Travel Guide Filfil

Filfil is not the name of a city, or really of a region, it is rather the name of a particular area that finds itself a haven of greenery in the arid landscape that defines this region of Africa. On the map of Eritrea, this is the only green point and the place is also known as the "green belt" of Eritrea, or Semenawi Bahri in local dialect! The road leading to Filfil is brand new (thanks to the hard work of young Eritreans who painstakingly honour their national service); it winds majestically between green mountains and the higher the altitude, the more abundant the vegetation becomes. It is not uncommon to see some eagles and to be greeted by baboons during the descent to the rainforest. The road ends up joining the dried bed of a river; it was this particular place that was named Filfil before the name was extended to the entire region. Here you can walk in the bed of the river in the middle of the century-old trees and many bird species, baboons and green monkeys. A legend even says that it's possible to see leopards there. A little further in the bed of the river is a military training base, which will unfortunately prevent the visitor from sinking further into the tropical forest. By taking up the road, if one continues to descend, one quickly joins the road in Massawa and the landscape becomes desert almost instantly: hard to believe that ten minutes earlier, everything was just green! It is, of course, possible to make this journey which passes through Filfil in one direction and another, but if we want to take advantage of the impressive vision of this road through the mountains and descend to the sea, it is naturally better to navigate it in the direction of descent (i. e. coming from Keren or Asmara and by going from Asmara and from Asmara. to Massawa).