Maekel Region · Eritrea
Asmara travel guide
Asmara is a city in Maekel Region, Eritrea, home to about 963,000 people.
- Best months
- September to June
- Nearest airport
- ASM5 km · Asmara International Airport
- Currency
- ERNnakfa
- Time zone
- Africa/Asmara
- Language
- Arabic, English, Tigrinya
About
About Asmara
Asmara ( əs-MAHR-ə), or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of 2,325 metres (7,628 ft), making it the sixth-highest capital in the world by altitude and the second-highest capital in Africa.
Electric power is not available throughout the day, although it depends a lot in which part of the city you are and also in which season. In the central part there is power mainly between afternoon and the early morning. So you should charge your phone and camera when you are able to. Power cuts are common, specially in the rainy season so you might be without power for some days in some cases. The internet connection is very slow. Don't expect to be able to do more than receiving and sending emails.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Asmara
See
Asmara's main attraction is its World Heritage listed colonial Italian architecture. The palm-lined main street "Harnet Avenue" is colloquially referred to as "Kombishtato" (a creole of the neighbourhood's original name: Campo Cintato) meaning fenced area. It is full of cafés, bars, shops and old cinemas, and it makes for a nice mile long stroll between the eastern end of this avenue where the "half" stadium is (you'll know when you see half a bleacher) and the western end where the Government palace is. Asmara's colourful and bustling marketplace lies north of the Catholic cathedral. It's a great place to learn how to haggle and buy some souvenirs.
- Asmara Theatre
- Great Mosque of Asmara
- National Museum of Eritrea
- Church of Our Lady of the Rosary
- Enda Mariam Cathedral
Do
If you are in Asmara for a short stay, the best thing to do after you're done sightseeing in this city is to head for the outskirts where the scenery is stunning at the very least. Unless you come from a high altitude area yourself, you may need a couple of days of strolling in Asmara to get your body used to the thin dry air at 2,300 m. Bring lots of sunscreen lotion but also a sweater as it can get really chilly not only at night but even when standing in the shade (temperatures can vary greatly on different sides of the same street depending on the position of the sun).
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in Asmara
2 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Crystal Hotel | 1.9 km | |
| Selam Hotel | 5.4 km |
When to go
The best time to visit Asmara
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Asmara are September to June. June is the warmest month, with average highs of 29 °C; July is the wettest, with about 146 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Asmara: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Asmara International Airport (ASM), about 4.7 km from the city centre in a straight line; Axum Airport (AXU, 133 km) is also within reach.
Getting in
If you are entering the country without a visa, as a holder of an Eritrean ID card in combination with a foreign passport, you are required to register with the Immigration and Nationality office in Asmara within seven business days of entry into the country.
Getting around
Asmara has 10 downtown bus-lines on distinctive Red Mercedes Benz buses, with a sign in the front saying where they're headed (oftentimes in Latin script). The bus stops are easily identifiable (there are signs and an obvious shelter with a bench), but the buses stop running quite early in the evening (about 19:00). They run on 15-30 minute intervals during the day (every day), but there is no fixed or published schedule. The roads get pretty jammed at rush hours (in the morning, midday and around 16:00). The fare is about Nkf 2, and the entrance is in the back where one buys the ticket.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
ASM · Asmara International Airport
AXU · Axum Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Asmara
Drink
Eritrea is not a big wine country, even though it used to have a wine-making tradition during the colonial period. On the other hand, Eritrea is a big beer-drinking country, and the Eritrean beer is definitely a good one. There is only one brewery in the country (Asmara Beer) producing only one type of beer (Pilsner), that's why they don't even need to put a label on the bottle. Asmara Beer is great, quenches your thirsty throat and has a good taste. It has around 5% alcohol per volume and a nice hop flavour in the well known bottle. Nightlife in Asmara is often considered quieter than most other country capitals, but there are a good range of local bars. Prostitution is legal and rife.
Stay safe
Asmara is an extremely safe city, safe enough for a stroll in the middle of the night. Most people are genuinely friendly, without wanting anything in exchange, beggary and "hustling" is not as common as in most other third world countries and neither is tourism. However, homosexuality is illegal and "homosexual activity" can lead to imprisonment; the Eritrean penal system is opaque and the penalties are unclear.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Asmara: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Asmara?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Asmara are September to June. June is the warmest month, with average highs of 29 °C; July is the wettest, with about 146 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Asmara?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Asmara International Airport (ASM), about 4.7 km from the city centre in a straight line; Axum Airport (AXU, 133 km) is also within reach.
What currency is used in Asmara?
nakfa (ERN).
Nearby
Destinations near Asmara
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.