National Park · Oromia
Awash National Park
Established in 1966 about 225 kilometres east of Addis Ababa, Awash is Ethiopia's oldest national park — 827 square kilometres of acacia plain, lava fields and river gorge, watched over by the dormant Fantale volcano.
Why We Go
Ethiopia's oldest national park: a dormant volcano, a waterfall gorge and palm-fringed hot springs.
Awash was created to protect the dry-country wildlife of the Rift Valley floor — the beisa oryx above all, alongside Soemmerring's gazelle and the tiny Salt's dik-dik. Game drives run across open grassland and acacia scrub, with the river gorge along the park's southern edge.
Dominating the western side is Fantale, a dormant volcano whose summit crater is still grazed seasonally by the Kereyu people. On its southern flank, the black lava of its last eruption in 1820 is still clear to see from the road.
Elsewhere in the park, the Filwoha hot springs form a string of warm, blue pools shaded by doum palms — an oasis for wildlife and for anyone who has spent the morning on dusty tracks. The traditional lands of the Afar, Kereyu and Ittu peoples surround the park, and we visit with local guides from those communities.
Highlights
- 01Awash Falls, where the river drops into a gorge some 250 metres deep
- 02Beisa oryx, Soemmerring's gazelle and Salt's dik-dik on the open plains
- 03The Fantale volcano, with the dark scar of its last lava flow in 1820
- 04The Filwoha hot springs — clear pools around 36°C, fringed by doum palms
Best combined with a stay of 2 – 3 days, travelling October – March.
Journeys Including Awash National Park
Routes that pass through here
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