Bahir Dar - The Blue Nile Falls

April 16 - This afternoon we took a one hour drive on a rough gravel road out of Bahir Dar to reach the trailhead for the Blue Nile Falls. This is a very dramatic 400 meter wide (during the rainy season) by 45 meter high waterfall. The Blue Nile flows out of Lake Tana, through Ethiopia, into Sudan (where the name changes to the Nile River), then north through Egypt and eventually into the Mediterranean Sea.

Once at the trailhead, we boarded a boat for a short 1/2 mile ride down river. 

Then we had a 20 minute walk through farmland to reach the first viewpoint. 

Then we crossed this suspension bridge. You'll notice the umbrella type structure on each side... Those are places for making a "donation" to ensure a safe crossing. 

And this is the view form the middle of the bridge - about 120 feet down. 

When we arrived at the lower viewpoint, this young boy was playing his flute. 

My guide walked me out to the water's edge then he walked back to the dry area and took my photo. I was in the spray for about 1 minute and got completely soaked through. It felt wonderful!

On our way back to the boat, we stopped for coffe, and local entertainment from these beautiful kids. 

We shared the boat back to the trailhead with this stunning, but stoic, woman. She may have been an Orthodox nun because she seemed to be meditating or praying the entire time. 

Because every Wednesday is market day in this area, there were a lot of locals using the boats to get across the river. The next nearest crossing is a 1 hour walk away.