After staying for years without any modern facility for tourist attraction, a beautiful natural lake is close to join the various tourist attractions in Tigray State. Lake Hashenge the only natural lake in the state has a potential to become a rich tourist attraction in a State which is already a busy tourist destination in the country mainly because of its ancient historical and archaeological sites.
Located 625 kilometers north of Addis Ababa, and 162 kilometers South of the State Capital Mekelle , The lake rests over 1,405 hectares and is about 14 to 23 meters deep, according to recent studies. Lake Hashenge is not yet promoted and used for tourism and its unique species of fish resources due to the poor facilities in its surroundings, Korem Town Tourism Office vice head, Hilina Abreha told The Ethiopian Herald.
So far, tour clubs in schools and government offices are the only clients to the area. Sometimes people spend wedding ceremonies and other group events there.
According to Hilina Lake Hashenge is an eye-catching lake with its beautiful birds, smart landscape, suitable weather condition, a horse-riding culture of the society near the lake, the evergreen surrounding, typical cultures of people. The vice head stated that the lake is also known and rich in its fish resource with unique species.
Aiming at promoting the tourism potential of the area with special focus
to the lake, currently, a five years Lake Hashenge protection and tourism destination development project was launched by the joint task of the state administration and local government since 2017/18. She said that starting from 2018 the protection strategy was launched by building terrace on 13 areas of the surrounding of the lake focusing on the mountains to protect the lake from losing its water regime.
To develop the areas tourist destination and recreational centers for tourists, Tigrai Culture and Tourism Bureau jointly with Ofla Woreda administration has started building a lodge around the lake, which has not yet gone operational, Hilina noted. An association formed by 23 youth is under process to receive and run the lodge, which is expected to go operational in the near future.
Hilina stated that the lodge is constructed in an eye catching place of the lake and contains rooms and recreational centers to provide the local delicious foods and drinks like Hashenge fish, milk, Korefe, and other traditional and modern services for tourists with international standard as an initial investment which also aims to attract investors to the sector.
In addition to the efforts of the bureau, Raya University is researching the area’s nature and features of the Lake for tourist destination development and are preparing tourism map of Hashenge surrounding, Hilina said. According to her the goal of the university’s research is to identify the available tourism potentials and to develop scientific infrastructural tourist destinations.
Hola Waterfall, Higum Birda natural dense forest and many religious places are among the tourism destination places of Ofla area in addition to Lake Hashenge. Besides, the administration is working to capitalize on the traditional horse-riding culture of the area as one tourism attraction near the lake by the society, Hilina said.
Tigray State Culture and Tourism Bureau Public Relations Head, Abadi Desta also told The Ethiopian Herald that Lake Hashenge is among the four tourist destinations of Tigray selected by the researches of a team of Raya and Adigrat Universities. The research focuses to capitalize on the tourism potentials of Tigray and selected Axum, Hawzen, Mekelle and Hashenge sites as centers of tourist destinations.
Specifically, in Hashenge, the team finalized its research and provided recommendations to the bureau on the available potentials in the area, destination development and needed infrastructures of the area by making the Lake Hashenge the center of a tourist destination for the surrounding.
The bureau evaluates the recommendations of the research and approved it to implement on the ground. Based on that the bureau has planned to start initial investments in Hashenge next year, Abadi stated.
The research identified the available tourism potentials by preparing tourism map and recommended to publish in book, to invest in awareness creation for the society, destination developments and promotions, expanding traditional transportation, and how to change the tourism for social, economic development of the society and empowering to use tourism for societal changes, he stated.
According to Abadi since Lake Hashenge is the only natural lake in Tigray, the bureau plans to invest water-based tourism in the state focusing on Hashenge.
Currently, though not regular, a boat service is available around the Lake. In the future developing the available boat services through the organized way, modernizing and promoting the fishery of the lake are also the focuses of Lake Hashenge, according to both Hilina and Abadi.
They added that the first focus at this time is safeguarding the lake from problems that affect the depth, water size, and safety of the lake and the local, regional and federal government are investing their efforts in recent years. Environmental protection is the focus of the area to save Lake Hashenge to use it for tourism and other economic benefits, they argued.
The Ethiopian Herald July 13/2019
BY DARGIE KAHSAY
