Oromia Region · Ethiopia
Bishoftu travel guide
Bishoftu is a city in Oromia Region, Ethiopia, home to about 207,000 people.
- Best months
- October to April
- Nearest airport
- ADD32 km · Addis Ababa Bole International Airport
- Currency
- ETBbir
- Time zone
- Africa/Addis Ababa
- Language
- Amharic
About
About Bishoftu
Bishoftu (Oromo: Bishooftuu; Amharic: ደብረ ዘይት) is a city in central Ethiopia. Located in central Oromia Region, it sits at an elevation of 1,920 metres (6,300 ft).(It is a name derived from the Bible and refers to a location east of Jerusalem's Old City separated by the Kidron Valley).
Bishoftu is on the road from Addis Ababa to Adama. Being close to the capital and containing several lakes, it is a popular getaway destination for Ethiopians and tourists alike.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Bishoftu
See
There are at least five small lakes in Bishoftu. Bishoftu Lake is the closest to the main road and has a few resorts located on its rim, with good views of the lake. The other lakes are Lake Hora (a base for watersports, many water birds and an annual festival), Lake Bishoftu Guda, Lake Koriftu and the seasonal Lake Cheleklaka. Nearby points of interest include Mount Yerer, and Green Crater Lake.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of Bishoftu to stay in
The main road has many hotels. On Bishoftu Lake's rim there are a couple of resorts.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Bishoftu
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Bishoftu are October to April. March is the warmest month, with average highs of 27 °C; August is the wettest, with about 263 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 Bishoftu: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD), about 32 km from the city centre in a straight line.
Getting in
Buses leave regularly from Addis Ababa's Kality bus station, at the south of the city and 10 km from downtown (1/5 of the distance to Bishoftu), inconvenient to reach by public transportation and expensive by taxi, but there likely may be services from other, more conveniently located bus terminals around the city - ask locally, e.g. in the place where you're staying in Addis, about the best option from that location. Bishoftu has a station on the Addis Ababa – Djibouti Railway.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
ADD · Addis Ababa Bole International Airport
Questions
Bishoftu: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Bishoftu?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Bishoftu are October to April. March is the warmest month, with average highs of 27 °C; August is the wettest, with about 263 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Bishoftu?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD), about 32 km from the city centre in a straight line.
What currency is used in Bishoftu?
bir (ETB).
Nearby
Destinations near Bishoftu
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.