If you can tear yourself away from the lake, visit the large and lively main market. It’s busiest on Saturday – market day – when people stream into town from nearby villages. The delightful agelgil (goat-skin lunch boxes) are no longer sold in the market – try the craft kiosks near the main mosque – but just about everything else is, and getting lost is half the fun.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Main Mosque

0.37 MILES

Bahir Dar's largest mosque and an important local landmark.

2. St George Church

0.5 MILES

One of the largest churches in Bahir Dar and right next to the water, but it's not a patch on Lake Tana's monasteries.

4. Fish Market

0.59 MILES

There’s a one-table fish market in the mud-hut deacon’s village behind St George’s Church. The catch is brought in by tankwa in the morning and pelicans…

5. Blue Nile Bridge

1.9 MILES

You can only reach the famous outlet of the Blue Nile by boat, but you can get pretty close along the Gonder road, 2km out of town, where a bridge spans…

6. Martyrs Memorial Monument

2.49 MILES

Just past the bridge is a large Martyrs Memorial Monument dedicated to those who died fighting the Derg. Its fountain cascading down to the Blue Nile is…

7. Palace of Haile Selassie

3.13 MILES

Two-and-a-half kilometres south of the Martyrs Memorial, northeast of town, is Bezawit Hill. Its summit holds a former palace of Haile Selassie, which isn…

8. Debre Maryam

3.17 MILES

The original 14th-century (some say 12th-century) church at Debre Maryam was rebuilt by Tewodros in the 19th century. It’s unattractive both outside and…