COMPILED BY BETELHEM BEDLU
Oromia State is blessed with abundant cultural and natural assets of high tourism value. The State is a land of astonishing natural beauty offering all sorts of scenery ranging from semi desert steppe to afro-alpine highlands soaring as high 4377m at Tullu Dimtu-Bale Mountain National Park.
The Melka Kunture, which is also known as the open air museum, has incredible pre-historic archeological and paleontological sites. The main sites are located at 51Kms to South West of the capital on the way to Butta Jira. It is one of the best places in the world to study Hominid’s biological and cultural evolution.
There are more than 50 prehistoric spots at the sites. Tens of thousands of Lethic tools, animal bones (fossils) and sometimes human remains (homoerectus) are found.
The discoveries belong to an age of 1.7million and 200 thousand years. In the sight of Melka Kuntere, the most ancient cultural phase of the East African prehistory is located.
The Southern East part of Oromia is one of the best tour lines for endemic visitors through East African Rift Valley. It extends to Arsi fountain of world famous athletes having Arsi Mountains Natural Park and the amazing Bale Mountains National Park.
Boku Hot Spring is the other blessings of the State. Boku Hot Spring is known for its healing value. It is located on the slope of a gorgeous land located at 105Kms from the capital and 5Kms to South of Adama. This high temperature steam gushes out from the walls of a rocky gorge.
Arsi mountain National Park clustered in to four visiting reserve blocks namely Dera Dilfekar, Chilalo Galama, Kaka and Hinkollo. These four blocks are found at a distance of 117Kms to 256Kms from the capital and has an area of 256Km2 and the average altitude above sea level is 1300m-424m the height of Kaka mountain, the third highest in the country.
These chain mountains has a topography of ups and downs with a steep slope which is an additional beauty to the main wild animals like mountain Niyala, Ethiopian Wolf, Menilk Bush Back, Bohor Reedbuck, Hardback, Leopard, Klipspringer, Ardvark, Greater Kudu, Lesser Kudu impressed in it. In addition to these mammals birds of rare species including Golden Eagle amidst highland trees are available for visitors.
The park, Bale Mountain National Park, is 2400Kms in area covering wide range habitants and ranging in altitude from 1500 to 4377m, the highest point in southern Ethiopia. It is located in southern eastern Oromia 400Km from the capital and 150Km east of Shashemene.
The breathtaking and high as close to heaven the Bale Mountains National Park offers opportunities for mountain walking, horse trekking, camping and scenic driving. It is the highest afro alpine park in Africa embracing Tullu Dimtu the highest point with altitude of 4377meters.
The park has three main divisions: northern Dinsho and Gassay plain, the central Alpine Sanete(the Island in the air) and the southern Harenna forest. In the park about 46 mammals, more than 200 birds species among them are wattled crane and bearded vulture, and vegetation of unspoiled wonderland including various tree species and precious endemic mammals like Ethiopian wolf, Bale monkey, Mountain Nyala and Bush buck, Giant Mole Rat can be viewed.
The Southern and largest area of the park and the second largest forest in Ethiopia, Herenna Forest constitutes an area of over 4,000 kms2. It is also the largest cloud forest I the country. The road from the plateau takes you down the Harenna escarpment and into the forest. Mountain Bamboo grows within the forest and Rubssteuderi, a member of the blackberry family, grows along the road from April to june.
The Ethiopian Herald February 20/2021
