Day Trips From Addis Ababa To Wanchi Craters Lakes

Wenchi Lake is a beautiful volcanic crater lake that is famed as “Africa Switzerland”, it is also home to natural forests, hot springs, and waterfalls, as well as a traditional village. there are two roads to get to Wenchi from Addis Ababa, Via Weliso and Via Ambo. Wenchi lake is located 155 km from Addis Ababa. 38 Km from Woliso or 28 KM from Ambo Total distance is similar either way.

With less than 50 volcanic lakes in the world, about 5 of them are located in Ethiopia. Lake Wenchi is located 2600 meters above sea level, there is no good environment or food to support fish in it, the water is very clean and free from any odor of water. In fact, it is the second cleanest lake in Africa. After lake Tanganyika.The water of Lake Wonchi is used by locals for drinking, and a recent study from Ambo University shows that it can be used for drinking.

Wenchi crater lake, The Second cleanest lake in Africa!Around the lake, there is a village called Wenchi and the locals call the lake Haro Wenchi. The village is home to about 4,000 residents, a mixture of Oromo Gurage and Amhara ethnic groups. 99% of the population is Christian, making a living from tourism, farming, and animal husbandry, and by good Beekeeping, they supply their honey to Italy. Their main farming crop is a false banana tree or Enset, as well as white and black barley. More than 7,500 tourists visit Lake Wenchi, Volcano crater lake every year, with an average of about 20 tourists a day. The lake is a tourist attraction with beautiful scenic landscape, for example, salty rocks, sulfur-rich swamps, spacious hot springs, boiling water fountains, water Mile, and springs of mineral water, and the welcoming local people. We invite you to see and amaze with the Beuty.

To get to the lake it takes a 3-4 hours hike for a round trip. You also can have a horse ride rented from the local community. boat trips on the lake cost, 100.-Birr per person Horse Ride is 200.- Birr, locla Guide – 500 birr. Horse-riding and boat rides and guides are provided by a reliable local
Boat trip on lake WenchiLake Wonchi was also named the best tourist village in the world. At the 24th General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) in Madrid, Spain, Lake Wenchi in Ethiopia was named the Best Tourist Village of 2021. The Award ceremony was held on December 2, 2021. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Oromia Region has worked hard to bring Wenchi Lake into the competition.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, Lake Wenchi was chosen as the best tourist village due to the hospitality of local people, their care for the area, and its unique natural resources. The ministry also said that the international recognition of Lake Wonchi will be an example for other tourist areas in Ethiopia and inspire them to do more.

Lake Wenchi is one of the projects under the “Dinner Table for the Country” initiative launched by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The project, which is expected to be completed within a year, could boost ecotourism in. The local people are very happy and welcoming with their humble and heartfelt smiles. The lambs around Wenchi, are not like the sheep in Addis Ababa. They are tasty and not as fat as commercial farm Lambs. Elderly people in the Wonchi area speak fluent Amharic, and the new generation only learns Amharic after the fifth grade, so those over the age of 11 can speak Amharic fluently. Only a few people can communicate in English. The lake is unusually clean and is beautiful water that changes color twice a day, with blue in the morning and a stunning green in the afternoon, reflecting the surrounding mountains. Surprisingly, locals do not throw rubbish around the lake to keep it clean, and motorbikes on the lake are strictly forbidden. What amazed me the most was that I had never seen anyone urinate on the street outside the lake or in the area, and there was no litter, especially rubber.