Citybreaks in Ethiopia

Ethiopia's Blue Nile Falls is mostly overlooked by travelers visiting Africa. The majority of visitors skip the country's northern route for the jungle experience in the south or head directly to Zambia's Victoria Falls, although the falls near Bahir Dar are a sight worth visiting especially in the rain season.

Instead of buying one of those organized tours at the local travel agency, I asked the hostel staff if they can find me a shared ride to the falls. Shared rides are the cheapest way to get around in Ethiopia and used by locals on a day-to-day basis. Since the drive takes around three hours, we took off very early in the morning to have a full day at the falls.

Being the only white person in the bunch every self-appointed guide at the entrance approached me with the "best and cheapest deal", though the local tourists paid half the prize I was offered. So, instead of taking a scam deal, I asked Mirhetabe, a 10-year-old local if he's interested to show me around the falls for a few Birr. He spoke very good English, as most kids did in Ethiopia. He accepted my offer under two conditions: I had to buy a scarf from his mother and give him my bottled water.

Mirhetabe grew up in small village nearby, so he knew every corner and every shortcut. The falls aren't exactly blue as the name may suggest, but more a yellowish muddy color, nonetheless magnificent to see. There are no roads or signs, the entire national park is almost completely untouched by people. From the biggest fall called Tis Issat, meaning smoking water, as it creates smoke-like bounce of water droplets, to the women with tattooed faces carrying huge amounts of wood on their backs and small children running around and playing in the mud, the Blue Nile Falls is full of unusual sights. After 2 hours we came to the hanging bridge which connects the two hills and is the only way to exit the park. On the other end of the bridge a boat took me and two Ethiopians to the exit point, the journey along the river lasted half an hour, enough time for me and my fellow passengers to chew some Chat, drug-like leaves which make you, well, chat a little bit more. I tried Chat before but never chewed it with peanuts and flushing it down with Coke but apparently that's the most popular way to do it, or so I've been told. Hiking back to my ride was easier under the influence of Chat and I didn't even mind my sneakers being wet and muddy, although the next time I'm there I'm going the local style - barefoot.