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If not for the fishes, birds, the pleasant climate, the accessible water of lake awassa, what would the city Awassa be. Well, that was indeed not all, salt it all with the Sidama culture and you have got yourself one of the main Ethiopian city to love.

Awasa, the regional capital of Sidamo, is 268 kilometers (about 168 miles) south of Addis Ababa. The town is situated on the shores of Lake Awasa, which, enclosed by a gentle chain of mountains, provides an ideal spot for fishing and boating.

The Lake itself, measures twenty-nine meters (69 feet) deep, and with a circumference of sixty-two kilometers (38 miles), is surrounded by hotels and campsites. The countryside surrounding the Lake features coffee plantations, fruit groves and the Bale Mountains rising in the east. The town is home to an agricultural research station. The recently established Debub (Southern) University has increased the importance of Awasa.

Driving to or from Awasa visitors can stop at either Lake Langano or the resort area of Wondo Ghennet which was once a retreat for the royal family. Its a breathtaking, paradisical site sitting on a hilltop.

The lake teems with fish, including barbus, tilapia, and catfish. The fish provide a livelihood for the local fishing community, which uses small boats and simple nets and lures. Many species of birds also thrive on this stock. A grassy dyke is convenient for walks, sightseeing, and bird watching, a regular pastime for which the Lake is famous, with its abundance of storks and herons, mingling with kingfishers, darters, plovers, wild ducks, Egyptian geese, crakes, and cormorants, which create a colorful spectacle. It is possible and pleasant as well to drive around the Lake in a four-wheel drive, where the visitor will see a myriad of birds as well as picturesque Sidama villages.

The town of Awasa is an interesting attraction in its own right, with a bustling and attractive market, which provides more than a glimpse into the flavor of the life and commerce of the region.

The Sidama people who inhabit this region play a major role in Ethiopia's coffee export trade, but they are especially known for their beautiful beehive-shaped, woven houses, which are constructed out of bamboo, which serves as the framework and is then covered with grass and enset (false banana) leaves as the rainy season approaches.