Fascinating Blue Nile Fall

Need Help? +251 911242047

Blue Nile Fall

The Blue Nile Fall is among the greatest spectacles in the natural world and one of the greatest falls in Africa. The Falls are located near the city of Bahar Dar, Northern Ethiopia, and are fed by water from Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile. known locally as Tis Abay (in Amharic language) or “smoking water”, the Blue Nile Falls are a testimony to Ethiopia’s natural beauty and the falls are the most dramatic falls anywhere on the Nile river system, and are at their most impressive in the rainy season from June to early September. This area is one of the most peaceful places in Ethiopia and its tranquil atmosphere is something special. A series of spectacular viewpoints to the waterfall is reached along a footpath that crosses a stone bridge built by the Portuguese in 1626 and passes through riverine forest inhabited by endemic birds such as White-Cheeked Turaco, Black-Winged Lovebird and Yellow-Fronted Parrot.

The Blue Nile falls are estimated to be between 37 and 45 meters high. It consists of four streams that can vary majorly in width depending on the season. During the dry season it can be a small trickle and more than 400 meters wide in the rainy season. The waterfalls is located on the upper course of the Blue Nile River which starts in Lake Tana and is one of the major headwater sources for the great Nile River, world’s longest river, that flows through Sudan and Egypt. The Blue Nile River contributes up to 80% of the Nile River’s flow. Tis Abay is located in an ancient land and people have known this waterfall much longer than most of the other waterfalls in the world. The first known description of the falls belongs to a Portuguese doctor and adventurer João Bermudes in 1565. Not too far below the falls Portuguese built also the oldest stone bridge in Ethiopia – Agam Dildi, built in 1626. The 18th century Scottish traveler James Bruce described the Blue Nile Falls as: ‘a magnificent sight, that ages, added to the greatest length of human life, would not efface or eradicate from my memory’.

VIEW ON MAP VIEW ON MAP