Nature journeys
Old cloud forest of wild fig and podocarp, a UNESCO biosphere where colobus move overhead and Arabica coffee still grows wild underfoot.
Overview
Some of Ethiopia’s last montane cloud forest still stands in Kafa: wild fig and podocarp, damp shade loud with birds, black-and-white colobus in the canopy. UNESCO named it a biosphere reserve in 2010, about 2,190 square kilometres. Here Arabica is not a crop in rows but a wild shrub of the forest floor, in its centre of origin.
You walk slowly with a local guide, and in Mankira forest you reach the tree locals call the mother of all coffee. Hotels in Bonga are simple, and the trails can be muddy.
Itinerary
Your guide meets you at Bole International Airport for the morning flight to Jimma. The road runs about 118 km west to Bonga, crossing the Gojeb River as farms give way to forest. Coffee with a farming family to end the day.
Activities
With a local guide you walk into Mankira forest, where wild coffee shrubs grow under the canopy. A signed trail leads to the mother coffee tree, about 6 m tall. Listen for colobus monkeys in the branches overhead.
Activities
A morning walk to one of the reserve’s waterfalls, then the National Coffee Museum in Bonga. In the afternoon you drive back to Jimma for a comfortable night.
Activities
In the morning you visit the 19th-century wooden palace of King Abba Jifar II on the hill above Jimma, once the seat of a coffee-trading kingdom. Afternoon flight to Addis Ababa and transfer to your hotel or international flight.
Activities
Itineraries can change with weather, road and flight conditions. We will tell you promptly if they do.
Gallery
Photo: Unsplash
Good to know
Dress code: Long trousers and sleeves for the forest; modest clothing in villages.
This tour follows the Strict policy. Days are whole calendar days before departure.
| When you cancel | What you get back |
|---|---|
| 30 or more days before departure | 50% refund |
| Fewer than 30 days before departure | No refund |
A non-refundable USD 150 per traveller (domestic flights) is deducted before these percentages are applied.
Questions
Questions welcome
Dates, prices, hotels, a private version: ask, and a local specialist replies by email.
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Plan with us
Choose your dates above, or tell us what you have in mind and we will shape the trip around you.
