Bahir Dar
Bahir Dar, also spelt Bahar Dar, on the southern shore of Lake Tana, the biggest lake in Ethiopia, is the third largest city in the nation, after Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa, with a population of a quarter of a million. It's the capital of the Amhara region, dominated by the Amhara people, the Ethiopia's second largest grouping; the Ethiopian official language is Amharic. Bahir Dar is a clean and well-maintained city by African standards. Even the cheaper accommodation has neat, but basic, services.
Get in
By plane
- 🌍 Bahir Dar Ginbot Haya Airport (BJR IATA) (8 km (5.0 mi) west of downtown). Ethiopian Airlines operates scheduled flights every day from Addis Ababa (ADD IATA) and Lalibela (LLI IATA). There are three to five direct 1-hour flights per day from and to Addis Ababa. Multi-stops flights to Lalibela connect to Gondar (GDQ IATA) and Axum (AXU IATA) in the north.
In July 2021, adult 1-way direct trip from Addis Ababa were around 4377 birr ($102) for foreigners, or 2421 birr ($56) for Ethiopians and residents (or those who have flown Ethiopian internationally - note that you can get the discounted prices by simply booking a ticket, for instance a refundable Nairobi to Addis fare, for the near future).
By car
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Routes through Bahir Dar
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Bahir Dar is 555 km north-east by road from Addis Ababa, using national highway 3. It's 170 km south of Gondar via road 3, and 314 km east of Lalibela via Woreta.
By bus
The city is connected by daily buses from Addis Ababa and Gondar. Many private minibuses also run from Gondar and Addis Ababa. They often do not leave from the bus station but are instead arranged through your hotel or by local touts (who will find you before you find them!). The minibuses are more expensive but faster, especially from Addis Ababa. Try Selam bus or Sky bus for a more comfortable (and potentially safer) ride.
From Gondar, minibuses leave from a bus station near Azezo (July 2019) in the south of the town. You can take a local minibus to reach Azezo (10 birr) or a bajaj (200 birr). From Gondar to Bahir Dar, a bus should cost 85 birr and take around 3 hours.
To get to Bahir Dar from Lalibela by bus, take a dawn bus to Gashina (about two hours south of Lalibela) and change there to the Woldia - Bahir Dar bus, which passes through Gashina around 10:00. To get from Bahir Dar to Lalibela, take the dawn Bahir Dar - Woldia bus and catch the last Lalibela bus at Gashena, which passes through around 15:00.
By boat
A ferry service runs between Bahir Dar and Gorgora via Dek Island and villages on the lakeside.
Get around
Bajajs (three-wheel rick-shaws) are the most common form of transportation in the city. There are also blue minibuses, but few still exist as means to get around town. Bajajs are inexpensive and cost no more than two birr per line of road and 30-50 birr for a private charter.
See
- 🌍 Lake Tana Monasteries. Some of the world's oldest churches and monasteries are on islands in Lake Tana. There are lots of boat tours available to the monasteries. Entrance at each monastery is 100 birr as of 2016. The tours range from 2 to 12 hours long and can be booked through your hotel, by contacting a guide directly on WhatsApp, or by one of the many touts in the city. They can organise a boat tour for half a day and a trip to the Blue Nile Falls for the other half of the day, which should cost no more than 400 birr per person. You can do it much cheaper by chartering your own boat and visiting only the islands you want to see and also getting a local minibus to the waterfall (as of 2019, 1500 birr seems like a good price for a custom, private half-day tour for 2 on Lake Tana with a well-rated guide). At some of these monasteries, women are not allowed to enter. Be cautious and aware of the traditions and rules of the Ethiopian Orthodox church when you visit. These churches are unique to Ethiopia, but they tend to be expensive and the tours are overrated. The boat trip on the lake is nice, but there are better examples of rural churches elsewhere in Ethiopia in a more pleasant and less touristy environment. As part of a boat tour, you may also swing by the 'Head of the Blue Nile', where the river flows out of the lake. There's a good chance of spotting a hippo or two pop up their heads. Otherwise, it's nothing too spectacular.
