Road Trip Through the National Forest to Debre-Libanos

On a weekend it's nice to be able to jump into ones Rav 4 and escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. Addis Ababa as I've mentioned before is a rather busy city of over 4 million people.  Although we reside in the "relatively" quiet suburb of Bole Sub City, I welcomed  the opportunity to see beyond the congestion and activity of Addis.  Debre-Libanos is around  a 100 km from Addis so this would also give Ravi a nice change from short city excursions which have been to date the extent of  Ravi's Ethio-experience.  Truth be told Paul was a bit worried that Ravi might not be up for the challenge.  We purchased Ravi in a rush last December and by January she was on a ship to Ethiopia.  We never drove her in Canada and though she looked good, we still weren't sure if she was up for African driving.

Paul, get dressed, we're going on a road trip. Lexxie too!

Sunday morning, we packed up our cooler with Canadian fare (potato salad and fried chicken) and Ethiopian fare (lentils and injera).  Aynalem and her husband Baracat joined us and along with Lexxie we were off.  We have a GPS (we call her Aussie) which although it has the Garmin program for Ethiopia, has had it's share of problems.  There is a lot of construction going on in Addis at the moment as the Chinese (transportation gurus) are currently supervising the construction of a rail line right through the middle of the city.  It is going to be an amazing improvement once it is finished, but like with most construction, it's wreaking havoc on current traffic patterns.  No matter how many times I hit "detour" Aussie kept trying to steer us through roads that are torn up or completely blocked.  Fortunately Paul has a pretty good sense of the city, so in spite of Aussie's confusion and my keen sense of direction (right or left?) he managed to steer Ravi out of the city.

The first thing you notice as you leave the city is a sense of openness and fresh air.  Well perhaps fresh air is pushing it as most vehicles here use diesel fuel and clearly we weren't the only ones trying to escape the city. The road is paved as it is a direct access route to other towns, but I wouldn't suggest taking this road at night.  The road is not lit and it follows a very up hill, windy path as you begin your climb through the National Forest from the base of the Entoto Mountains.  The road is bordered by tall Eucalyptus trees and for us passengers it was a nice, green view. Paul as the driver had to keep vigilant for pot holes. I used to think Quebec held the record for the worst roads and biggest potholes, but no more.   Oft times as we approached a curve there would be on coming traffic in our lane. This was only other drivers trying to avoid driving over a crater.  This is one thing I have become accustomed to here in Ethiopia.  Drivers think nothing of coming into your lane to avoid a hole in the street. I think to myself that if anyone came that close to me at home, I'd be screaming, "stay in your lane!", but here, no one thinks twice about it.  Note to self: "Driving by another car with inches to spare at home could induce road rage. Safer to risk wheel alignment and suspension damage."  As we drove higher along the mountain road I pulled out Aussie to check the elevation.  When she's not busy "recalculating", she can be useful.  Although Addis has an elevation of 2341 meters and we have become accustomed to living at this higher altitude, our ears told us we were climbing even higher.  The highest point we reached was  around 2850 meters above sea level.  Just to put that in perspective, Ottawa has an elevation at the airport of 114 m,  Toronto is around 75 m and  Banff Alberta varies from 1400 to 1600 meters.  When you reach the peak and look down on Addis you can see the haze that hangs over the city; a combination of dust, exhaust fumes and industrial pollution.  During the dry season the haze seems to just hang, whereas it dissipates somewhat, but never completely goes away, during the rainy season.                                                                                                                                                                

Addis: view from the top of our climb

Green backdrop can't hide the haze over the city

After we reached the highest point the road continued to follow a winding path, with sharp turns to keep you alert as we drove up and down through Ethiopia's Highlands. We travelled through several small towns towards our destination of Debre-Libanos. The landscape between towns is generally farm land. You need to be on the lookout for cows, sheep and donkeys because like most Ethiopians they do not adhere to any road rules. The homes along the way were constructed from mud, densely packed around sapling frames and thatched roofs. Most people we came across walking along the side of the road or through the fields
were herding animals. The towns, by Addis standards were very small, though they still had the requisite number of shops, restaurants and hotels.  It's interesting that even in leaving Addis you still see evidence of construction and development albeit in a rural and somewhat pastoral setting.

We stopped at a look out which was still under construction and it gave us a beautiful view of the gorge below, the terraced fields and the rugged valley sides.

Look-out Under Construction, but the view needs no improvements

Gorge below, tributary of the Abbay River

Ethiopian Highlands

Highland Beauty

The fields before the gorge

Terraced grain fields

Cliffs featured here are side fissures feeding into the Rift Valley

The distance to Debre-Libanos is approximately 100 km, but the journey took about 2 hours. Although the roads are paved, high speed is out of the question; too windy, narrow, asphalt damage and too many animals along the way.  We maintained an average speed of 80 kms, but that's because Paul was driving.  I suspect if I had been driving the trip would have taken considerably longer.  As it was the scenery along the way made it an enjoyable drive.  We arrived at the Monastery at Debre-Libanos and decided to take a tour. Unfortunately dogs aren't allowed so Paul chose to stay behind while I took a tour.  The monastery dates back to the 13th Century.  It sits high on a terrace between the cliff and the gorge of one of the tributaries of the Abbay River.  None of the original buildings from Debre Libanos have survived, but in 1961 Emperor Haile Selassie had the present site constructed.  He had a special place of honor where he sat whenever he or his wife attended.  

Debre Libanos Monastery

Front Entrance

The Apostles, but why only 10? TIA

Pic inside of  the Monastery before I was told no flash. Oops!

View from the Monastery

Lunch time

Cattle, sheep and donkeys, Oh My!

View from the car. This is going to be a long drive home.

View from the road.

Keeps getting better.

The return drive home was another 2 hours, but what a great day. It gave us a glimpse of the beauty just beyond our Addis door. It has whetted our appetite to see more.  Now that we are confident that Ravi can handle African roads, our next trek will be to see Wenchi Crater.  It is an extinct volcano around 100 kms west of Addis.  Stay tuned!