Lake Tana, Bahir Dar

Experience pristine nature and traditional lifestyle as you learn about Ethiopian Christian heritage at Lake Tana, the largest lake in the country. Source of the Blue Nile and an important Christian center in the 13th-15th century, the lake area features about 20 shelter churches with impressive murals. Standing at 1,830 m (6,000 ft) on a basalt plateau, the lake has a unique ecosystem with endemic barbs and stone loaches, molluscs and freshwater sponges, as well as the African softshell turtle. Bird-watchers can spot great white pelicans and African darters. Gaze at the papyrus fishing boats bobbing on the water, visit a thatched hut village, and enjoy a meal of freshwater fish. Put Lake Tana and other Bahir Dar attractions into our Bahir Dar vacation builder, and watch your holiday take shape.