- 🌍 Blue Nile Falls (Tis Abay in Amharic) (Take a bus or car to the town Tis Abay (about 35 km south-east from Bahir Dar) and walk from there (20 minutes). Note that the road is incredibly bumpy and dusty, allow an uncomfortable hour to hour and a half drive each way). A once spectacular sight that has been ruined by the building of a hydro-power dam. In rainy season (May to Sep) there is a decent flow but in the dry season the falls are pretty minimal and probably not worth suffering for 2.5-3 hours on bad gravel roads. If you take the bus, ignore anyone in the village who insists that the last bus back to Bahir Dar will be full and wants you to pay them to hold a seat, or that the last bus has already left but they can offer you an amazingly expensive taxi ride. There are plenty of buses back to Bahir Dar, the last one leaves at 17:00 or later, and the bus conductor will find a seat for you! You can also arrange for a tour to the falls through your hotel. If you visit during rainy season, be aware that paths are very muddy (deep mud) and bring adequate shoes. A nice alternative to the standard day trip, especially if you'd like to experience sunset and sunrise at the falls, is an overnight stay at Blue Nile Camping, right at the top of the waterfall. 50 birr entrance to the area. There is an official guide (200 birr as of July 2019) who must accompany you.
- 🌍 Martyr's Memorial Monument, Gonder Road (east side of the Blue Nile River, close to the bridge). Huge monument with waterfalls going to Blue Nile. Include a museum with pictures.
- 🌍 Palace of Emperor Haile Selassie & Viewpoint over Bahir Dar/Blue Nile, Bezawit Road (east side of Blue Nile river, a hill at the south-east of city). Bahir Dar grew around a Jesuit settlement, founded in the sixteenth or seventeenth century, from which time the Pedro Páez building dates. One of Emperor Haile Selassie's palaces is near the city, and the Emperor considered moving the national capital to the town. The palace is an impressive architectural work of its time. Facing Lake Tana it provides a beautiful, picturesque scene of the Blue Nile. You cannot actually go inside the palace, or see it very well. Nevertheless, there are “tour guides” who hang out around the site and will tell you a few facts for ~100 birr per person. It’s a nice nature hike...sort of.
- 🌍 Kidus Giorgis church, Giorgis Road crossing Lake Street (close to the Lake).
- Hornbill trees (across the street from Ours Guesthouse/Cafe). In the center of town, there is a small row of trees that attracts around 30 or so hornbills every night. Grab a drink or dinner at one of the places on the first floor across the street and enjoy the view.
Do
- Cycling Bikes can be rented at Ghion Hotel.
- Enkutatask (Ethiopian New Year): 11 or 12 September annually. The place to be on the eve of this holiday is on the shore of Lake Tana. Deacons in the monasteries on islands all over the lake will make music all night, leaning on canes or sticks so they can stand all night. They chant and play musical instruments like the drum and sistrum that go back to the traditions of the Old Testament's King David. Oddly enough, the locals seem to pay no attention to the sounds emanating from the churches, although it may be possible for a traveler to creep undetected into a side room and listen from outside the curtain to the various pitched drums fugue back and forth.
Buy
Bahir Dar has a big and colourful market that is open every day. Saturday is the biggest day. Sunday has very few activities.
The local speciality is small footstools covered in goat hide. Find them along the road that runs from Ghion hotel to the main highway. They can apparently be "unstuffed" for travel.
There are many ATMs that accept MasterCard & Visa cards at Dashen Bank and Ethiopia Commercial Bank.
- 🌍 Market, Giorgis road. Open every day, Saturday is the biggest day, Sunday has very few activities. A big and colorful market. The second largest in Ethiopia, after Mercato in Addis Ababa.
- 🌍 Goat skin handicraft products shops (Basket market), Giorgis road. Around twenty shops selling goat skin seats and other things.
Eat
- 🌍 Checheho Cultural Restaurant, Lake Rd (near Wude Coffee). Not just a restaurant, an excellent cultural club with azmari music and dance performances, one of the best nightspots in town.
- 🌍 Lake Shore Resort, Lake Street (along the lake near Summerland Hotel). It has good food and amazing views of the lake from the garden. The foiled fish has a good reputation. Appears closed in July 2021, probably for refurbishment. 90 birr for the foiled fish.
- 🌍 Desset Restaurant, Lake Street (just behind the big tower “Grand Resort and Spa”). A new restaurant that has OK food and a beautiful view of the lake. Highly recommended to enjoy a beer here while watching the sun set.
- 🌍 Azewa Hotel. It has some of the best fish goulash in the country and is inexpensive.
- Tana Restaurant serves fabulous fish dishes cheaply.
- Al-Hanan Muslim Restaurant, near the Dalot Pension, serves huge and tasty mutton dishes, even during Lent. Also a good place for an Ethiopian coffee ceremony. The owners are exceedingly nice and don't charge tourists extra.
- Hotel Bahir Dar. Cosy outdoor area and inexpensive food.
- WaWi Pizzeria & Restaurant. Second floor restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. Serves pretty good Western food. 25 - 80 birr.
Drink
- Balageru Cultural Club. Meals, tej and azmari music.
- There are many cultural night clubs throughout the city center.
