Sports and leisure activities - Ethiopia in 2024

Practical information : Move & Laze around Ethiopia

Budget & Tips

Meskel Square is an ideal spot for early-morning joggers, or the Entoto hills above Addis Ababa.

What's very local

Long-distance and middle-distance running remains the main passion of a people accustomed to seeing their athletes crowned with glory in major international competitions. Forced from an early age to cover considerable distances on foot at high altitudes, Ethiopians, like their Kenyan rivals, are born long-distance runners.

Your documents please

You have to pay park entrance fees for any visit to a protected area, and you have to be accompanied by a scout armed with a Kalashnikov as well. So, even if you go trekking in the Simien or the Bale, you'll be asked to pay for a scout to accompany you (by group for the day) in addition to the guide, and the same goes for going to Mago National Park to meet the Mursi, or Awash National Park, and so on. And in the churches of Tigray too.

To be booked

All agencies offer trekking tours lasting from three days to two weeks. The most popular is organized in the heart of the Simien, including an ascent of Ras Dashan, Ethiopia's highest peak at 4,550 m; in the Bale Mountains, the second highest peak in Ethiopia, home to Abyssinian wolves; or in the Lasta Mountains, above Lalibela, famous for its ancient churches. It's essential to book your trek to organize the guide, the porters (with donkeys), the villages where you'll be staying (you can sleep with local people, especially in the Lasta), and so on.

Main events

Surprisingly, there are no organized marathons in Ethiopia, only a half-marathon at Lake Hawassa in February.

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