Sudan
Kassala travel guide
Kassala is a city in Sudan, home to about 536,000 people.
- Nearest airport
- KSL10 km · Kassala Airport
- Currency
- SDGSudanese pound
- Time zone
- Africa/Khartoum
- Language
- Arabic, English
About
About Kassala
Kassala (Arabic: كسلا, Tigrinya: ከሰላ) is the capital of the state of Kassala in eastern Sudan. In 2003 its population was recorded to be 530,950.
Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Kassala
See
The souqs are lively and colourful, with many people dressed in clothes unique to their tribe.
- Tomb of Seyyid Hassan
Do
- Taka Mountains Nature Preserve
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of Kassala to stay in
Two of the best hotels in Kassala are the Hipton. Others include the Safa, Bashir, andTotil. They are all located in the streets behind the Mowgif al-'Aam bus station. Some foreigners don't get a choice where they stay, as the security police will escort them to a particular place, usually one of the ones mentioned above. Cheaper places like the many basic lakondas (courtyards filled with beds) sometimes won't accept foreigners.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Kassala
Kassala has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. May is the warmest month, with average highs of 42 °C; August is the wettest, with about 107 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 Kassala: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Kassala Airport (KSL), about 10 km from the city centre in a straight line.
Getting in
Buses leave Kassala for Khartoum (7 hours), Gedaref (3 hours) and Port Sudan (7 hours). The better bus companies tend to get booked up early, so if you want a comfortable journey book tickets a few days in advance. Otherwise, turn up at the bus station and take one of the more ramshackle options. Smaller buses and minibuses head to destinations around Kassala, like Halfa al-Jadida, Khashm al-Ghirba and Aroma. You need a permit to enter Kassala, and these are checked thoroughly at the entrance to the city, just before arriving at the bus station.
Getting around
Souq ash-Sha'abi is Kassala's bus station, just off the main Khartoum-Port Sudan highway and quite a distance from the centre of town. Local buses and taxis meet most bus arrivals. Al-Mowgif al-'Aam is the central bus station, a large square in the middle of the souqs.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
KSL · Kassala Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Kassala
Eat
Fuul (mashed fava beans) is the main dish found in Kassala, and there are lots of fuul stalls around. The best ones are between the Souq an-Niswaan and Hotel Hipton, where the fuul is mixed with ta'amiya, cheese, tuna or egg, and topped with sesame oil, garlic and a herb called shumaar. At-Tabaq as-Souri on the main square is a good place for sandwiches and shawarma. They also serve baklava and other sweets, and is one of the only cafes in Kassala where local women eat.
Drink
Kassala is famous for its coffee (jebbana), spiced with ginger (zinjabil) and cinnamon (girfa') and served in a clay coffee pot, with incense and popcorn on the side. The best place for the full treatment is at one of the cafes on the slopes of Totil mountain. Otherwise, Kassala is full of tea stalls, where coffee is served in smaller coffee pots made from recycled Pif-Paf cans.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Kassala: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Kassala?
Kassala has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. May is the warmest month, with average highs of 42 °C; August is the wettest, with about 107 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Kassala?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Kassala Airport (KSL), about 10 km from the city centre in a straight line.
What currency is used in Kassala?
Sudanese pound (SDG).
Nearby
Destinations near Kassala
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.