Bahir Dar

Short description of Bahir Dar

Bahir Dar sits on the southern shore of Lake Tana, the largest lake in the country and the source of the Blue Nile, on avenues lined with palms that make it the mildest town on the northern circuit. Around twenty monasteries stand on the islands and on the wooded Zege peninsula, several of them medieval and several still closed to women. Papyrus boats are in daily use on the water. The Blue Nile leaves the lake here and drops over a wide fall downstream. A scheduled ferry works north across the lake twice a week.

AI edited

Recommended length of stay

Travel seasons at a glance

Best time to visit: October – February

• Jan
• Feb
• Mar
• Apr
• May
• Jun
• Jul
• Aug
• Sep
• Oct
• Nov
• Dec

All highlights and sights

1. The boat tour to the Zege peninsula
2. Ura Kidane Mehret monastery
3. The Blue Nile Falls at Tis Abay (August - September)(Day trip)
4. Azwa Maryam monastery on Zege
5. The view from Bezawit hill over the Nile outflow
6. Hippos at the mouth of the Blue Nile
7. Entos Eyesu island monastery
8. Kebran Gabriel monastery
9. The lakeside fish and produce market
10. Papyrus boat builders on the Zege shore
11. A walk through the Zege coffee forest
12. Pelicans and fish eagles along the shore
13. Narga Selassie church on Dek island(Day trip)
14. Daga Estifanos and its mummified emperors(Day trip)
15. The two day ferry north to Gorgora(Multi-day trip)

Ways to get there and away

Airports nearby:

• BJR Bahir Dar Airport (Bahir Dar) · 7.7 km west(recommended)
• GDQ Gondar Airport (Azezo) · 103 km north

Seaport:

Reachable by ship or ferry

Map view

Distances

More travel destinations in Ethiopia

• Addis Ababa
• Aksum
• Lalibela
• Jinka
• Gondar
• Simien Mountains
• Danakil Depression
• Harar
• Bale Mountains
• Arba Minch
• Bishoftu
• Debre Libanos