Bale Mountains · Ethiopia
Sanetti Plateau Road
Goba to Dolo Mena
The highest all-weather road in Africa, climbing onto the Sanetti Plateau above 4,000 m before dropping the Harenna Escarpment in a long sequence of bends, a 2,000 m descent from Afro-alpine moorland into cloud forest.
Africa’s highest road: a 4,000 m Afro-alpine plateau crossing that plunges into Harenna cloud forest, with Ethiopian wolves for company.
Why we picked it
From Goba the road climbs steadily onto the Sanetti Plateau, crossing open Afro-alpine moorland dotted with giant lobelia and crested by the 4,377 m Tullu Dimtu, the second-highest point in Ethiopia and prime Ethiopian wolf country. The surface is rough in places and exposed to weather at altitude. Beyond the plateau the road tips over the Harenna Escarpment and descends through a near-continuous run of bends into dense, dripping Harenna cloud forest, shedding more than 2,000 m of altitude before reaching Dolo Mena.
Scenery
Featured in these guides
Where it runs
Navigate to the start: Apple Maps · Google Maps
Character
Higher than 9 in 10 roads in the catalogue.
Elevation
under 4%4–8%over 8%1,304 – 4,108 mHazards
- Sections are unpaved and rough, with loose gravel
- Acute altitude effects possible above 4,000 m
- Sudden fog, rain and freezing conditions on the plateau
- Wildlife and free-ranging livestock on the carriageway
- Remote, with no fuel or services for long stretches
Sources: Road geometry © OpenStreetMap contributors
Nearby roads
The closest great drives to Sanetti Plateau Road.
