National Parks
Ethiopia's national parks enable visitors to enjoy country's scenery and wildlife conserved in natural habitats and offer opportunities for travel adventure unparalleled in Africa.

• Abyata-Shalla Lakes National Park
The park is situated some 210kms south of Addis Ababa on the main road to Moyale, Oromia National Regional State. it extends over 800sq. kms, mostly comprising of the two lakes Abyata and Shalla. About 37 mammal and 370 bird species found there. The most common species of birds are great white pelicans, flamingoes, Egyptian geese, eagles and herons.

• Awash National Park
The park is found some 225kms East of Addis Ababa. It covers an area of 756sq.kms in the northern part of the Rift Valley. There are about 81 mammals and 450 bird species in the park. Some of the mammals are Oryx, black-backed and common jackals, caracal, colobus and grivet monkeys, anubis baboons, lions, leopard, Menelik's bushbuck, gtreater and lesser kudu, Sommering's gazelle, grevey's zebra and cheetah. In the northern part of the park, there are hot springs where one can relax and visit the sparkling blue green pools and rivers. The pools are pleasant to swim in. Awash national park is the oldest and most developed wildlife reserve in Ethiopia.

• Bale Mountains National Park
The park is situated 400kms South East of Addis Ababa, with an area of about 2471sq.kms. It is covered with thick forest and grasslands and has meandering rivers. About 64 mammal species have been recorded; three of them are endemic: Mountain Nyala, Red Fox and Menelik's Bushbuck. Over 200 bird species, including eight endemic have also been recorded. The park gives opportunities of unsurpassed mountain walking, horse trekking, scenic driving and the chance to view many of Ethiopia's endemic animals.

• Gambella National Park
The park is located about 800kms west of Addis Ababa, in the Gambella National Regional State. it covers an area of 5061sq.kms. 39 mammal species are known to occur in the park and 154 species of birds have been recorded. The most common mammal species are buffalo, giraffe, tiang, waterbuck, roan antelope, zebra, bushbuck, elephants and warthogs.

• Mago National Park
It is found in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State, some 815kms south of Addis Ababa. It covers an area of about 2,162sq.kms. The Mago River, the Mursi hill, the Mago hot springs and mountains are some of the natural attractions in the park. There are 81 species of mammals in this park. It consists of large herds of elephants, buffaloes, Grant's gazelle, and Greater and Lesser kudus. 217 bird species have also been recorded.

• Nech Sar National Park
The park is situated some 500 kms south of Addis Ababa in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State. it covers an area of 515sq.kms. The two most beautiful lakes Abaya and Chamo form the park's integral part. Abaya is the largest Rift Valley lake in Ethiopia and Chamo is a fresh water lake with plenty of fish. Nech Sar is the only national park in the world where Swayne's Hartebeest still survives. It is also known for the locality of 84 other mammal species. 78sq. kms of the park is water body where exist large population of hippoes and crocodiles.

• Omo National Park
The park with an area of 4068sq.kms is situated in the southwestern part of Ethiopia, in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State. it has the largest wildlife concentration far from human influence. It is within the Omo River catchment basin and the Omo Valley near the Sudan Border. 57 species of mammals have been recorded. These include large herds of eland, buffaloes, zebra waterbuck, greater and lesser kudu, oryx, Grant's gazelle and hartebeest. The most notable animal species of this park is eland, which is found no where else in the country. 350 species of birds also exist in the park.

• Semein Mountains National Park
It is situated in the Semein Mountains of Amhara National Regional State. It covers an area of 179sq.kms, 150kms northeast of Gondar town. There are about 21 mammal species including the endemic Gelada Baboon, Walia Ibex and Semein (Red) fox. Over 63 species of birds have also been recorded in the park.

• Yangudirassa National Park
It is located some 500kms east of Addis Ababa in the Afar National Regional State. the park is almost on the edge of the Danakil depression. It covers an area of 4700sq.kms. 36 species of mammals have been recorded. The common species seen are cheetah, oryx, Sommering's gazelle, Grant's gazelle, lion, leopard, warthogs and wild ass, which is endemic to Ethiopia.