Ethiopia – Gorgeous !
Sign up to receive our updates on the situation in Ethiopia and how tourism is coming back. I will also be keeping you updated on the situation of our guesthouses and the communities who own them.
It should go without saying that your contact details will only be used by Tesfa Tours, we will not inundate you with too many updates, and you will always have the option to unsubscribe should you want to.
Ethiopia is off the UK redlist
Waterfall in North Shoa on the Ride the Rift trip
Ethiopia has at last been taken off the UK’s redlist. This means that if you have been vaccinated for COVID (in a country whose vaccinations the UK recognises ie: a western country) you can visit Ethiopia and return to the UKL without needing to quarantine.
In addition as of this week the UK travel advise from the FCDO has improved – as based on the current assessment of COVID-19 risks – they no longer advises against all but essential travel to Ethiopia. However the FCDO currently advises against all travel to Amhara Region – but we are hopeful that parts of the region will move from this amber rating to green in the coming weeks.
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View of Ankober Lodge, end of the Charity bike ride with Ride the Rift
In fact Tesfa Tours, in conjunction with several partner companies, has been running hike & bike trips in the highlands within a few hours drive from Addis Ababa. We call this collaborative effort Ride the Rift as it was set up to raise money for guides and cooks who have been left high and dry by the crash of the tourism industry that came as a result of COVID. We continue to raise money for these individuals and their families – and have have helped over 60 people so far and hope to make this 100 by the end of 2021. The next outdoor adventure trip is taking place on 16th October, with our 2nd annual charity bike ride on 20/21 November. Along with trips to the south of Ethiopia – Bale mountains, The Omo Valley and the Rift Valley, there are still opportunities to get out and see much of what Ethiopia has to offer.
Tesfa Ethiopian Calendar 2014 (EC) ready
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Forest Fire is put out – Wof Washa
Looking up a massive tree trunk
There is really great news – last night the heavy rain in Wof Washa has finally dowsed the fire and it is put out. In addition there is forecast more rain over the coming week, so the area should be well and truly soaked, which should mean any further outbreaks are unlikely this season.
However lessons need to be learned. We will need to plant new trees – the correct indigenous species in the areas where the forest got damaged, and we need to develop a strategy to mitigate the threat of fire in the future. Global warming and climate change are making it increasingly likely that forests such as Wof Washa, which are used to getting rain every few months, will now have to deal with long
View near Mescha, Wof Washa forest
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A huge thank you to all those who sent money to help support the community firefighters – local farmers with no training, who using spades, pick axes and other basic tools bought this fire under control
Forest fires destroying hundreds of hectares of Wof Washa forest
A line of fire along Wof Washa forest
We are devastated by the ongoing news of a forest fire destroying some of the most beautiful forest within reach of Addis Ababa. Wof Washa forest is one of our community tourism sites, selected b ecasue of the importance if conserving this stunning forest.
The fire started 5 days ago in Wof Washa forest – one of the largest extents of forest
Local famers desperately trying to stop the fire
within a few hours drive from Addis. The approximately 6,000ha of forest, cloaks the Rift Valley escarpment ranging from 3,500m down to 2,300m with a remarkable range of vegetation from mighty Podocarpus, Juniper and Olive trees to the high altitude Giant Heather and Giant Lobelia. This is a critical reservoir of biodiversity, with many as yet undiscovered medicinal plants as well as a large array of wildlife. Around 200ha were burned in the first 4 days but it is accelerating
Rains that usually damp the forested escapement between January and May have not come this year and temperatures are rising leaving the forest too dry. 
Wof Washa forest is also inaccessible by road, and it appears there is no plan to fight fires like this. The local communities are out in the forest struggling against the flames, supported as best they can by Ankober Woreda. But they are feeling powerless as the fire accelerates in the winds hat pick up each afternoon. They need more tools as well as water and food to keep them going in their efforts to stop this fire.
If anyone in Ethiopia is able to send money to supports their efforts please send to a CBE account set up by the local woreda in Ankober –
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If you are outside Ethiopia please contact me urgently on WhatsApp +251 921602236 to make a plan
Melkam Meskal – best wishes for the Meskal Holiday
The Demera – Bonfire – for Meskal
Today across much of Ethiopia food is being prepared for tomorrows Meskal holiday, and bonfires are built and decorated with Meskal flowers ( a yellow daisy) and national flags. Tonight many will light the bonfires, although in some places they are lit tomorrow.
