A retreat in the Sidama highlands

Where coffee
fields meet
the forest.

06° 45′ N·38° 25′ E·1,776 m

A family-run retreat on eleven acres of coffee estate and indigenous forest in the small town of Yirgalem. Ten bamboo tukuls, an open-air kitchen, and — at dusk — wild hyenas called up by name from the gorge below.

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Our Story

Named for a mother. Built for the slow life.

Aregash Lodge was founded in 2003 by Gregori Missalidis and his wife Marica, in memory of his late mother. The land — eleven acres of manicured gardens and wild indigenous forest — has been in the family for more than half a century, the work of a Greek-Ethiopian household rooted deep in the Sidama highlands.

Built in the style of a traditional Sidama village, the lodge holds an atmosphere of peace and natural calm. There is no television. No radio. Only the sights and sounds of the forest, the rhythm of the coffee harvest, and the welcome of a family that has tended this place for generations.

11 acres
Of gardens and
indigenous forest
100+
Species of birds
& mammals nearby
Stone pathway through the lodge grounds at Aregash
Traditional tukuls nestled in the forest
Since 2003
The Tukuls

Ten rooms, woven from bamboo & care.

The walls and roofs of our ten tukuls are made of meshed bamboo strips, lending each room a quiet, handmade beauty. Twin, double, and quadruple rooms — all en-suite, with hot water, electricity, and a spacious separate sitting room. Built in the Sidama tradition, furnished in vibrant colour, lit by lantern.

Tukuls in golden evening light along the stone path
No. 01
The Tukuls at Dusk
Bedroom with handwoven textiles and a lantern
No. 02
The Bedroom
Black-and-white colobus monkey in the forest canopy
The Scenery

A forest full of voices.

The nearby forest is home to a startling diversity of life — more than one hundred species of birds and mammals make their home in the canopy and undergrowth around the lodge.

Black-and-white colobus and vervet monkeys move through the high branches. Tiny waxbills flicker through the brush. At dusk, the open-air restaurant terrace fills with birdsong; after dark, the forest belongs to the hyenas.

  • Colobus monkey Mammal
  • Vervet monkey Mammal
  • Spotted hyena Nightly
  • Common jackal Nightly
  • Cordon-bleu Bird
  • Coffee plant Flora
Things to do

However you'd like to spend the day.

From the forest at your doorstep to the wider Sidama countryside, there's a quiet variety of ways to spend your days here — at your own pace.

No. 01
🌿

Guided forest treks

Walks led by local guides into the nearby forest — birdsong, butterflies, and the chance to spot colobus monkeys in the canopy above.

No. 02
🏡

Visits to local villages

Walk out to nearby villages to see the traditional Sidama way of life up close — homesteads, daily rhythms, and a warm welcome.

No. 03
⛲

Natural springs nearby

In the surrounding area, natural hot and cold springs rise from the ground — locally revered and worth seeking out on a day's exploring.

No. 04
🗿

Caves & sacred sites

The surrounding area holds historical caves and places held sacred by Sidama communities — part of the region's deep cultural landscape.

No. 05
☕

Coffee plantation walks

Wander through the coffee bushes shaded across the estate — Sidama is one of the great origin regions of Ethiopian coffee, and we grow it ourselves.

No. 06
🌙

The hyena feeding

Our signature evening — staff call wild spotted hyenas up from the gorge and feed them at close range. The most unforgettable hour at Aregash.

The bamboo-domed restaurant interior with green-clothed tables
The hand-woven domed ceiling of the restaurant
A bird in the trees around the restaurant
Tukuls glimpsed through the foliage
The stone path between the tukuls at golden hour
The lodge garden and grounds
The Restaurant

A garden, on the plate.

Our restaurant — built from traditional Sidama bamboo and seating up to fifty — serves Italian-influenced continental cuisine alongside traditional Ethiopian and Sidama dishes, all prepared by our chef.

The forest around us is full of fruit trees — avocado, guava, mango — harvested for the kitchen along with greens from the salad garden. Coffee, the region's great cash crop, is interspersed through the grounds. Breakfast comes with homemade pineapple, mango, and papaya jam.

There is an extensive menu, with a generous selection for vegetarians and those who need gluten-free meals. Dine inside, or on the open-air terrace under birdsong, with views into the forested gorge below.

50Seats
3Cuisines
★Open-air terrace
A nightly tradition

Hyena Hour.

After dusk, one of our staff walks to the edge of the gorge and calls. From the dark below, wild spotted hyenas climb up — drawn by name, by routine, by trust — and gather to be fed scraps of meat at close quarters.

It is the lodge's most surreal ritual. You sit, you watch, you listen. You realise the howling you heard the night before had names. Guests have called it the most extraordinary hour of their trip to Ethiopia — a moment of genuine wildness, hosted, never staged.

WhenAfter dark
WhereThe gorge edge
Guided byOur staff
A wild spotted hyena approaching the feeding stake at dusk
A wild spotted hyena, called up from the gorge at dusk
A Sidama tradition

Buna dabo naw — coffee is our bread. Beans roasted on coals, frankincense rising in the smoke, three pourings shared slowly between guests.

— The Ethiopian coffee ceremony, at Aregash
Finding us

The road to Yirgalem.

Hand-drawn route map: Awasa to Aposto Junction to Yirgalem to Aregash Lodge

Aregash Lodge

06° 45′ N · 38° 25′ E

Yirgalem (also written Yrgalem or Yrga Alem) sits in the Sidama Zone of southern Ethiopia, 317 kilometers south of Addis Ababa. The road is accessible year-round in any vehicle.

317km
From Addis
40km
South of Awasa
8km
From Aposto
  1. Leave Addis Ababa Take the Addis Ababa – Moyale / Kenya international road heading south. The drive winds through the highlands and toward the Rift Valley.
  2. Pass through Awasa Continue past the lakeside city of Awasa and keep going south toward Aposto Junction.
  3. Turn at Aposto Yirgalem lies 8 km northeast of Aposto Junction. Follow signs into the town centre.
  4. Through Yirgalem Cross the town until the asphalt road ends. Keep going for another kilometer.
  5. The final turn Take the first turn on the left — Aregash Lodge is 400 meters along this road, surrounded by coffee fields and forest.
In photographs

Glimpses of Aregash.

Ethiopian coffee ceremony at Aregash Black-and-white colobus monkey Hand-woven tukul ceiling View over the forested gorge at golden hour Turaco in the foliage Candlelit dining room Silvery-cheeked hornbill Tukuls in the evening light Red-cheeked cordon-bleu Banana flower in the garden
Reservations

Come stay a while.

Tell us a little about your trip and we'll reply by email to confirm availability and arrange your stay.

info@aregashlodge.com
+251 911 610 067
Yirgalem · Sidama · Ethiopia

All ten tukuls are en-suite. We'll hold your dates once we've replied.

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