Bati Market

Bati sits on the escarpment where the Ethiopian highlands drop toward the Afar lowlands, and its Monday market is one of the largest in the country precisely because of that position: highland Amhara farmers bring grain, coffee, vegetables and manufactured goods, and Afar and Oromo pastoralists come up from the hot lowlands with camels, cattle, goats and salt cut from the Danakil. Tens of thousands of people attend on a good week, spread across a hillside in sections by commodity, with the livestock area the largest and loudest. It is a working market with no concessions to visitors, which is what makes it worth seeing. The town is otherwise unremarkable and the market winds down by mid-afternoon.

What you actually see

• The livestock sections - camels, cattle and goats traded in numbers.
• Highland and lowland trade - farmers and pastoralists meeting on the escarpment.
• Salt from the Danakil - blocks brought up from the desert by caravan and truck.
• Section by commodity - grain, coffee, cloth and household goods laid out separately.

When to go

Monday is the market day and the only reason to be here; it starts early and thins by early afternoon. October to March for the roads. The Monday timing is fixed and travel plans have to fit it.

Honest expectations

This is a working market, crowded, dusty and hot, with livestock underfoot and no facilities. Photography needs care and permission; some traders object strongly. Pickpocketing occurs in the crush. There is nothing arranged for visitors and no interpretation.

Nearby

Kombolcha and Dessie lie west; the Afar lowlands are east.