Meskal commemorates that St. Helena found the True Cross of Christ in Jerusalem. The Cross had healing powers after Jesus’ crucifixion which was attracting many converts, so the Jews threw the Cross into a rubbish disposal pit, the location of which over the centuries, became lost
In 327 A.D. the mother of King Constantine, Queen Helena, made a trip to Jerusalem to find the Cross. She was advised by an old man called Kiriakos to light a bonfire with incense and be guides by the smoke. Helena’s people started digging at the spot on
A Meskal Demera (bonfire) built by locals in Addis
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Across many of the peoples south and west of Addis – such as Gurage and Wolaita, Meskal is celebrated over several days and is the major celebration of the year. Meskal also comes at the point where the rainy season -the kremt
Meskal flower seller in Addis
– is ending. In Addis Ababa where the kremt is longer there are typically still a week or two of sporadic rains, but further north where it is drier the rains have pretty much finished by Meskal. So the holiday also marks the onset of what the greenest season that is often (rather inaccurately) described as spring. The Meskal daisy can be seen growing in fields and open lands across the highlands.
Now is the time to start planning your trip out of Addis. The country is opening for tourism. All those in the tourism sector, hotel staff, guides, cooks, drivers etc are desperate to work and earn something. Foreign tourists are very few and so the tourist sites are all but empty, and it is a wonderful chance to see them without the crowds.
COVID19, and Ethiopia re-opening for Tourism
Peering through the gap
Its been a while since I sent out an update on how things are progressing here in Ethiopia. The Kremt rains have been heavy this year, for those of you that do not know this Ethiopia’s rainy season bought about by the same weather system that causes India’s monsoon, and like the monsoon it runs from its beginning at the end of June until it peters out in late September/or early October.
As anticipated the rains, which drive people indoors in confined spaces, and force people who would walk to use public transport, have seen a spike in cases of COVID 19 in Ethiopia with daily cases rising above the 500 mark in late July, and peaking at over 1,500 per day in late August (using the 7 day moving average on ‘worldometer’ https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/ethiopia/). However since then the spike has dropped off with the average back down to 500 a day for 14 September. The mortality figures are similar, peaking in later August at 22, and coming down now to 13 (again the moving 7 day average).
Mekdela – the mountain fortress of Emperor Tewedros
Although the New Year holiday on Saturday will have affected social distancing as people came together, I anticipate that the figures allowing for a blip, will continue to fall as we move into October and could see new infections drop below 100 a day with the dry weather that we anticipate being the norm from mid October.
The other positive news is that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has announced that Ethiopia will re-open for Tourism as of 1 October. There will be protocols in place, including use of face-masks and sanitiser, spacing in transport (vehicles will only operate with 50% capacity) and getting people to keep a safe distance. Although details have not been made clear it is understood that the requirement for incoming passengers to quarantine will be dropped, probably relying on testing before the flight and on arrival, and a procedure to allow any positives cases to be tracked.
Meskal flowers near the Simiens – traditional for the New Year
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For those eager and able to travel to Ethiopia we will offer lots of fresh air (most monuments are outside), and we anticipate that there will be so few visitors that tourist sites will be far emptier than usual, so this could be the time to book that special trip.
Additional news – the Tesfa Tours hanging calendar is out – with the Desktop version and Agenda soon to be ready.
Let me wish all our friends, customers, suppliers, and those who just picked up this blog – a happy new year, – and wish that 2013 (for that is the new year in Ethiopia) rapidly gets better for the whole world!
Ethiopia – COVID19 and the internet interruption
I wanted to update all our followers on what has been happening in Ethiopia over the last few weeks, and reassure people that we are still here after the internet was switched off.
The internet shutdown began on Tuesday 30th June, following the killing of a prominent singer with strong political views, a wave of protests swept through Addis Ababa and the country leading to the arrests of certain political activists and leaders who have been putting forward ideas of ethnic violence. This is also linked to the approach of the election that had been planned for September but which was postponed due to the COVID19 virus. For more in formation look at reliable news sources, but do not trust information put out on social media websites. We are only now getting internet back and apologise to our customers and those who have been in touch for the delays in responding.
We were of course already reeling from the effect of COVID19 in Ethiopia, and have been fearing the worst for our country. However to date Ethiopia has been one country that has not been too seriously effected by the virus – at least in medical terms. The government has put in place a range of measures to limit the spread of the virus so that masks are required in public, transport operates with only limited numbers of passengers, offices are only working partially and with staggered times to avoid ‘rush hours’ etc.
