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| Bishoftu Lake |
Debrezyiet town is a separate wodera of Ethiopia. It is
in Oromia Region and is 47.9 km. southeast of Addis Ababa the capital of
Ethiopia. Its original name till 1953 has been restored in late nineties and is
now officially known by its Oromo name “Bishoftu”. Bishoftu is a town in volcanic zone, is
situated in the southern rift valley and is bestowed with beautiful crater
lakes. These lakes provide sanctuary to plethora of birds and animal species.
Before I proceed with the picture tour of the lakes I would like to introduce
my readers to the town of Bishoftu/Debrezyiet.
Debrezyiet is a small town having few good Hotels and
restaurants. It has lots of beer bars and the omnipresent coffee shops to small
coffee kiosks. The market is small and caters for daily needs, though it lacks
of entertainment centers for foreigners. Hope in few years good eating joints
and some malls come up so that people do not have to go to Addis to see an
English movie, a simple entertainment for me.
Transport within Bishoftu is quite ok and inexpensive.
Good auto-rickshaws (they call it bajaji) can be hired for reasonable rates and
they are trustworthy. We used to hire them for going to Babogaya Lake and Hotel
Pyramid. Even the old fashioned Tonga are operational and are fun as a ride.
I liked hotel Pyramid most because of the open space it
has and the classic Pizza, variety of beers, Apple pie they served and most
polite staff. One finds it hard for non-beef eaters and vegetarians to get an
excellent place to spend a lazy evening. Hotel Pyramid was my cozy place.
Michael was the man who knew what we wanted and where we loved to sit. We were
looked after by him always.
Hotel Tommy is another place I loved to spend my
Christmas Eve as children and ladies dressed vibrantly, danced to music and the
whole atmosphere was lively. My friends tell me Fish Goulash is best in Tommy. The
Beauty salon in Tommy is spick and span, hygienically maintained and they know
perfectly how to treat the customer. I used to visit the place once a month and made
good friends there. God bless them.
The only thing which I were asked to desist from doing
is going to small by-lanes with expensive cameras. Dangerous! Was one word
which explained it all. As we were staying in D.E.C campus and hyenas would
make frequent appearance after dark so going out in night was also not safe,
well we did not pay a heed as we required going out at least once a week for
dinner.
Something I found overwhelming is the push Govt. is
giving to education. Every evening I would see sea of children of varied ages,
boys and girls going home after school. They ranged from 5-20 yrs. No
hesitation or awkwardness in studying in the same class be it 10yrs or 20 yrs.
old, they were happy to go to school. Night school for working people are also
run free of cost, the whole scheme is sponsored by UN.
Blessed with plenty of water, nice climate and profusion
of greenery coupled with the taboo for killing birds (except chicken) this is
the town inhabited by not only lovey Ethiopians but also varied species of
birds. Ethiopia has approximate 964 species of birds. I have 1/10 on them in my
camera. Bishoftu, Ambo and Nile region are place of delight for ornithologists.
With this brief of Bishoftu I would first introduce you to
the Hora lake. Almost 8 km from the bus stand;
one can approach it by mini bus or hire an auto-rickshaw. Myriads of birds can
be spotted and if one is an avid walker then one side of the lake can be covered
by foot. After paying entry fee to the restaurant
one can go right up to the end of the lake. The other side is accessible from
the Air Force base.
Nice clean step platforms to sit amongst the serenity of nature, sipping soft drink/beer/coffee one can relax in peace and watch the birds as well as fishermen fishing undisturbed by each other’s presence. A full round of lake takes about 40 minutes and the amount they charge depends mostly on what the boatman wants, no price control in Bishoftu at least. It is like “My shop, my thing my price. Take take, No take no take”. Believe me they speak this if you protest. The amount and the money spent are worth it.
Nice clean step platforms to sit amongst the serenity of nature, sipping soft drink/beer/coffee one can relax in peace and watch the birds as well as fishermen fishing undisturbed by each other’s presence. A full round of lake takes about 40 minutes and the amount they charge depends mostly on what the boatman wants, no price control in Bishoftu at least. It is like “My shop, my thing my price. Take take, No take no take”. Believe me they speak this if you protest. The amount and the money spent are worth it.
Hora lake is the budget avenue to hole marriage functions and other parties.
Travelling some 6-7 km. from Hora lake one comes across
Kuriftu lake and its resort. Since it is open to public on certain days else
passes are to be collected from Addis we had to give it a miss and proceed to
Babogaya Lake.
Babogaya lakes water and the sky above were literally competing
with each other for the blue hue and the clarity. Blue sky dotted with white
cloud and blue clear water reflecting the image of hillocks and sky was an absolute
spell bounding view.
The water is so pure and clear that fishes could be seen swimming under the water. For water sports entusiats boating, watersports facilities are also provided here by the lake authorities.
The banks of this lake are dotted with numerous resorts. .
I fell in love with Babogaya resort. It has huge open space, clean and great sitting arrangements, lovey rooms, suites for stay and good food (though very expensive). A perfect gateway to relaxation from cluttered and busy life, people of different countries as well as locals can be seen enjoying their vacations here.
As an avid wild life and bird lover I kept
on looking for the opportune moment and place to capture them in my camera.
There is a church by the lake side and it is least noisy thus perfect place to
see birds.
Chikalaka lake is huge but seasonal lake which remains
less filled with water during summers but post rainy season it is full of water
and provides water to farms around it. Dutch, Chinese, Americans, have developed
vegetable, poultry and dairy farms around this lake. These farms provide all exotic
and local vegetables, fruits, milk, and poultry at affordable price to the
local market.
Bishoftu Lake is the lake after which the town gets its
name. It is bowl shaped lake, situated near the market area called The Circle.
When I visited Bishoftu lake that area was under development. One of the most
beautiful lake that I have seen, it is natures marvel.
The hillocks make a deep
bowl in almost circular shape and water is filled in that bowl. One could not
approach the lake side as it was completely un-accessible. We sat in a hotel
and had a splendid view of this marvelous lake. Our Ethiopian friend enjoyed
the treat of beer and beef. We being a vegetarian sipped the chilled and took
picture of the lake. Folk lore and stories of incidents of suicide deaths and
the dead body thrown in the lake after massacring the locals by the Derg regime
are abound. I am at the loss of words and hope the pictures posted will do the
justice to this lake.
After this series of Glimpse of Ethiopia I intend to
write Birds of Ethiopia. Though there are approximately 964 species and I could
capture only about 90 during my short stay, yet it will give a peak to these
beautiful creatures of nature existing in Ethiopia.
Apart from the places I have mentioned in my 7 episodes series of Glimpse of Ethiopia
there are many other places like Nazareth, salt
beds of Danakil Dessert, Salt mines, Ambo and Hot water spring of Sodre and Lake
Shalla are some of the other places to be visited in Ethiopia.
For true cultural and cuisine experience visit the Ethnic
night clubs in Addis. Worth it.
