Crater Lake Wonchi

Last Sunday we went to one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen – Lake Wonchi . This lies in the crater of a volcano about 30 kilometers above the town of Ambo. We were told that the volcano erupted about 1000 years ago leaving a symetric caldera of rock now covered in lush green vegetation.

The drive to Ambo is easy along a new road, however the drive up from Ambo to Wonchi is hard and you need a 4×4 or in our case a high wheelbase minibus. The drive up takes over an hour as you climb up the Western highlands to over 3500 meters. It really feels cold in the morning, as you descend a little to Wonchi. Your first view of the lake is stunning, but to get down to it means going by foot or by horse. The guide provided 3 horses and we set off. Now I am not at ease with horses anyway but going down a steep incline was difficult. I managed most of the way but eventually decided it was safer to walk. However, on the way back I managed all the way on the horse – perhaps it is easier going up.

As you descend more of the lake comes into view and you pass small houses growing fake banana and raising a few goats and cows. The area is obviously fertile and life must not be too bad in such beautiful surroundings. The end of the trip was a small landing place where we got a rowing boat over to the island at the centre of the caldera. Here is a small monastry and a few huts. The whole setting is very tranquil and stunning.  All we had to eat all day were two bananas but we weren’t that hungry anyway.

The air was crystal clear and quite a strong wind was whipping up the dust on the path back. Conseqeuntly we got completely dusty throughout, and descended back down to Ambo to stay the night at the Ethiopia Hotel. The Africa cup was just starting on the TV and later Ghana won the first match. This caused wild celebration outside in the street till about 2 am and then at 5 am the chanting of the priests from the local church began, probably a continuation of Timkat.  Despite this we slept quite well as in my case my backside and legs were horse-worn. Wonchi lake has to be a must-see place if you visit Addis – it can just be done there and back in a day.