- There are a few Western music clubs, with Dream House and a bar above Friendship Cafe the most popular.
- 🌍 Wude Coffee, Lake Street. Wood and stone building. Nice for a quiet drink. Also serves Ethiopian food.
- Hot Spot, inside the big tower “Grand Resort and Spa”.
Sleep
Prices are changing quickly.
- 🌍 Bahir Dar Backpackers Hostel (Abafasilo road, Behind Limet Bank), bahirdarbackpackers@gmail.com. Opened on Dec 2019, so everything is clean and tidy. It accommodates mostly backpackers, which makes it easy to find travel partners and good people to hang with. They have Dormitory rooms for $5 a bed, and also private rooms in the range of $10 to $15- all with shared bathrooms. There's also a common area, fully equipped kitchen to cook in, and WiFi. Lots of travelling information is available around the hostel, so its a nice place to plan your next step. Walking distance from great restaurants and Tana lake, where it's nice to walk around.
- Koriftu Resort is a nice getaway after roughing it around Ethiopia. One of the nicest resorts in Ethiopia with a complimentary massage for every night's stay. Good, but expensive, restaurant and a nice pool.
- Dalot Pension, near the bus station, singles from 20 birr, modern, clean and convenient, best value in town.
- Tana Pension. Rooms from US$2.50, the food is marvelous.
- Hotel Bahir Dar (in the center, street behind Lake Street next to the huge antenna). Backpacker hotel with a terrace in the middle and a good restaurant attached. Beware of Muhammed, a nice boy who hangs there and tries to hustle you overpriced tours. 150 birr singles.
- 🌍 Bin Anbessa Hotel, Lake Street. Large hotel with restaurant. Was being renovated in 2013. Friendly staff. Very good, by Ethiopian standards, free Wi-Fi. Double with bathroom for 480 birr if you're Ethiopian, otherwise it's 600 birr.
- 🌍 Blue Nile Hotel, Beg Tera (250 m from the Lake Street), ☏ +251 58 226 4094 (reception), +251 58 220 20 28 (office), +251 91 834 1189 (mobile), fax: +251 58 226 4093, bluenilehotelbd@gmail.com. Check-out: 11:00. OK with old rooms. View on the lake on the 3-5th flood. Free Wi-Fi. They can organize for you the boat trip and car trip to the Blue Nile Falls. Festive area (noise). Not to be confused with “Blue Nile Resort Hotel”. Single 500 birr, double 600 birr.
- 🌍 Grand Resort and Spa, Lake Street, next to Stadium (the big tower, visible from everywhere). Single US$70/l, double $90/suite $200.
- 🌍 Papyrus Hotel, Giorgis road crossing Arba Meter road. Mid-range hotel with swimming pool.
- 🌍 Blue Nile Resort Hotel (formerly Avanti Blue Nile Hotel), Lake Street, ☏ +251 58 222 2206, +251 58 222 2207, +251 58 220 0554, +251 93 598 1950 (mobile), info@bluenileresorthotels.com. A luxury resort on the shore of the lake. Not to be confused with “Blue Nile Hotel”.
- 🌍 Ours Guest House, Giorgis Rd (near Giorgis Roundabout). Clean place with hot shower and double rooms. You will need to add extra 50 birr for the breakfast for a second person, as of July 2019. 400-500 birr.
- 🌍 Blue Nile Camping (atop Blue Nile Falls), ☏ +251 97 760 5050. Great option if you'd like to see the falls at sunset and/or sunrise. Don't expect anything super clean or comfortable. Freshly cooked meals served upon request – dinner was very delicious – as well as beer, coffee, etc., so you don't have to prepare very much. They can also arrange for luggage transfer, so you don't have to carry everything from the park entrance (15 min walk + short boat ride). 700 birr private hut for 2, smaller huts and tents available for less.
- 🌍 Delano Hotel. A reasonable modern hotel near the new stadium. Rooms have air conditioning, good enough wifi and hot water. It is close to the main road, but is quiet at night. The credit card machine rarely works. 1,200ETB.
Stay safe
Like many other cities in Ethiopia, Bahir Dar is generally safe and free of violent crimes.
You may encounter some hustlers around the shore of Lake Tana to get you rent a boat they may get a kick-back for. The boats on Lake Tana that take you to visit the monasteries have fixed rates. Make sure the self-appointed "brokers" won't get you charged a jacked up fee for the boats.
Connect
As of 2019, the city has only (relatively slow) 3G coverage. Hotel Wi-Fi is not always faster.
Go next
- Gondar – to the north and the nearest big city, it has a complex of castles and palaces
- Lalibela – to the west, its rock-hewn churches are a big attraction