Skip to main content

Things you will love to do in Gondar, Ethiopia

Yesterday I wrote a some general information you would need to be aware of before visiting Ethiopia.

Then I shared some awesome free activities in Addis Ababa.

Today we will be in the small town of Gondar, north-west of Ethiopia. A 12 hour bus ride from Addis Ababa, yes you will not feel your behind by the time you arrive from all the sitting in the bus.

Gondar is a small town rich with Ethiopian history. To truly experience Gondar, you have to visit a few places…

Fasilides' Castle
About 300 metres from the Gondar Piazza is the Castle, you can see it from the Piazza but the entrance gates are on the other side so you will walk. Or be nice to some guys riding their horses and hitch a ride. 
To enter the castle will cost you 200 Birr as a tourist, there a much cheaper fee for the Ethiopian nationals. You will need a tour guide if you have real interest in finding out more about the history. I was very interested but I did not have enough money for a guide in my budget.
Unfortunately I have found that, the Ethiopian picturesque ruins are not very well taken care of, there is lack of maintenance in the castle but they are very well protected. Well some of them anyways.
You also won’t find much written about the castles upon entry except the King or prince’s name and his date that he lived in said castle – so that is when the guide would come in handy.

Fasilides Royal Pools
Also known as Fasilides' Bath.
Just outside the town centre there is the royal pools. The pools are drained out except in January when they are filled for the annual ceremony where it is blessed and then opened for bathing to the public. You have free entry into the pools if you have paid entrance to the castle. You just need to produce the receipt you received at the castle.

Debre Birhan Selassie Church
The church is also a walking distance from the Piazza and entrance will cost you 100Birr.
This beautiful church was build by emperor Eyasu II. 
Debre Birhan means “Mountain of light”. This church is among the most important churches in Ethiopia.

The Deshen Beer Garden
Here you can do a tour of the facilities at a price. Not so sure of the price as we went there late in the evening. You can also have lunch and drink the beers on tap at the garden. The beers are dead cheap but the food leave a lot to be desired. 

Gondar Market
The market is not so big and it is also a walking distance from the Piazza. It is about 15minute walk. You will fruit and vegetables, spices, coffees, teas, clothing and also watch the blacksmiths hard at work.

There are a lot of things to do in Gondar, a week would just fly by. These are just some of the things I did and really enjoyed. 


x0x0
#TheSoloWanderer

Labels

Labels:
Location: Gondar, Ethiopia

Popular posts from this blog

Finding Ugandan beer from the source - Nile Special Lager. A 6 day itinerary

November 2019 was the beginning of Africa through beer out of South Africa. Together with SAB World of Beer we ran a competition to encourage South Africans to visit Africas only beer museum in Newtown Johannesburg. The winners got a chance to travel to Uganda with me as their guide discovering the beers in Uganda from the source of the Nile.  I have a 6-day itinerary for your adventures in East Africas adventure capital. The itinerary applies for both affordable and luxury travel.  ***Please note that these amounts shared are merely an estimate and guidelines towards the cost of your travels. View this post on Instagram Country #35 I wont lie, on landing in #Uganda I cried. I just couldnt hold back the tears. Realizing that this dream is my life. My career. I am super grateful for having such an epic job. This week, I will be exploring the Pearl of Africa. There will be dance, food, beer, culture and a l...
Read more

Morocco - A country I am certain to never return to.

Morocco is a North African country characterized by mountain regions, desert, and a lengthy coastline from the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Morocco is a monarchy where the royal family has full control over the government. Rabat is the capital city, but Casablanca is the largest city. Chances are your flights will fly into Casablanca as they have the larger airport and that is cheaper than flying into other airports. Like any other North African country, you will learn or you most probably know about the history of the Arabs in Morocco. Most people assume north Africans are Arabs. There are no Arabs in Africa. There are descendants of Arabs, but Moroccans are the Berber or Amazirgh people. Also, talking about the Amazirgh can offend some people the same way you cannot talk about Western Sahara. 93% of Moroccans are religious and the majority are practicing Sunni Muslims. I spent the last few days of Ramadan in Morocco in 2017, the interesting thing ab...
Read more

Leeuwenhof Lodge x Thesolowanderer Holiday Giveaway Competition Rules/ Terms & Conditions

This Holiday Giveaway (“Competition”) is run by  #Thesolowanderer  (“Promoter”) and is open to all persons of 18 years or older and resident in South Africa, except the employees and their immediate families of Promoter and Leeuwenhof Lodge, advertising and promotion agencies, associated companies, and staff.  These rules may be amended by notification at any time during the Competition and will be interpreted by Promoter only. Participation by all entrants (“Participants”) constitutes acceptance of these rules.  This Competition will be run on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The Competition will run from 25 October 2020 to 31 October 2020 (“Competition Period”). The winners will be announced by 15 November 2020. Winners will be notified via their social media platform of choice used to enter the competition.  There is a two-night holiday getaway for a couple to be won to the value of R10 000 at the end of the Competition Period.  To enter, Participants m...
Read more