Wonchi

Wanchi, also sometimes erroneously spelt as "Wonchi", is one of the woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. It is located in the South Western Shawa Zone; bordered on the southwest by Amaya, on the north by Western Shawa Zone, and on the southeast by Waliso and Goro District. The administrative centre of Wanchi is Chitu. Dariyan and Haro have emerged as rapidly growing rural towns.

The highest point in Wanchi is Wonchi volcano, which is about 3,450 metres (11,320 ft) above sea level. Warqee (also known as Enset) is by far the most important staple crop in the area.

Wanchi lake is a crater lake located about equal distance between the town of Ambo and Woliso, at an altitude of about 3000m above sea level. Wonchi contains hot springs, waterfalls, valleys, and other scenery. In the island, an old monastery named Cherkos is found. Due to its unique topography, Wanchi is blessed with varieties of animal and plant species. For these reasons, Wanchi has been a very popular tourist destination in Ethiopia. This has been the case even when there was no dry weather road. Since the construction of Ambo-Waliso gravel road, tourism has emerged as one of the rapidly growing economic sectors in the district, Wanchi lake becoming a favored weekend destination for residents of nearby cities including Addis Ababa.

There are two islands in the lake. In one of the islands there is an ancient church called Cherkos monastery. You can navigate to the monasteries on ferries. The tourist can hire horses to take down the mountain to the lake. It takes about one hour from the top view to reach the lake...