TOURS & TRAVEL SERVICES
All tours are fully customizable to align perfectly with each traveler’s unique interests and schedule, ensuring a personalized experience.
Atirse offers comprehensive assistance throughout your stay. He can help you secure accommodation tailored to your preferences and will personally meet you upon arrival by car or bus to assist with your check-in process. Additionally, Atirse can arrange car and driver hire services, facilitating convenient transportation during your stay.
Throughout your visit to Bonga, Atirse remains readily available to support you, ensuring you enjoy a seamless and memorable stay in this remarkable region. Whether you need guidance, local insights, or logistical help, Atirse is committed to enhancing your travel experience.
Barta Waterfall Hike (Half-Day)
On the outskirts of Bonga, a walk along a wide dirt road and short hike through the forest leads to the magnificent Barta Waterfall. Standing at 70 meters, this waterfall is one of fourteen in Bonga. Take a dip in the pool below the falls — if you’re lucky, you might see a rainbow through the mist. Along the way, you will pass coffee plantations and farms growing various fruits and fragrant spices. Atirse will identify the different varieties of plants and birds you encounter on your route. Stop at a beekeeping farm to learn about traditional and modern beekeeping methods and sample the delicious local honey. After arriving back in town, cool off with a fresh fruit smoothie at a popular juice bar (Try the avocado/pineapple blend!).
God’s Bridge and Mankira Coffee Forest (Full Day)
Start the day with a breakfast of ful (a spicy bean dish), crusty bread, and freshly roasted buna (coffee) at a roadside restaurant with the locals. You will drive towards the forest using the local transport (minibus or Bajaj) and enter a lush, green wonderland. As you walk, pause to take in the subtle sounds: the rustling of branches overhead as Colobus monkeys swing through the treetops, birds chirping nearby and off in the distance, and the rush of water as you approach God’s Bridge. Stop and rest on the rocks along the stream flowing underneath this impressive, naturally formed bridge.
From God’s Bridge you will continue to Mankira Coffee Forest, a peaceful refuge filled with butterflies and wild coffee trees. Among this forest is the Mother Coffee Tree — at about 20 feet tall and eight inches thick, it is said to be the oldest living coffee tree in the world.
Cultural Tour of Bonga (Full Day)
In the morning, hike uphill to the Open Air Museum, a cultural site reconstructed to resemble the palace of the last king of the Kafa Kingdom, Gaaki Sharotchi. The site also offers a wonderful panoramic view of Bonga. On the way back to town, stop at the International Coffee Museum (Ethiopia’s first coffee museum) to view archaeological finds from the area and learn about the history of coffee production in the country. Enjoy some injera and wat at a restaurant for lunch and browse the colorful stalls of the local market for traditional scarves, spices, or coffee pots (Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays are the main market days).
Finish the day with an Ethiopian coffee ceremony, a ritual traditionally practiced to honor the spirits and bring the community together. The experience is bound to stimulate the senses. You can also buy local coffee beans and have them roasted and packed for your journey home.
Birdwatching and Hike to the Hot Springs (Full Day)
Begin the day with a visit to Alemgono, a nearby wetland and birdwatcher’s paradise — over 90 species can be found here. Afterwards, drive to the town of Dadiban, where you will hike for about one hour on a well-trodden path through the forest to the hot springs, passing villagers on the same mission along the way. These springs hold spiritual significance to the locals and are believed to possess healing powers for the sick and injured (but everyone, whether sick or healthy, is warmly welcomed here, of course).
Note: All tours can be customized to meet the traveler’s interests/agenda.
TESTIMONIALS
JENNA
Germany
I travelled to Bonga in March 2019 and was put in touch with Atirse on my arrival. The next three days became the highlight of my Ethiopia trip!
ALEX S
The Netherlands
We stayed 5 nights in Bonga and had Atirse as a guide on 4 days. He is a very nice person, his English is very good and he is good company. So I definitely advise him as a guide.
SIMON
United Kingdom
The tours were awesome! Atirse is super friendly and knowledgeable. He showed us the amazing biodiversity in the area, I Definitely recommend him!