I'm tentatively planning a two to two and a half week driving trip to Addis Ababa/Northern Ethiopia [historic circuit] in August 2012. I understand that this is the rainy season. However, my further understanding is that rains are intermittent and do not represent an obstacle to ground travel. Is any one familiar with the weather in Northern Ethiopia during this period and can you make a recommendation regarding viability of ground travel then? Thanks!
August in Ethiopia - Too Rainy?
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www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/ethiopia
Rainest month of year roads in remote areas not passable.
Always try to go in Spring...
Hello gottravel,
As you have already mentioned it, July and August are the peak of the rainy season in Ethiopia that roughly stretches between mid to late June and mid to late September. If you were to travel to the southern part of the country it would have been no trouble at all as we have a different wet season down there. It is definitely something to consider if you are interested in the tribes of the South Omo Valley. However, if you keenly insist you want to see the historic route, with the exception of trekking in the Semien Mountains National Park, it is fairy doable though not ideal! The worst case scenario of traveling in the rainy season in the north would be that you may not have the luxury of stopping along the way to experience some spontaneous villages and interesting local markets if it was raining. There might also be some delays or alterations in plan due the rains. But all in all, it is not unusual at all to do the northern circuit in August. If you would like more info on this and some more travel recommendations, pls feel free to email me at "travelmemos@yahoo.com" or inbox me on this link. http://www.facebook.com/embraceethiopia
Thanks! I appreciate the replies and the links. Omo Valley's not on the agenda (at least for now). Only coming for two weeks or so, so unfortunately no time for trekking. As far as Northern Circuit goes, it sounds like the downside of going in August is relatively minor.