Wendo Genet

Wendo Genet in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia is a mountain resort and thermal spa set within an extraordinary natural forest of giant fig trees — Ficus trees reaching 30 metres in height with buttress roots like architectural structures, draped in mosses and inhabited by black-and-white colobus monkeys and hundreds of bird species. The bicarbonate springs emerge at comfortable bathing temperatures within this remarkable forest environment, creating a spa experience framed by one of Ethiopia's most celebrated natural habitats. The resort has long been popular with Addis Ababa's middle class as a weekend escape, and its combination of thermal bathing and wildlife-rich forest — accessed through the nearby city of Hawassa on the Rift Valley lake system — makes it a destination of considerable natural appeal.