A Walk Up Entoto Hill

Team Addis has experienced quite a regular weather pattern so far this week. Mornings are met with sunny, clear skies that eventually transform into blustery thunderstorms with heavy downpours in the afternoon. I quite enjoy these storms when safe and dry inside our lovely little house in Bole, especially since either Pepe or myself is usually on shift by that time anyway. Still, we have really tried to make the most of the first half of the day! Yesterday, we decided to enjoy an excursion to Entoto Hill.

Entoto Hill, or Mount Entoto, is the highest peak overlooking Ethiopia’s capital. Entoto actually used to be the capital during the era of Emperor Menelik II before Addis Ababa was founded in 1887. The mountain is covered with eucalyptus trees and reaches an altitude of over 3000m, which is quite a contrast to my last “home” at near sea level in Kuala Lumpur! I have felt out of breath just walking up the little road from our house, so I figured I would probably struggle heading up the mountain – luckily, it was completely worth it.

From Bole, Entoto can be reached by taking a minibus (apparently also known as line taxis or blue donkeys) to Arat Kilo, followed by another to Shiro Meda at the bottom of the hill. It’s possible to take a taxi higher up but we decided to walk from Shiro Meda, admiring beautiful traditional textiles at market stalls along the way. As we got further and further up the hill, the landscape surrounding us gradually became greener and the crowds of people and honking vehicles were replaced by (real) donkeys and women carrying heavy loads of eucalyptus wood. About an hour and a half up the road we headed up a small hilltop where we were rewarded with amazing fresh mountain air and a gorgeous (albeit slightly hazy) view of Addis Ababa. At this point we had to turn around to make sure we were back in time for Pepe’s shift, but we’ll definitely go back soon! Entoto is a fantastic escape from busy and dusty Addis, although it’s of course also fun to return the buzz of the city after hiking up the hill :)

The minibus/line taxi/blue donkey - our main form of transportation in Addis (maybe not quite as rusty)

Donkeys carrying eucalyptus down the hill

First viewpoint

Spiky tree!

Heading back down to Shiro Meda

Heavy load of eucalyptus down the hill

Loving the view of Addis!