Trekking in Northern Ethiopia

We had read and heard amazing things about trekking along the Meket Escarpment in the northern highlands of Ethiopia with an organization called TESFA (Tourism in Ethiopia for Sustainable Future Alternatives). TESFA organizes treks that support the local economy by bringing trekkers into the rural villages and supporting those villages through sustainable community tourism. Tourists walk along the Meket Escarpment, from village to village, and many villagers are given the opportunity to earn a good wage through embracing community tourism. It is all about a genuine cultural exchange. According to their website, the concept behind TESFA is to "allow tourists to trek across the remarkable landscape, getting closer to the real culture of the Ethiopian highlands, and at the same time put precious money into the local communities for whom farming is becoming ever more precarious a livelihood." In other words, we get to help the communities by doing something we really want to do. Instead of the money going into the pockets of a travel agency or tour company, it goes directly to the communities we visit.

The trek ended up being not only the most incredible thing we experienced in Ethiopia, it soared to the top of our list of the greatest moments of our entire trip (since July). For me, it was exactly the way I wanted to travel in a country as poor as Ethiopia. You get an amazing cultural experience, and you are employing locals, and it's all about sustainability. This is the complete opposite of how tourism has ruined cultural exchange in southern Ethiopia. There, the locals have learned that begging results in income and gifts because for years tourists have been giving them cash, candy, pencils, whatever. Why have tourists done that? Well, because it makes them feel good about themselves. They get to feel like they are helping some poor kids in Africa. But unfortunately, the tourists are the only ones who benefit from that kind of "giving" because all it does is create a culture of dependence and not a culture of work or effort or exchange.

TESFA has worked hard to make sure that trekkers don't give the locals anything. Not one cent, not one pencil, not one candy, nothing. Your presence in that village does a lot, because it means you've employed cooks, cleaners, camp managers, donkey handlers, and local guides.

Here is the beginning of the trek. It was a cold and cloudy day, but that did not take away from how stunning the natural surroundings were.

That's our guide Daniel in front of Ryan:

Our walk was accompanied by so many beautiful companions. The fields were full of peaceful, grazing animals.
We walked by fields full of delightful children running and playing. When they saw us coming, they all ran toward us yelling, "hello! hello! hello!" They simply wanted to see us, look at us, smile at us. Their curiosity was so pure.
We walked for hours, sometimes just us, and sometimes we were accompanied by villagers traveling the same path. They would walk with us until their route took them another way. Everyone we walked with was amazingly friendly.
It wasn't long before we had kids run up to us calling out "photo! photo! photo!" But it wasn't like in the Omo Valley, when everyone yells for a photo because they want you to pay them to take their picture. Here on the Meket, kids call out "photo!" because they want to see themselves on the tiny digital screen of the camera. So, they run up and get as close to you as they possibly can, you take the photo, and then they all crowd in even closer and smile from ear to ear when they see themselves on the playback screen.
They push each other to get closer to the lens of the camera, but it's all playful and fun. They were incredible kids!
I can't describe the feeling of the simple joy it gave me to show them their images on the playback screen. They acted like I was giving them a gift. Like I'd treated them to something special. The kids were thanking us for taking their pictures!

After walking all afternoon, we reached this point. The views were breathtaking:

And so we were pretty excited when we learned that we were a few feet away from our mountain lodge for the night! Hot tea and a sweet snack were ready for us. It was ridiculously perfect.

Ryan and Daniel talking Ethiopian politics:

Each mountain lodge has a guestbook of all the tourists who have visited that community. The first visitor to this mountain lodge was Brad Pitt, who helped fund TESFA when it was first starting up.
We had a beautiful stone and mud tukul house all to ourselves. There was no electricity, but that was the last of our concerns in such a beautiful setting.

Here is the view from the composting toilet. When you are in the bathroom, this is what you see (literally, there is no door).

Each mountain lodge had several members of the neighboring village employed. It was very cool to see several members of the community hanging out at the lodge, getting business done, and also enjoying the views. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming. It was amazing. Ryan and I enjoyed surprising them with the few words of Amharic we knew.
It got really, really cold at night. Dinner was inside a kitchen tukul, and it was nice and warm inside with the fire going. We met and spoke (through Daniel, translating) with the camp manager, who was an important leader in his village. We asked him what he wants to do with all the money they receive from tourists staying in the lodge. He said the community wants to build a store where villagers can buy food so they won't have to spend a whole day walking to and from the nearest market.
Even though we both already had some blisters developing, we were happy and excited to continue our trek on the second day. The sky was blue and the scenery, again, was magnificent.

