Chebera Churchura National Park "Trekking the African Forest Elephants"
One may speculate about a real adventure place, trekking in the jungle but there is something wild experience one can never imagine – trekking much more closely to wild elephants walking than anywhere else in Ethiopia. The park is not only a home for this forest African big mammal but also, it is rich in diversity of flora and fauna.
Wildlife: Elephant, Hippopotamus, African buffalo, lion, leopard, wild dog, spotted hyena and warthog
Birds: White-winged cliff chat, Banded-barbet, Wattled ibis, Black-headed Forest Oriole and Thick-billed Raven
Why visit this park? Consisting of a mountain cloud forest, tall-grassed savannah habitat, and thick woodland forest – this is a truly unique and diverse national park. Hot and cold springs and historical caves are also found in the area. The park is one of the best-preserved areas in the country for Elephants and Buffalo.
Park Discription
Before the establishment of the park, the area was known as Kulu-Konta Controlled Hunting Area and legal elephant hunting had been carried out until the fall of the Derg regime. The area was upgraded to a National Park in 2005 at the request and with the participation of the local communities and administrators of the Dawro and Konta zones.
- Park areas are open from 6: 00 am – to 6:00 pm.
- Overnight stay is prohibited in any park area except in campsites.
- Fires are permitted only in existing fireplace grills using charcoal. No fire shall be left unattended, and any fire must be completely extinguished before leaving the area.
- Motorized vehicles must always remain on designated roadways and parking areas.
- All trash, litter, or refuse is to be placed in the provided trash receptacles. No dumping allowed.
- Hazardous Activities – It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in any activity on any park lands that constitutes a hazard to the safety of self or other persons.
- The use of any fireworks and/or weapons is strictly prohibited.
- It is unlawful to remove, damage, destroy, deface, or otherwise vandalize any park property, structure, sign, or vegetation.
- It is unlawful to hunt, trap, harass, or harm any wild animal, bird, or plant life.
06:00 am – 06:00 pm
The rainfall in the area is unimodal and has a continuous or more even distribution of rainfall between March and September with a peak in July and sometimes, the rains extend high long time in December. The dry season of the area includes December, January, and February and the cooler months are July and August. It is characterized by relatively hot climatic conditions. The average amount of annual rainfall mean of 2154 mm in the area varies from 1000 to 3500mm. The CCNP has two major climatic zones, the Kola thermal zone (with altitude varying between 800 and 1500 in m a.s.l and with temperature ranges from 21°C and 27.5°C). Woynadega with altitude varying between 1500 and 2450 m a.s.l and temperature ranges from 11 °C to 16°C. The dry season ranges from December to February. The cooler months are between July and August with mean minimum temperature varying between 10 and 11.4°C, respectively. The mean annual temperature of the area is 17°C and the mean daily temperature of the warmest month is 25.4°C.
Luxurious resorts and lodges inside the park such as the Zulla Lodge, hotels in Ameya town, and camping inside the park.