Lake Tana is Ethiopia’s largest, covering over 3,500 square kilometers, and its waters are the source of the Blue Nile, which flows 5, 223 kilometers north to the Mediterranean Sea.

Lounging lakeside and watching squadrons of pelicans skirting the surface might be the most relaxing way to pass the time here, but your editor gets restless very easily and that just wouldn’t suit him. And so, soon after arriving, he and his Italian were out exploring.

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Perhaps the first thing that one will notice on visiting Lake Tana’s shoreline is the fact that the lake is indeed quite large:

In fact, unless one is in an inlet (such as the inlet pictured below), one will not be able to see the lake’s islands or any of its other shorelines:

Some Lake Tana shoreline scenes:

Papyrus – probably destined for use in constructing the tankwa canoes used by the locals:

Some of the trees surrounding the lake are extraordinary:

Sunset on Lake Tana:

Crossing Lake Tana… Legions of boat operators line the shores of Lake Tana in places like Bahir Dar and so one will have no trouble at all securing transportation around the lake:

Taken from our boat – I told you it was a big lake:

Some of the smaller islands on the lake… A few are inhabited, but most are in their natural state:

One of the ferries crossing Lake Tana:

I’ve talked about the tankwa canoes before and below are some additional examples… To recap for you – the canoes are made out of papyrus and although they may look flimsy, they are quite durable and can carry massive loads.

I took these pictures near a village on the edge of Lake Tana:

For thousands of years these boats have been used to traverse the waterways of Africa – they have not changed a bit in all that time.