A Lake That Vanished

In its heyday, Lake Alemaya was the largest in a chain of shallow lakes—including Horajutu, Adele, and Finkile—formed in depressions on the relatively flat plateau of East Hararghe. Fed by direct rainfall and small streams draining catchments to the west and north, the lake swelled during the rainy season and sustained life through the dry months. It provided the sole source of drinking water for the towns of Haramaya, Aweday, and Harar for over 35 years, and supported local fisheries, livestock, and agriculture.↗↗

By the early 2000s, relentless pumping for irrigation—driven largely by the expansion of water-hungry khat (Catha edulis) cultivation—combined with climate shifts and land degradation to drain the lake. Research documented a 43% reduction in surface area over 37 years before the final disappearance in 2005. Children now play football on the cracked lakebed where Kedir Abdurehman once swam as a boy.↗↗

Resurrection and Relapse

In 2012, Haramaya University launched a watershed rehabilitation project aimed at bringing the lake back. By 2014, two years after work began focusing on soil and water conservation in the upper watershed and planting endemic species like Olea africana and Hagenia abyssinica on the hillsides, water unexpectedly returned to the lakebed—covering about 50 hectares, roughly 20% of the original 600-hectare expanse. Locals celebrated what felt like a miracle.↗

The celebration was short-lived. Within less than a year, the renewed water attracted settlers and hundreds of motor pumps diverting the recovered supply to khat fields. The lake dried again, a stark lesson that ecological restoration without governance and community cooperation faces steep odds.↗

Birdlife and the Important Bird Area

Despite its arid state, the combined site of Lakes Alemaya and Adele retains its status as a globally recognized Important Bird Area covering 8 km². The designation rests primarily on the presence of Red-knobbed Coot (Fulica cristata), with an estimated population of 1,000–10,000 individuals recorded in the mid-1990s. Flamingos were also historically present on the lake during wetter periods, and the shallow inundated margins—when they exist—provide habitat for waterbirds and waders.↗↗

During the 1960s, the lake's shores supported thick vegetation of bushes and climbers, with extensive beds of sedges, reeds, and bulrushes in the water itself. Most of this habitat has been lost to agricultural conversion, but traces of Cyperaceae still line parts of the shore, and the surrounding plateau features grazing meadows, sorghum fields, and clusters of eucalyptus and palm.↗

Visiting the Area

Lake Alemaya is best reached as a stop on a trip through eastern Ethiopia's highlands. From Harar—a UNESCO-listed walled city and one of Ethiopia's most culturally rich destinations—the lake bed is roughly a 20-minute drive northwest toward Haramaya town, home to Haramaya University, Ethiopia's oldest institution of higher learning for agricultural sciences, originally established in 1958.↗

Travelers should be aware that the lake is often entirely dry. Visiting during or just after the main rainy season (July–September) offers the best chance of seeing standing water, particularly in years when restoration efforts have gained temporary traction. The road from Harar passes through the scenic East Hararghe plateau, and the landscape of cracked mud, sparse grazing, and encroaching farmland itself tells a powerful story of water stress in the Ethiopian highlands.↗

Practical Tips

There are no formal facilities or entry points at the lake. A local guide from Haramaya or Harar can help with directions and context, especially if you want to understand the university's ongoing conservation efforts. The elevation is around 2,000 meters, so mornings can be cool. Combine a visit with Harar's Hyena Feeding, the old city's gate-and-mosque circuit, and the nearby walled villages for a full day in eastern Ethiopia's cultural landscape.