Bale Mountains National Park

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Bale Mountains National Park: A Unique Landscape Mosaic in Ethiopia's Highlands

The Bale Mountains National Park, inscribed into the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023, stands as a testament to the remarkable beauty and biodiversity found within the Ethiopian Highlands. Spanning over 2,150 square kilometers, this protected area offers a captivating landscape that has been sculpted by various geological processes, including ancient lava outpourings, glaciation, and the influence of the Great Rift Valley.

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UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site

This property protects a landscape mosaic of extraordinary beauty that is shaped by the combined forces of ancient lava outpourings, glaciation and the dissection by the Great Rift Valley. It features volcanic peaks and ridges, dramatic escarpments, sweeping valleys, glacial lakes, lush forests, deep gorges and numerous waterfalls, creating exceptional natural beauty. The property harbours diverse and unique biodiversity at ecosystem, species and genetic levels, and five major rivers originate within the Park, estimated to supply water and support the livelihoods of millions of people in and beyond Ethiopia.

UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site

Criterion (vii): The property protects a landscape mosaic of extraordinary beauty that is shaped by the combined forces of ancient lava outpourings, glaciation and the dissection by the Great Rift Valley. It features volcanic peaks and ridges, dramatic escarpments, sweeping valleys, glacial lakes, lush forests, deep gorges and numerous waterfalls, creating an exceptional natural beauty. The altitudinal gradient of the park spans almost 2,900 metres from the highest peak standing at 4,377 m a.s.l. (Tullu Dimtu) down to approximately 1,500 m a.s.l. in the Harenna Forest. The altitudinal gradient not only creates vibrant changes in topography, soil, vegetation and species assemblages but constantly changing, breath-taking vistas. Amongst scattered wetlands and rocky outcrops, the iconic Giant Lobelias break the skyline above the otherwise stunted afro-alpine vegetation of the Sanetti Plateau, a harsh and aesthetically stunning high altitude environment. Unusual striations, or boulder grooves, mark the shallow hillsides, a natural phenomenon, which remains an enigma to geologists and glaciologists. Dropping from the plateau, the Harenna and the adjacent Mena Angetu form the second largest moist tropical forest in Ethiopia, transitioning in some areas into the country’s only remaining patches of cloud forest. This, combined with the plateaus, complete a unique, majestic landscape with an extraordinary natural aesthetic.

Criterion (x): The property harbours diverse and unique biodiversity at ecosystem, species and genetic levels. The Sanetti Plateau and the slopes of the Bale Mountains National Park above 3,500 m a.s.l. encompass the largest intact and contiguous expanse of afro-alpine habitat in the world further adding to the importance of the property as a rare large-scale remnant of this habitat. Uniquely, the afro-alpine of the Bale Mountains continues to be intricately linked to intact and large-scale expanses of forest, wetland and grassland ecosystems and habitats. More than 80% of all species found in the afro-montane habitat are endemic. Bale Mountains National Park is home to 1,660 documented species of flowering plants, 177 of which are endemic to Ethiopia and 31 exclusively to the Bale Mountains. The forests of the Bale Mountains serve as a genetic reservoir for Wild Forest Coffee and countless medicinal plant species. 79 mammal species have been recorded in the park; 23 of these are endemic, including eight rodent species. There are 363 documented bird species, including over 170 recorded migratory bird species, such as wintering and passing raptors, including the Greater Spotted Eagle. While the afro-alpine habitats are not conspicuously rich in terms of plant species, more than 80 % of all species found in this type of habitat are endemic, an extreme degree of endemism by any standard. The afro-alpine has been recognized as a globally significant place in literally all major global conservation priority-setting exercises. At the time of inscription, the Harenna Shrew, the Giant Mole Rat, the Malcolm’s Ethiopian Toad, the Bale Mountains Tree Frog and the Bale Mountains Frog can only be found in the Bale Mountains. The property hosts an estimated two-thirds of the global population of the endemic Mountain Nyala, the most important population of the endemic Ethiopian Wolf and it is home to the Menelik’s Bushbuck, an endemic subspecies. The Bale Monkey is endemic to the Ethiopia Highlands, east of the Rift Valley and is restricted to the bamboo belt of the Bale Mountains and the Sidamo Highlands.

Encyclopedia Record: Bale Mountains National Park

Bale Mountains National Park is a national park in Ethiopia. The park encompasses an area of approximately 2,150 km2 (830 sq mi) in the Bale Mountains and Sanetti Plateau of the Ethiopian Highlands.

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