Filfil Solomuna - Eritrea's Rain Forest |
If you have travelled to Semenawi Bahri, also referred to as the green belt of Eritrea, you will have had the chance to experience the climate, vegetation and the streams of a typical rain forest. The place boasts a most magnificent and striking scenery.
Today, with the newly-built asphalt road, it is easy to reach Semenawi Bahri. When you set off from Asmara on your way to Massawa on the Keren road, you turn right past the village of Serejeka. The road passes Moguo,Sabur, Fagiena, Filfil and Solomuna. After passing several small villages of Karneshim, twenty-nine Kilometres from Asmara, there lays a beautiful village of Woki and shortly after you are at the highest summit of the evergreen forest of Semenawi Bahri. The forests extend along a chain of mountains and valleys. The elevation is between 900-2400 meters high. Along the route, special views appear in rapid succession such as rosy-patched bush shirks, splashing around the small rock pools. From Woki, the snaking road descent is even more impressive than the main Asmara-Massawa road. The journey is really dramatic as you wind your way down to the coastal plain. When you reach Meg’o at forty-three kilometres, the view is at its most attractive. Here you see the wonders of Semenawi Bahri. This is where you experience the soothing sound of birds heralding inner peace and delight. Solomuna, seventy-seven kilometres down, has an abundance of large trees and a variety of bird life. Of the 558 species of birds in Eritrea, a substantial number are found in Semienawi Bahri. Nowadays, many birdwatchers from across the world come to see what it has to offer. Also, wildlife such as the leopard, bushbuck, greater kudum duiker, klipspringer and warthog are to be found in the region. |