Ethiopia
Harar
The walled city where men feed wild hyenas by hand every night, and a medieval Islamic town unlike anywhere else in Ethiopia.
Harar is the walled Muslim city of eastern Ethiopia, set on a hilltop in the Hararghe highlands and long revered as a centre of Islamic learning in the Horn of Africa. Inside the Jugol, its old walls, a tight maze of lanes packs in mosques, shrines, painted Harari houses and loud, colourful markets. After dark the city's other fame takes over: the hyena men who feed wild hyenas by hand just outside the gates. It is intense, a little gritty and unlike anywhere else in the country.
Suggested stay
2–3 days
Language
Amharic
Currency
ETB
Timezone
UTC+3
Why you'll love Harar
The Jugol barely a square kilometre of walled lanes, mosques and shrines, still lived in the way it has been for centuries
The hyena men wild hyenas called by name and fed by hand at nightfall, the evening ritual Harar is famous for
A different Ethiopia Muslim, Harari-speaking and looking towards the Horn and Arabia rather than the Christian highlands
Coffee and colour the coffee that carries the city's name, woven baskets, spice stalls and brightly painted doorways
Best time to visit
Jun, Oct-Mar
25-27° days
9.312° N, 42.128° E
UTC+3 · Africa/Addis Ababa
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Weather & when to go to Harar
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best Jun, Oct-Mar
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Harar
No bad season: high on its plateau, Harar stays mild all year. The rains bring afternoon storms mainly in Apr-May and Jul-Sep, and the real heat is on the lowland approach around Dire Dawa rather than in town. During Ramadan the old town slows down by day and comes alive after dark.
Top things to do in Harar
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Harar hyena men - feeding the hyenas at nightfall
culture arts nature wildlife 👍 PopularAfter dark, just outside the walls, the hyena men call wild spotted hyenas out of the gloom and feed them scraps of meat, sometimes from a stick held in the mouth. Visitors can take a turn, and the animals come close enough to touch.
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The Jugol - walk the walled old city
history culture arts ⭐ Highly recommendedEnter through Harar Gate and lose yourself in a warren of narrow alleys, with some 80 mosques and over 100 shrines packed inside the walls. Walk the circuit of the gates, then wander inwards past whitewashed and pastel-painted compounds.
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Rimbaud House - the poet's museum
history culture arts 👍 PopularA grand merchant's house with painted ceilings and coloured glass, now a museum to Arthur Rimbaud, who traded coffee and goods from Harar in the 1880s. He almost certainly never lived in this house, but its old photographs of the city are the real treasure.
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Harari houses - inside a traditional home
culture arts history ⭐ Highly recommendedBehind plain courtyard walls, Harari homes open into a main room of raised carpeted platforms, with wall niches hung with woven baskets and enamel bowls. Several families show visitors their homes, usually arranged through a guide.
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Harar's markets - spices, baskets and kites
shopping culture arts 👍 PopularThe old town and the streets around its gates are one long market of spices, cloth, incense, baskets and household goods. At the meat market, black kites wheel overhead and swoop for scraps, one of the city's most memorable sights.
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Grand Mosque and Emir Nur's tomb - the holy heart of the Jugol
history culture artsThe Grand Mosque anchors the centre of the old town, and nearby stands the domed tomb of Emir Nur, who raised the city walls in the 16th century. Both are places of worship and pilgrimage, best seen with a guide and respectful dress.
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Harar coffee - drink it where it grows
food culture artsHarar gives its name to one of Ethiopia's most famous coffees, sun-dried in the surrounding highlands for a fruity, winey cup. Drink it in old-town cafes or at a traditional coffee ceremony, roasted, ground and brewed in front of you.
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Sherif Harar City Museum - the city in objects
historyA private collection built up by a local collector, gathering Harari manuscripts, coins, weapons, jewellery, clothing and household objects. It is the best single place to understand the old emirate and its trade.
Best areas to stay in Harar
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Jugol (the walled old town)
Old-town atmosphere $Alleys, mosques and traditional guesthouses
Explore hotels in Jugol (the walled old town) →
New town outside Harar Gate
Hotel comforts $$Main-road hotels beyond the walls
Explore hotels in New town outside Harar Gate →
Dire Dawa
Fly-in base $$Railway city below the escarpment
Explore hotels in Dire Dawa →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Harar
Getting to & around Harar
Getting there
Fly from Addis Ababa to Dire Dawa, then about an hour by road up into the hills to Harar
Flight
Aba Tenna Dejazmach Yilma International Airport (Dire Dawa) (DIR)
Most visitors fly in from Addis Ababa, then take a contract taxi or hotel pickup, or a shared minibus from Dire Dawa town, on the winding climb to Harar in about an hour.