Walking alongside groups of grazing animals....ahhh...a very, very peaceful feeling.

We met tons of kids along the way. They were all wide eyed, big smiles, good hearts.

At the lunch spot, we got to see the injera being made.

Yummy lentils and cabbage and injera!

After lunch was the typical Ethiopian coffee ceremony.

At the lunch spot, we met our new team. The way it works is that you get a new donkey, donkey handler, and "local guide" each day. That way you employ more people, and each new team comes from the area you walk through that day.

I tried to befriend our new donkey:

Our new team:

More beautiful views as we continued walking through the afternoon:

It was really neat to pass by homes out in the middle of nowhere. Everybody waved to us and smiled. The people seemed genuinely happy, and I could see why. They live life completely in touch with nature. They have community. They are connected to their land and their neighbors.
It was a great day! We loved every minute of the hiking. Upon arrival at the second lodge, we immediately removed our shoes to check out the damage. It was not a pretty sight.

Check out my blister waiting to explode:

Ryan's poor little baby toe:

Just like the last night, our lodge was strategically placed in the spot with the most superb views!

The view from our room:

Here you can see the outside of our tukul, the next morning:

On the third day, the sky was even bluer. More lovely animals, open fields, amazing views, great people, etc.

Our trusty donkey, always ahead of us:

We met so many wonderful kids! It may sound ridiculous or superficial, but these young people really seemed so pure, so good. Being around them would make anybody feel good and alive. Look at these faces!




One funny thing that kept on happening was that we would kneel down when taking pictures, so that we'd be at the same level as the kids. And then they would kneel down too!


I'll never forget these four young ladies below. After this shot was taken, each girl demanded her own portrait! Each one wanted to see herself alone on the screen. So, of course we took their individual portraits too.
We met a really huge group of kids when we were crossing a main street. They held us up for a long time, since each one wanted a photo. It was great fun! They were such a riot.
While Ryan was taking photos of the big group, the kids crowded around him, inching in closer and closer until Ryan fell back onto the ground and they all burst into laughter! (we have a video clip of this!) Major highlight of the day.
In a field we met a big group of boys who were all running around and playing. Our guide Daniel started playing soccer with them and chasing them around.
Then they saw our cameras and they all forgot about the soccer ball.

Look at this tight group huddle over Ryan!

Even an older guy got interested and came over to see:

More peaceful walking:

Taking a break with a view:

After walking for many hours, meeting great people, taking in great views....something even more amazing happened.

GELADA BABOONS!

I was thrilled to be so close to such beautiful creatures in the wild. We stood and watched them for a long time. As long as we didn't move too much or get too close, they stuck around.

And I was ecstatic when we found out that our lodge for the night was right in the heart of Gelada Baboon country. See the tukuls in the distance on the hill, right behind the pack of baboons? That was our site!
That evening, we hung out outside on the rocks, just outside our room, enjoying the view.
We had some new companions also enjoying the view nearby.

After a while, they left all at once:

Breakfast on our final morning:

The last day of the trek, pushing through the pain of the blisters:

Notice the 5-year-old on the horse in front of Ryan:

Heading down into the valley:

Ryan took a photo of these two boys:

Coming to see the image:

Walking through the valley:

Homes down in the valley:

A break in the shade, where we switched teams and met our new donkey:

Ryan's path down the mountain blocked by some goats:

The final lodge site, where we had lunch (but didn't stay the night). Ryan, Daniel and the local crew:

Below you will see the spot on the road where we waited at the end of the trek. We had about an hour until the car came, which was plenty of time to get to know all the kids who approached us. At first it was just me and this cute little girl.

Then her brother joined us:

These two boys were standing in the street for at least 15 minutes before they came to sit with us. They just stared at us! It was pretty hilarious.

Then everyone sat together, all of us waiting on the rocks:

The little boy ran off and found a small piece of chalk and we were taking turns drawing pictures on the rocks with the chalk:

Spending our final hour with that group of kids was the most perfect conclusion to an amazing 4-day adventure.

The trek along the Meket Escarpment is something I would recommend to everyone I know. It is not that physically demanding, so anyone can do it. It's a great trek for families too. It's totally doable for kids, and I think anyone would find something special in the experience. I have to say, it is probably the most authentic, genuine cultural exchange I've ever had. Those four days in nature, with good people, made all the craziness we'd experienced in Ethiopia totally worth it. I'm so glad we saved the trek for the end. We left Ethiopia with great, positive memories of our time in the northern highlands.