Tulu Gudo Island—Debre tsion Church: Tulu Gudo means the big mountain in Afan Oromo. There is more considerable site of the legendary Ark of Covenant that once the Ark of Covenant once took refuge in the Tulu Gudo Island. Graham Hancock (1992), the author of the great book “The Sign and the Seal” or “The Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant” had visited Lake Dambal in the 1980s as part of his research mission. What he had learned from the religious authorities was that the sacred relic (The Ark) was brought down from Axum by the forefathers of the present day Zay people, in an effort to rescue it and other related religious heritages from the warriors then targeted to destroy churches by Judit Gudit- a Jew, who once rose against Christianity and supposedly brought an end to the Solomon Dynasty during 10th century AD. As far as the legend of the Zay people goes, the ark of covenant had stayed in Debre Zion Church, i.e. on Tullu Gudo Island, for seventy two years before it was taken back to Axum. This makes the site of interest to tourists not only for lake scenery, being approached only by boat from Arsi or Batu, but also for its historic significance. The site is now one of the best tourist destinations in Lake Dambal and its environs.
