Chilga

Chilga (also Chelga, Ch'ilga, etc.; Ge'ez: ጭልጋ č̣ilgā) is one of the woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. It is named after its chief town Chilga (also known as Ayikel), an important stopping point on the historic Gondar-Sudan trade route. Part of the Semien Gondar Zone, Chilga is bordered on the south by Takusa, on the west by Metemma, on the north by Tach Armachiho, on the northeast by Lay Armachiho, and on the east by Dembiya. Other towns in Chilga include Seraba and Wohni.

Overview

Elevations in this woreda range between 1000 and 1500 meters above sea level. Rivers include the Atbarah. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 21.7% is arable or cultivable, 1.9% pasture, 22.3% forest or shrubland, and the remaining 54.1% is considered degraded or other. This survey covered more of the woreda than the sample enumeration performed by the Central Statistical Agency (CSA) in 2001.

One notable landmark in this woreda is the archeological site at Chilga Kernet, which was investigated in 2002 as part of the Blue Nile Basin Survey Project. The surface of the site was reported to be "littered with several thousand hand axes and other heavily weathered basalt implements". A preliminary survey led the investigators to speculate that much of the hill is underlain by a layer of Acheulean artefacts of about 2 hectares in size. A program was announced in 2008, which would spend three million Birr on construction of new health stations, at which time there were 45 health posts and two health stations in Chilga, providing health coverage for 88% of the woreda.