Sanetti is where Africa lifts its head above the clouds. The plateau, at around four thousand metres, is the largest area of Afroalpine terrain on the continent, a bare, cold, windswept tableland of grass and heather dotted with small lakes, black basalt boulders and the huge, strange shapes of giant lobelia. Tullu Deemtu, the second-highest mountain in Ethiopia, rises at the plateau's southern edge, at around 4,380 metres. It feels like the roof of something.
The road across it, running from Goba toward the south and the Harenna Forest, is among the highest through routes in Africa. You climb from Goba in a series of long, steady bends, leaving the farmland behind and entering a landscape of low heath and rock. The surface has changed over the years, and conditions vary, so ask locally before you commit. Weather matters enormously. Cloud, mist, hail and freezing wind can sweep across the plateau within minutes, even in the dry season, and the thin air will rob a carburettor bike of power. Cold hands and a cold core are the main dangers, so pack serious layers. The best time is the dry season from about October to February.
The plateau's biggest draw is its wildlife. This is the best place in the world to see the Ethiopian wolf, a slender, russet-coated predator that hunts giant mole-rats across the open grassland in broad daylight. Only a few hundred are left, so each sighting is precious. Keep your distance, and do not leave food. Look as well for the Starck's hare, rock hyraxes, and raptors, including the lammergeier, riding the wind. Beyond the plateau's southern edge, the road drops into the damp Harenna Forest, one of the last big tracts of tropical cloud forest in Ethiopia, which is a sharp, dramatic change of world.
Goba, about thirty kilometres back, is the nearest real town, and a full tank before you climb is essential. Bring water, snacks and a spare layer, and tell someone where you are going. The silence, when the wind drops, is complete.