Arba Minch

Short description of Arba Minch

Arba Minch is named for the forty springs that rise in the groundwater forest below it, and the town sits on a ridge between two lakes with an isthmus of land running between them that everyone calls the bridge of God. Lake Chamo has a sandbank where Nile crocodiles of extraordinary size haul out together, and the boat that goes to look at them also finds hippos and pelicans. Nechisar national park holds zebra and kudu on the plains east of the water. Up the escarpment the Dorze weave cloth and live in houses shaped like beehives.

AI edited

Recommended length of stay

Travel seasons at a glance

Best time to visit: October – February

• Jan
• Feb
• Mar
• Apr
• May
• Jun
• Jul
• Aug
• Sep
• Oct
• Nov
• Dec

All highlights and sights

1. The crocodile market boat trip on Lake Chamo
2. The bridge of God viewpoint between the lakes
3. The Dorze villages and their beehive houses at Chencha
4. A game drive across the Nechisar plains(Day trip)
5. The forty springs in the groundwater forest
6. The red water of Lake Abaya and its hippos
7. Dorze weaving and the market at Chencha(Day trip)
8. Kocho bread and araki tasting in a Dorze compound(Day trip)
9. The crocodile ranch on the edge of town
10. The hot springs inside Nechisar
11. The escarpment drive into the Guge mountains
12. Grilled tilapia on the Chamo shore

Ways to get there and away

Airports nearby:

• AMH Arba Minch Airport (Arba Minch) · 4.5 km east
• BCO Jinka Airport (Jinka) · 114 km west
• ARB Ann Arbor Municipal Airport (Ann Arbor) · 12,028 km northwest(recommended)

Map view

Distances

More travel destinations in Ethiopia

• Addis Ababa
• Aksum
• Lalibela
• Jinka
• Bahir Dar
• Gondar
• Simien Mountains
• Danakil Depression
• Harar
• Bale Mountains
• Bishoftu
• Debre Libanos