NATIONAL PARKS SAFARIS ETHIOPIA

HIGHLIGHTS, WHERE THEY ARE AND HOW TO VISIT

BABILE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY, OROMIA, WOREDA, ETHIOPIA

BABILE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY. 560km east of Addis Ababa and 25km south of the city of Harar, it was created to protect Ethiopia's Elephants

Babile Elephant Sanctuary

The 698,200ha Babile Elephant Sanctuary is located 560km east of Addis Ababa and 25km south of the city of Harar. In part it encompasses a plateau, as well as the lowlands of the valleys of the Erer, Daketa, Fafen, Gobele and Borale Rivers; all being tributaries of the Shabelle River. Elevations range from 1000masl in the south to 1750masl in the north. 

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, taken by ourselves. Our pictures not only show you the beauty of Ethiopia, but they also show that we go everywhere, photographing wildlife, plants, people and culture. They show our professionalism, our keen eye for detail and our passion for the culture and nature of Ethiopia. So why consider booking our our Ethiopia Culture & National Parks modules? Because 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? We let you know. Just drop us a mail 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 12 large nature reserves accompanied by a conservation forester. There is nothing similar on the market.

As Ethiopia can be combined with other East African countries, we organize tours in modules. Destinations Overview: 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!

The Sanctuary was originally gazetted protect a supposed elephant sub-species, Loxodonta africana oleansie, but recent DNA tests showed that it is the regular African Elephant. Nonetheless, it is the most Northeastern population Elephant populations and with about 400 animals the largest and most visible herd of the about 1000 animals remaining in Ethiopia and the population has been slowly increasing over the last decade.

Elephants can live in almost any habitat with sufficient food and water, but in the reserve, they prefer to stay in the Erer valley, where there is a lot of encroachment of Prickled Pear Cactus, an invasive species whose succulent leaves contain lots of water and food for the Elephants. They often spend a lot of time in the gallery forest along the river, as food is more plentiful and the river provides them with water, which in the dry season, they dig up from the sandy riverbed. For some years, a few animals have been equipped with a teletracking devise, but these have been active on and off, the latter for lack of funding. When functional, the park staff is always happy to help visitors find the elephants, but of course, a sighting can never be guaranteed.

Large parts of the park's lowlands have shrub and tree savannah, which is often very dense with both shrubs and cactus bushes. In the highlands, along the slopes of the ravines one often finds a very interesting dwarf Euphorbia, while the more commonly found Euphorbia trees grow native on the plateau of the reserve.

Other mammals living in the park are the Black-maned lion, Leopard, Cheetah, the Hamadryas Baboon, Papio hamadryas, Menelik’s bushbuck, Soemmerring’s Gazelle, and greater and lesser kudu. The bird list of 227 species includes the endemic Salvadori’s serine. Of the reptiles, noteworthy are enormous tortoises and other animals.

Babille is also home to the hot thermal springs, used to supply much of eastern Ethiopia with bottled mineral water. Just beyond the main entrance road into the park is the interesting geologic rock formations at Dakata’s Rock Valley with a wonderful balancing rock as well as lower hoodoos. Other nearby attractions are the Prison House of Lij Eyasu in the Gara Mulleta Mountains, the Harar UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Kondudo mountain, which hosts a population of feral horses and a stalactite cave which rates among the 5 finest of Africa, locally know as the Gursum Pearl Cave.

Dakata’s Rock Valley with a wonderful Dakata balancing rock as well as lower hoodoos.

On the plateau are small villages.

Children love looking at visiting vehicles.

In the dry season, women depend on pockets of water in dry creeks for doing their colorful laundry.

Women fetching water in plastic jerrycans from the nearest waterhole.

While distributed widely in rural Ethiopia, where it is planted for fences and shade around houses, one does not often find wild ones, but on the plateau, we found several wild individuals.

A native Euphorbia bush at the slopes of the canyons is different from anywhere else we found in Ethiopia.

Cactuses are invasive species in Africa. Fortunately, Elephants love them so they can keep them down.

Did you know there are no native cactuses in Africa? Originally coming from Mexico, the Prickly Pear Cactus, Opuntia ficus-indica, was introduced in Ethiopia in 1847 by missionaries. Since then it has been spreading continuously and is one of the more conspicuous invasive species in Ethiopia, but in the reserve, they are well liked by the elephants.

The gallery forest along the Erer River in Babile Elephant Sactuary remains green through much of the dry season.

The gallery forest along the Erer River in Babile Elephant Sactuary has tall trees and are frequented by the elephants.

The local people keep bees in the acacia trees in the gallery forest.

The typical shrub savanna higher up in the Erer Valley is invaded with cactuses.

Above left: Through the often dense shrub vegetation, spotting Elephants is a bit of a challenge, but when successful the feel of achievement is extremely rewarding.

Above: Vents on termite mounts are buitl to the impressive hight of up to 5m.

Left: an Elephant bull feeding on non-native cactus.

Not so common in Ethiopia, the Hamadryas Baboon, Papio hamadryas, lives in Babile Elephant Sanctuary.

Enormous tortoises, that can grow more than 1m and live more than a century inhabit the reserve.

Highly opportunistic predators, Leopards, or Panthers eat almost anything that moves, varying from mice to antelopes several times their own size.

The Ethiopian Black Maned Lion can still be found in Babile Elephant Sanctuary.

Soemmerring's Gazelle.

Lesser Kudu.

This travel itinerary takes you to Babile Elephant Sanctuary, Oriomia, Woredo, Ethiopia:

Ethiopia modernizes and changes more rapidly than any other country in Africa. Many features may not be there anymore in the near future. If you want to see it the way it was for thousands of years, see it now before it has changed forever! Compose your own once-in-a-lifetime Ethiopia-Africa-Adventure from our affordable modules:

Famous Ethiopia Historical Circuit

Simien Mountains trek or car visit

Danakil Depression and Erte Ale Volcano Expedition

Awash Babile Harar Safari Tour

Ethiopia Central and Southern Parks & Tribes Safari Tour

Bale Mountains National Park and Sof Omar Caves Tour

Gambella National Park Safari

Addis Ababa City Tour & Airport Transfer

All Ethiopia modules and prices together

We designed our itineraries in such a way that you can compose a 1 to 4 weeks journey from different modules that can show you the entire country or just the parts that interest you, all depending on your personal preferences, available time and budget. Email us on your interests and we can discuss a custom program with you by phone (we have phone lines from the USA and Europe) or skype. So, weather you have a great ethnic affinity, are a birdwatcher or want to go on safari, contact us and we work out a customized program that focuses on YOUR interests.

Addis Ababa Bole International Airport is home of Ethiopian Airlines, featuring Africa's youngest fleet of the latest intercontinental jet airplanes - including 2 Dreamliners - as well as short-distance Bombardier turboprops for affordable and reliable in-country flights servicing all major cities of Ethiopia. The best airline of Africa, will fly you non-stop from the USA and Europe to Addis Ababa. Take our 1-week Ethiopia Cultural Monuments Tour and then continue for your Kenya or Tanzania safari - or any other East African capital - thus completing your journey. IF YOU BUY YOUR INTERNATIONAL TICKET FROM ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES, YOU WILL GET MOST INTERNAL FLIGHTS FOR $40 - $70 PER LEG! BUT CHANGING AFTERWARDS IS EXPENSIVE, SO WORK OUT A SCHEDULE WITH US TO GET A FABULOUS DEAL FOR FLYING THROUGH THE COUNTRY IN STEAD OF SPENDING ENDLESS TIME ON THE ROAD!!!