Located between Addis Abeba and Djibouti is Ethiopia’s oldest national park, the Awash, a natural landscape with protected fauna. It measures eight hundred and fifty square kilometres and is located nine hundred metres above sea level.

The enclosed area of the Awash Falls Lodge looks like a small village of the Afar tribe, with a large gate and small huts that are covered with the grass of the savannah. The view of the waterfalls of the River Awash is a wonderful spectacle, right outside the huts.

A number of oryx antelopes roam proudly across the savannah beneath the scorching hot sun, continuously in search of food, and warthogs make their way through the park’s high grass and acacia bushes.

The unexpected natural paradise of the Filwoha Hot Springs originated due to the nearby extinct Fantale Volcano. The crystal clear turquoise blue water reaches up to forty degrees centigrade and is used by the locals for both drinking and bathing.

The Awash National Park may not contain the rich fauna to be found in other parts of Africa but for Ethiopia it is a necessity for the conservation of nature.