
Driving to the Summit of Mount Tullu Dimtu: One of Africa’s Highest Roads
Ethiopia, africa
450 km
4,000 m
hard
Year-round
Okay, adventurers, listen up! Deep in Ethiopia's Oromia Region, about 450 km southeast of Addis Ababa, lies Tulluu Diimtuu – a seriously epic peak topping out at 4,389 meters (that's a whopping 14,400 feet!). Seriously, it's one of the highest roads you'll find in all of Africa.
Forget paved paradise, this climb is a rough-and-tumble dirt road adventure from start to finish. You'll be winding your way through Bale National Park on a seriously rugged track, eventually peeling off onto a smaller path that leads skyward towards Tulluu Diimtuu.
The trek kicks off in Goba (around 2,600 meters), then climbs steadily to the National Park entrance at 3,500 meters. After that, it's a 20-kilometer blast across the windswept Sanette Plateau (hovering around 4,000 meters), followed by another 17 kilometers before the final, brutal four-kilometer push to the summit. Watch out, it gets steep and narrow! As you reach the top of this ancient volcano, don't expect a fancy sign, just a telecom facility and a friendly guard. The views, though, are out of this world!
Where is it?
Driving to the Summit of Mount Tullu Dimtu: One of Africa’s Highest Roads is located in Ethiopia (africa). Coordinates: 8.9152, 41.4043
Road Details
- Country
- Ethiopia
- Continent
- africa
- Length
- 450 km
- Max Elevation
- 4,000 m
- Difficulty
- hard
- Coordinates
- 8.9152, 41.4043
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