Gondar

Get around

The blue and white minibuses run through the city efficiently. There are also some horse drawn taxis called garis. Both are inexpensive. You can contract a small blue coloured taxi for a day or several days during your visit. Tuktuks/bajajs (three-wheeled motor vehicles) are ubiquitous and inexpensive: rides around the city shouldn't cost more than 10 birr -and often should be substantially less- during the day time, and no more than ~25 birr at night (Jan 2015).

See

thumb|Debre Birhan Selassie: 17th-18th century wall paintings

Fasilides' Castle (Fasil Gemb), built in 1640. Iyasu's Palace, the home of Iyasu I, emperor from 1682 to 1706, the son of Yohannes I and grandson of Fasil. An earthquake and bombings by the British destroyed its once ornate and lavish interior, but the structure remains mostly intact and is the largest in the compound. Dawit's Hall, built by Dawit III, emperor from 1716 to 1721 and son of Iyasu. Mentewab's Palace, belonging to Mentewab, empress from 1723 to 1730, the wife of Emperor Bakaffa, Dawit's brother.

Do

Timkat festival, Epiphany, 19 January. Christian celebration with re-enactments of baptism and dancing.

Buy

Dashen Bank & Awash Bank has ATMs that accept Mastercard & Visa cards all over the town, one of them at the university.

There is a fairly large market in Gondar, near the bus station, where you can find clothes, spices, etc.

Drink

The pure tej (without sugar - only from honey), tela (korefe, tiru) are the local famous drinks. They are also common throughout Ethiopia, particularly in the Amhara region, although there is some sugar. Factory beers of all kinds are found. It is very common to get Dashen Beer, as Dashen Brewery is in Gondar.

There are bars and clubs with music and dancing on the street running down the slope from Walia Ibex roundabout (with a statue of an ibex in the centre) towards Atse Tewodros Square. The Walya club is on the corner of the ibex roundabout; down the slope there are the Balageru, the Atse Bakafa and others.

Sleep

Prices start at 20 birr for very basic rooms. Timkat in Gondar is the one time and place in Ethiopia when you might really struggle to find a room

Meat house is a bar, brothel, butcher, restaurant and hotel with a charming atmosphere. Only 20 birr a night. Roman Hotel. From 60 birr (single self-contained), no water, excellent food, meat during Lent.

Stay safe

There is the occasional scam where a tourist prepays a guide for a Simien Mountain trip and the guide is never seen again. Do not pay cash to guides unless they have a shopfront or you have contacted them after receiving a recommendation from a reliable source!

Go next

Bahir Dar – to the south

Simien Mountains are a 3-hour bus journey north of the city. Treks in the mountains can be arranged in Gondar, and you will be approached by many touts offering a wide variety of treks. The advantage of using their services is they may be able to put you in a group of other travellers, which will cut costs, and they can arrange for private transport to and from the park. Tell the touts immediately upon arrival in Gondar that you are looking for a group and they will try to find other tourists. The disadvantage of booking with a tout instead of an agency is that they may put you on a bus to Debark instead of Sankebar (an hour further into the mountains). Make sure you double check with the driver before getting in the car. They can also arrange to drive you to a campsite and pick you up from another, which is useful if you are short of time.

It is also straightforward to arrange everything yourself, and it is certainly cheaper if you aren't splitting the costs with anyone. Debark is the staging point for treks in the Simien Mountains.

Well organised, if expensive, trips to the Simien Mountains can be arranged in Gondar through Seyoum at Explore Abbysinia Travel. His office is underneath the Circle Hotel, facing away from the main road. He can also organise good value guided tours of Gondar, which are worth doing as a guide is effective at warding off unofficial guides and other hassles.

Another option for organized Simien Mountain treks is through …