Currently the country has performed close to 300,000 tests, with under 8,000 positive cases tested, of which just over 3,000 are still active cases, 127 died, and a little over 4,500 recovered. New daily cases are averaging around 200 a day, with a very few in critical condition (around 30) and an average of around 1-2 deaths each day (a number of which are tests performed on people who died in hospital not in the CV19 treatment centres). The main rainy season started about a month ago, and the rains have become persistent in Addis Ababa over the last few weeks, resulting in people in cramped accommodation staying indoors more, and temperatures being much lower. This must make the spread of the virus more likely, but so far the numbers are manageable. We all hope it stays this way through August and September and when the drier weather comes in mid September and more so in October, that the virus ceases to be a danger.
Active Recovered and Death in Ethiopia: -Source https://ethiopianhealthdata.org/story-map
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There is a good graphic website illustrating the Covid19 statistics in Ethiopia: – https://ethiopianhealthdata.org/story-map
Annular Solar eclipse 21 June- be careful
A ‘ring of fire’ – how a solar eclipse looks
This coming Sunday – the 21st June, is the date of solar eclipse across a big swathes of Ethiopia. Across a particular part of Ethiopia it will be an annular solar eclipse. That is to say that the moon will cover more than 98% of the Sun and leave a small rim of light around the edge.
The central line on which the annular eclipse (where it will be longest) will pass cross is the Bahir Dar road just south of Injibara but it crosses the road that goes from Motta to Bahir Dar near a town called Sheba, comes close Nefas Mewcha in Gayint, then passes Tesfa community trekking guesthouses in North Wollo, passing directly over Lalibela, crosses the main road to Mekele just south of Alamata and heads out into Afar just south of Lake Afdera.
Map of Annular Eclipse passage in Ethiopia see https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov
In places like Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar, Gondar and Axum you can see a partial eclipse- with around 90% of the Sun blocked out by the moon at the highpoint.The Eclipse will start at around 6:50am reach its high point just before 8am and finish around 9am.
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Safety glasses should be worn
a CD disk however there are many other professionals who say this does not give you any proper protection.
Please make sure you your friends and family and other people around you are aware of how dangerous it is to look directly at the Sun during an eclipse. The only point at which it is safe is when the moon has totally covered the sun, at this point is not going to be visible for most people in most places. I have read that the Sun will also damage cameras as it will penetrate writing to them. However it may be that your phone camera can take a few pictures so long as you don’t have it filming the Sun and don’t have it zoomed in. But you must be very careful not to be looking at the Sun while you do this which is difficult.
Take care, Mark and the Tesfa Tours team
Melkam Hosanna / Palm Sunday
Palm Fonds are worn to commemorate Palm Sunday (Hosanna) – this one specially made for COVID19 emergency
Easter is now one week away in Ethiopia. Today is Palm Sunday or Hosanna in Ethiopia. It is usually one of the busiest days in the church calendar, but today – although some still went to church, Addis Ababa remained quiet. People did put palm fonds on their heads. Hosanna marks the start of the final week of Hudadi, commonly known as Holy Week, or the “Week of Pains” or in Ethiopia Himamat and it is the strictest part of Lent. During Himamat no absolution is given, and during this week the fast becomes yet more rigorous. For some strict worshippers, having broken the fast after mass on Thursday they will not eat any food nor drink even a drop of water until Easter morning. So they totally abstain for all of Good Friday (or Sekelet) and Saturday, breaking this
Eyesus Church very quiet on Palm Sunday
fast after the church service that goes through the night on Saturday, finishing at around 3am on Sunday morning. These three days are known as “Qanona”. The priests neither eat nor drink but remain in the churches singing and praying incessantly.
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Fruit and Veg store in Addis
This year Easter will not be a great celebration. Many will continue to fast seeking God’s intersession in these COVID19 times. However lockdown as in Europe is not possible. People live day to day from small businesses and there is no real safety net. People buy their bread at small bread shops, fruit and veg from stalls on the road side, small ‘supermarkets’ sell other food stuffs, corner shops sell pretty much all you need- pasta, rice, flour, eggs and much more.
Now handwash stations are outside shops and ropes keep people away from the counter or even outside – so that business is conducted in the street. The government has declared a state of emergency to tackle the virus and are making preparations: hospital beds, gathering PPE, asking retired medical staff to volunteer. Tesfa Tours, as with many businesses has been asked for and has provided funds and a vehicle to help with the emergency. We all pray that the measures are enough to stave off the worst of the virus.
