Addis Ababa 2026 Calendar of Events

We had a great day touring Addis Ababa with Henok. He is a very knowledgeable guide, and was able to teach us a lot about the history of Ethiopia and the city as a whole. The museum was a highlight, and the home cooked meal and coffee was delicious.

We had a fabulous day with our guide Kiru and driver Grum who created a perfect escape from the city. You’ll have to put up with the three-hour drive over bumpy roads but what you’ll see is worth it! On the way you’ll have views of Ethiopian towns and rural life as well as, on the return trip, the expanding modern city. Our first stop was the Debre Libanos Monastery founded in 1941 on a site made holy by the 18th C hermit xxxx. Our visit was during the holy days around the Assumption of St Mary and there were hundreds of pilgrims trudging up the long hill to pray. One of the monks, whom Kiru knew, gave us a tour so we learned the history of the place and visited the museum, which exhibits artifacts from the monastery’s long history. Immediately afterwards we headed to a fruit and spice market spread out under an amazing centuries-old tree, where we wandered, practiced our ‘Salaam walloo’ and bought some tea and bananas. We loved seeing this slice of Ethiopian country life. A bit further on we stopped to spend an hour with the Gelada baboons that live in the cliffs over the Blue Nile. How amazing to watch up close the interactions in the baboon families. We couldn’t believe how close we were able to observe! Then it was on to the real highlight of the day, the Blue Nile Gorge. Make sure you wear hiking shoes! We (two 70-year olds) found the rocky hike down to the Portuguese Bridge and the hike up the other side along the river to the falls challenging. But the breathtaking view of the dramatic falls when we got up to the precipice was so worth the effort. Our fatigue was rewarded afterwards with a nice cold beer and nice lunch at the home of Meseret where we enjoyed the view of the magnificent gorge and learned about Ethiopian cuisine. On the way back down we stopped at the ‘Cool Bar and Restaurant’ a roadside shanty for the traditional coffee ceremony and delicious coffee. I enthusiastically recommend this exhilarating experience and these engaging informed and fun guides.

Biruk was amazing; kind and knowledgeable. He was flexible and adapted tour to my interests. He was open to talking about Ethiopia but also music, food, life in general. As a solo female traveler having the guide and driver made the day very easy and pleasant. Biruk was also good at taking photos. Highly recommend. Very organized and professional.

We had a wonderful time on this tour. It was fun, well organized, and a great way to experience Addis Ababa and learn about Ethiopia’s history and culture.A special mention to our guide, Abe. He is extremely knowledgeable and really knows his stuff. His understanding of Ethiopian history and culture made every stop much more interesting, and he was always happy to explain things and answer our questions.Abe was also friendly, patient and made the whole experience comfortable and enjoyable for our family.I would definitely recommend this tour, and if you get the opportunity, ask for Abe as your guide!

We watched a YouTube video of Gashaw doing a transit tour of Addis Ababa, and decided that's exactly what we wanted to do during our layover. However, we landed at 2:30pm in the afternoon and that meant it's almost 4pm by the time we got around to clear immigration, took the shuttle bus to the Skylight hotel and got a room. We were not sure how much of the city we could see before it got dark, and then it started raining and that probably meant it's only going to be a driving tour, and the traffic getting out of the hotel was horrific.But Gashaw made good use of every minute, we never imagined we could see and experience so much of the city in the limited time we had. We first drove by an area with lots of Chinese supermarkets and restaurants, we had not realized there were so many Chinese doing business in Ethiopia. Then the rain subsided and Gashaw took us to the Entoto Park up in the mountain, and we marveled at the panoramic view of the huge city below. There were some mushroom-shaped structures, and they look like the supertrees in the Garden By The Bay in Singapore, and Gashaw joked welcome to Singapore. We then took some photos and videos of the "E HIOPIA" sign, and also the Covid-19 memorial monument.We then came back down to the city, and Gashaw pointed to us a lot of the blue and white Soviet manufactured cars we passed by, also known as Blue donkeys. These cars were used as taxis but were also getting phased out with more modern vehicles. We then made a coffee stop at Tomoca Coffee, the oldest coffee shop in Addis Ababa which opened in 1953. We had the signature coffee, Italian expresso made with local Arabica beans and they were so good. We bought two bags of coffee beans to bring back as sovenirs.Then came the most intense part of the tour, a visit to the Addis Merkato, Africa's largest open-air marketplace. The streets around the market were packed with people, goods and cars. We certainly appreciated Gashaw's driving us into the heart of the market, and there's simply no better way to see what everyday lives of the working class are like in Addis. The porters were walking amazingly fast and carrying heavy loads of goods on their heads, but it's the loading of goods onto trucks that would take it to a next level. Heavy and big sacks or boxes were passed from one worker to another onto the trucks and got piled up like building a house, and the trucks would not move till floors high of goods were stacked.We then moved to the modern part of the city and drove by the impressive Tiglachin Monument, a tall pillar monument topped with a red star. The monument honors the Ethiopian and Cuban soldiers who fought for Ethiopia during the Ogaden War between Ethiopia and Somalia. We also saw several new landmarks in the city, including the tallest building in Addis, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia. It has a glass and steel facade with jagged crystalline angles, which creates a stunning rippling visual effect ! Then there's the giant ring statue at the Ghion Riverside fountain. The urban transformation of the city is simply massive.Our last stop for the evening was the Friendship Park. It's a very nice park in the heart of Addis Ababa, and many couples came here for taking wedding photos. Gashaw took us uphill to a spot in the park with magnificent skyline view. And the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia building really stood out when it's lit up in green, yellow and red, the Ethiopia flag color. Then the water fountain show that combined music and dancing water jets in vibrant lights started, and we took a stroll down to the fountain plaza, joining the many families and tourists there to enjoy the show.We drove through the Bole neighborhood on our return to the hotel, it's a busy, modern and luxurious part of Addis with shopping malls, restaurants, coffee shops, bars, etc. It's such a big contrasts to the hustle and bustle of the market. We had such a blast touring Addis Ababa with Gashaw, and Gashaw scheduled all the stops cleverly to allow us to experience both the daytime and nightime scenery of the city.There are of course a lot more to see in Addis Ababa, and we would certainly want Gashaw to take us to the places we missed in this short layover, as well as other parts of the country on our next trip to Ethiopia.

