Cycling in Ethiopia 2002

In 2002, Grethe Petersen and Owen Barder spent two weeks cycling in Northern Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is an amazing country. It has beautiful and dramatic scenery, and an extraordinarily rich history and culture; the people are intelligent, welcoming and proud.

It is fairly unusual to go on cycling holidays in Ethiopia. We planned our own route and made our own arrangements partly to give us flexibility to combine cycling and sightseeing. There are few organised cycling tours, and so we thought we should record our experiences for other people who may be considering doing something similar. See our notes about cycling in Ethiopia, and more general practical information for tourism in Ethiopia.
 

Our itinerary

We flew to Addis Ababa, and cycled from there through Debre Birhan, Debre Sina and Kombolcha to Dessie. From there we drove to Lalibela, and then flew to Bahir Dar. We drove south from Bahir Dar, and cycled from the Blue Nile Gorge through Debre Markos back to Addis Ababa.

We timed our trip to coincide with the Great Ethiopian Run, which takes place in late October or early November. We left Addis the following day - this timing ensured that we were cycling after the rainy season had finished, but before the very hot weather had begun.

Our full route description is here. We wanted to combine our cycling holiday with meeting up with Owen's non-cycling sister, Virginia, who travelled by plane to Lalibela and Bahir Dar. We thought it was particularly important not to miss Lalibela (described here), even though it is not easily accessible by bike - and with hindsight, this was absolutely the right decision.

Our experience

This was the holiday of a lifetime. We fell in love with the country and the people. Cycling through Ethiopia was the best way to see the country. By air, you do not see rural Ethiopia between the big towns. By car, you go past too quickly. But by bike, you have a chance to savour the sounds and smells of the country, to stop at the roadside and meet people, and begin to get a feel for the country. Of course, a short visit is always too short to get a real feel for any country or people.