Coach
Harar bus station
Long-distance buses from Addis Ababa take a full day on the eastern highway through the Chercher highlands
Drive
Most overland visitors come with a hired car and driver from Addis Ababa, a long day east, often breaking the journey or pairing it with Awash National Park
Getting around
Walk
The Jugol's lanes are too narrow for cars, so the old town is explored entirely on foot
Free
Bajaj
Blue three-wheelers buzz around the new town and the roads outside the walls; agree the fare before setting off
TBC
Minibus
Shared minibuses run to Dire Dawa, Haramaya, Aweday and Babile, leaving when full
TBC
Day trips from Harar
Dire Dawa
Full dayRailway city
A city that grew up around the railway from Djibouti, with a French-built station, shaded colonial streets and the busy Kafira market. It feels flat, hot and orderly after Harar's tangle of lanes.
Getting there
bus | car
About 1 hr by minibus or car down the escarpment
Babile and the Valley of Marvels
Half dayRock formations, camel market
The road east passes Babile, known for its camel market, and the Dakata valley, a landscape of giant balanced boulders and rock towers. Warning: travel advisories cover this road, which heads towards the Somali region. Check your government's current advice before going, and go with a local driver or guide.
Getting there
car | bus
About 1 hr east by car or minibus
Aweday
Half dayKhat market town
The trading hub for the khat grown across the Hararghe hills, where bundles of the leaf change hands in huge volumes before heading on to Djibouti and Somalia. Loud, chaotic and a revealing look at the region's economy.
Getting there
bus | car
About 30 min west by minibus or car
A little history of Harar
Harar grew up as a Muslim trading town between the Ethiopian highlands and the ports of the Gulf of Aden. In 1520 it became the capital of the Adal Sultanate, and from here Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi launched the war that overran much of Christian Ethiopia in the 1530s. His successor Emir Nur ibn Mujahid enclosed the city in the Jugol walls, and from 1647 Harar ruled itself as an independent emirate, minting its own coins and closed to outsiders.
Richard Burton slipped in disguised in 1855, Egypt occupied the city from 1875, and Arthur Rimbaud traded coffee and guns here in the 1880s. In 1887 Menelik II's forces under Ras Makonnen took Harar into the Ethiopian empire, and Makonnen's son Tafari, the future Haile Selassie, was born nearby and later governed it. The railway from Djibouti bypassed the hilltop for Dire Dawa in 1902, which helped preserve the old town. The Jugol was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2006.
Harar becomes the capital of the Adal Sultanate
Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi defeats the Ethiopian army at Shimbra Kure
Emir Nur ibn Mujahid builds the Jugol walls
The independent Emirate of Harar is founded
Richard Burton becomes the first European known to enter the city
Arthur Rimbaud arrives to work as a trader
Menelik II's forces under Ras Makonnen take Harar
Tafari Makonnen, the future Haile Selassie, is born near Harar
The Jugol is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Know before you go
Payment
Cash preferred
English
Limited
Wifi
Limited
Power
Type C / F / G
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+251
Mobile network & SIM card
Get an eSIM before you fly
A Ethiopia eSIM installs in minutes and works the moment you switch off flight mode. No SIM swap, no roaming bill.
FAQs about Harar
▸ When is the best time to visit Harar?
The drier months from Oct to Mar, plus Jun, are the most comfortable. Harar sits high enough to stay mild all year, so even the wetter spells in Apr-May and Jul-Sep mostly mean afternoon storms rather than lost days.
▸ Is Harar safe to visit?
The old town is busy and welcoming, and the everyday nuisances are persistent self-appointed guides and pickpockets in crowded markets. Travel advice for eastern Ethiopia changes, and some governments restrict travel in parts of the region, especially towards the Somali border. Roads carry police checkpoints, so keep your passport to hand. Check your own government's current advice before going, and again before any trip east of the city.
▸ How do I get from Addis Ababa to Harar?
The quickest way is a short flight to Dire Dawa and then about an hour by road up to Harar. Overland, buses and hired cars take a long full day on the eastern highway.
▸ Can you really feed the hyenas?
Yes. Each evening the hyena men gather wild hyenas just outside the walls, and visitors can feed them from a stick, held in the hand or, for the brave, in the mouth. Go with a guide or bajaj driver who knows where that night's feeding is.
▸ Do I need a guide in Harar?
Not to walk the lanes, but a licensed local guide makes the Jugol far easier to read, opens doors to Harari homes and shrines, and keeps other would-be guides at bay. Many visitors hire one for the first morning and explore alone after that.
▸ What is khat, and why is everyone chewing it?
Khat is a mildly stimulant leaf grown across the Hararghe hills and chewed socially, especially in the afternoons. It is legal in Ethiopia and central to the local economy, but banned in many other countries, so do not try to take any home.
▸ How many days do I need in Harar?
Two days covers the old town, the museums, the markets and the hyena feeding. A third day adds Dire Dawa or the road east to Babile.
More in Ethiopia
Addis Ababa
Lucy, imperial cathedrals and the slow ritual of Ethiopian coffee in Africa's diplomatic capital.
✓ best Oct-MayGondar
The castle city of Ethiopia's emperors, where seventeenth-century palaces stand in the middle of an everyday highland town.
✓ best Oct-MayLalibela
Eleven medieval churches cut downward into solid rock, and still holding services eight centuries on.
✓ best Oct-May