Thanks so much Mr Teshome We had a really good outing, you have an excellent knowledge of Ethiopia. He was super-helpful, great conversationalist and listens to understand.

Teshome was perfect. The timing was not. It was foggy so we couldn't really see the city from Entoto. All if the churches were closed for renovation or prayer. The National Museum was also closed- because it was Monday. The electricity was off at the Ethno Museum. And it was fasting time during our visit. Teshome still did his best to give us a great tour despite the circumstances. He was very knowledgeable about the city and the museum exhibits. We learned a lot about the city and were able to use this knowledge to better arrange our schedule for the rest of the week.Thanks Teshome!!

Very well organized tour, perfectly on time, the guide was very good and very helpful, and Mr. Barch was very good. I absolutely recommend it

This tour was the highlight of our trip! We felt extremely safe and comfortable. We started off at the monastery, then we saw the baboons. Then we saw the Portuguese bridge and waterfalls and had a delicious lunch with a beautiful view. It was a nice, relaxing way to get out of the city. Our guide Barch was great, he went above and beyond to give us a perfect day.

I had an amazing tour with our guide, Semere, and our driver, Surafuel! Thank you!If you have the time while visiting Addis, I really recommend booking this tour so that you can see outside of the capital. Amazing scenery, especially around the Portuguese Bridge. You really do miss out on the beautiful nature in Ethiopia if you stay in Addis. It's a long drive (about 2 and a half hours both ways), but the journey is part of the adventure, and the van was comfortable. Great company as our tour was all solo travellers. I felt completely safe the entire trip.We saw the monastery, which is extremely interesting, and you learn a lot about the history of the Orthodox Christian church in Ethiopia. We then went to the Portuguese Bridge, and had a bit of a hike up to see the view of the Gorge and waterfalls. Amazing! And we were the only ones around. We then got lunch (traditional food) at a nearby spot with an amazing view, and stopped again for a coffee ceremony. Great day and great company!

Very very good guide and drive I recommend this tour Excellent excellent excellent excellent experience

If you want a real Ethiopian local experience, take this tour—it's a must. Be prepared for the best local tour. My guide, Gashaw, was highly knowledgeable and able to explain in thorough detail the history of Ethiopia and answer all my questions. I was treated to a local meal, a coffee ceremony, and a nice walk in the biggest African market. I was given a wide cultural variety to experience and I am very grateful to have met my guide and experienced this trip. Thank you.

My guide Biruk was very knowledgeable, fun, and flexible and had great taste in music! We had a lovely day exploring Addis. It was also great having a driver who could easily drop and pick us up from various points. Would highly recommend. Especially for solo travelers.

I had a great 1-day tour of Addis Ababa with Zele who took me to museums and various sites across the city. He did not just drop me off at the museums - he provided a guided tour of each place tailored to what I was interested in. During the drive I shown various monuments and heard stories of the city and country's history. In the middle of the tour they took me to an authentic coffee ceremony and ethiopian lunch. Near the end they took me to a few boutique shops to find the perfect gifts for my family - and later - I saw that the prices and quality were much better than I could achieve at the airport (or going to the local market). I would highly recommend their tour to both solos, couples, and famillies.

Biruk was an excellent guide for a day tour around Addiss. Very knowledgeable about the city and history of the country. He had planned our day but was very happy to adjust the tour to include things I wanted to do and see. Would highly recommend to anyone visiting Addis Ababa! 5 stars!

This was a great tour through various sites in Addis Ababa. Teshome is an excellent guide and he answered all my questions throughout the day. Teferi was the driver and he was very helpful. Highly recommended!