lake Tana determines the amount of water running through the fall; not the most recent rainfall. That means that at the beginning of the rainy season there still is not much water in the upper Blue Nile, while at the beginning of the dry season, there still is a lot of water accumulated in Lake Tana and consequently, there still is water running through the falls. In fact, the late wet season may be the best. During the peak of the wet season, each rain shower washes a lot of sediments into the river, and the color of the falls may be brown. At the end of the rainy season, with few rain showers washing sediments into the river, the water becomes clear and the falls turn beautifully white. As a rule of thumb, water may start accumulating in May and run through as late as October and November.  But always check with us, because most tour operators will lie about the amount of water running through the falls. WE DON'T and tell you how much water there is!

A picture is worth a thousand words. Most of our hundreds of pictures are favored in Google! Why? Because no other website has so many beautiful high resolution pictures, all taken by ourselves. Our pictures not only show you the beauty of Ethiopia, but they also show that we have been everywhere when we researched all parks for the Ethiopian Wildlife Autharity, photographing wildlife, plants, people and culture. Read our PDF report to the Government on Parks an Culture! So why consider booking our our Ethiopia Culture & National Parks modules? Because only we combine the culture of Ethiopia with its nature. We don't mislead you like many tour operators do. When the Blue Nile falls are dry.... we tell you. When fog clouds the lava lake of Erte Ale Volcano? We let you know. Just drop us a mail info@nationalparks-worldwide.com  and we will check it out for you.

Our tours take you to ALL famous cultural places of Ethiopia, and on top of that, you get to see up to 20 large parks accompanied by a conservation professional, not a mere guide. There is nothing similar on the market. Check out our tours in modules like: Historical Circuit; Danakil Depression; Eastern Route; Simien Mountains; Bale Mountains; Southern Parks Safari; Gambella; Addis Ababa. BUT WAIT: if you buy your international ticket with Ethiopia Airlines, they will sell the internal flights at a price that you can't even ride the bus for. But you MUST plan it all in one package and making changes may be very costly. So let us help you plan your entire trip and book your local flights for an incredibly low price after you booked your international flight with Ethiopian Airlines! Also: Ethiopia can be combined with other East African countries, we organize.

Originally, the water content of the falls varied greatly, but since the regulation of Lake Tana and the construction of a hydro-electrical power plant, the water has become much more consistent, although water is still much more abundant during the wet season. There are many voices whining that the falls are no longer what they used to be, which is an obvious fact, but claims that they are no longer worth visiting are total bogus. Our pictures below were taken during the dry season and they show that the falls are still beautiful and every bit worth of visiting.

Ecologically, the falls have been important as they formed a barrier for downstream fish, which allowed the fish populations in Lake Tana and its tributaries to develop into separate endemic fish species, some of which are quite large and served in restaurants in Bahir Dar.

Not far from the falls you can visit first stone bridge of Ethiopia, built under Emperor Susenyos in 1626 by Afonso Mendes, a Catholic priest in Ethiopia.

The Blue Nile Falls as they thunder down a 45m basalt cliff, creating an eternal noise and white fog.

One gets to the falls from Bahir Dar over a rural dirt road until a crossing with a tourist ferry.

One pays the entry fee at the local "visitor center".

The tourist ferry at the falls is simple but solid.

Upon visiting the falls, it is worth the effort the see the oldest stone bridge of Africa south of the Sahara built under Emperor Susenyos in 1626.

Blue Nile Falls from the top.

Upon arrival, visitors first get to see the falls from the top. It is a wonderful sight to see how the slow flowing river suddenly turns wild and thunders down over a 40m high vertical basalt cliff.

Blue Nile Falls from  a distances as they fall down with a thunderous noise into an erosion hole, created by  thousands of years of crashing down over the basalt cliffs that create the falls. 

The fact is, Blue Nile Falls are still not overrun by tourists, and one can have a wonderful moment to oneself while listening to the roar of the falling water and enjoying the cool spray that spreads across the area on an otherwise hot day.

The Blue Nile Falls are part of this fabulous travel itinerary:

In fact, the Blue Nile Falls are even prettier in the dry season when the water is clear and the falls are white.

BLUE NILE FALLS, ETHIOPIA: FACTS & LOCATION