Lake Wenchi

Yesterday, Monday, was a national holiday. It was the 21^st anniversary of the fall of the Dergue regime and the victory of the EPDRF (Ethiopian People’s Democratic Republic Front). It was a special day of celebration and remembrance for many Ethiopians.

Because we had a long weekend, about 12 other volunteers and I went to Lake Wenchi on Saturday. Wenchi is a highland area, about 155km west of Addis Ababa. First I travelled to Addis, then to a place called Ambo, where I spent the night at another volunteer’s house.

In Ambo, we went around the gardens of a hotel where we saw a lot of monkeys.

The following morning we all woke up early and travelled to Wenchi, which was about an hour’s drive.

When we arrived we had the most amazing view of the lake with all the surrounding mountains. It is a crater lake, which is a lake that forms in a volcanic crater. It is absolutely beautiful with its deep blue water and lush surroundings. There are also a few small islands on the lake.

View from the top

First we walked down to the lake, which took a couple of hours, and then we got a boat out to the largest island in the middle. The island has a monastery which we walked round, then we had our small picnic of kolo, bananas, oranges, biscuits and water. After that we got a boat back to the mainland and most of us got horses back up.  

Our picnic island

View from the island

I then went back to Ambo and travelled to Addis on the same day, which was very tiring so I didn’t travel back to Debre Birhan – instead, I stayed the night in another volunteer’s house and returned home on Monday morning.