Directions to Bale Mountain Lodge

The slightly shorter route is to take the Expressway out of Addis Ababa through to Nazreth (Adama) and then through to Assela to the Dodola junction. Go left up to Dodola and then follow the road to Robe then to Goba. Alternatively, the more scenic route is to take the Expressway to Mojo and then turn off for the Lake Ziway and Lake Langano. Many guests like to stay on route at Lake Langano.
A third alternative is to leave Addis on the Butajira road which passes through the historic cultural sites of Tiya with its ancient stelae and Adadi Maryam with its rock-hewn church. After this pick up the Ziway road. Guests viewing these attractions should break their journey at Langano. Either route then takes you up and over the spectacular 'Dragons Pass' before reaching Dinsho.
Please do not forget to buy your park entry tickets at the Bale Mountains National Park HQ in Dinsho.

From Dinsho keep driving straight, through Robe, until you reach Goba. At Goba head up the slight hill to the roundabout where you turn left and drive for a further 3km until the tarmac ends at a bridge over the Tegona RIver. From there it is 60km of reasonable dirt road, up and over the Sanetti Plateau, which takes approximately 1:30 hrs to the lodge, which is located 6km south of the village of Rira, the only settlement on the road.

From Addis the route should take about 8hours in total depending upon how fast you drive. For information, when you are up on the Sanetti Plateau, the first part from the radio mast to the Quarry is the best section to spot wolves so take your time and you should see them.

Once again, please buy your park tickets as you travel through Dinsho. The park wardens (at the top of the hill as you enter the National Park - not to be confused with the customs post as the tarmac road ends). If you don't have your day tickets it has been known for people to be sent back to Dinsho, some 40 minutes back down the road. We are working on this issue and trying to get a more sensible system in place.

Also, it is not necessary to take a Dinsho Guide in order to come to the lodge.
The Dinsho Guides Association are insistent so please present this note stating that a guide is not necessary. Guides should be your choice and there is no legal (or security) requirement to take one.
Please be aware of time constraints if walking around park HQ. You will need atleast 2:30 hrs of daylight to reach our lodge

Bale Mountain Lodge - Direction Map