Safari to Harar

a really inconvenient location

Set high in the mountains above the arid coastal plains, 200 km (120 miles) inland from the port at Djibouti, Harar is an historic mediaeval walled city, said to be the fourth most holy place in the Islamic world and a great centre for religious and scientific learning.

The town has a long and remarkable history as a great trading entrepot and is said to be the birthplace of two famous stimulants, khat and coffee.

It’s also renowned for its high quality handicrafts, including fine weaving and beautifully bound manuscripts. The markets and museums are worth visiting, as are the old city’s many mosques.

Harar is also known as the place where a local man feeds wild spotted hyenas each evening. The animals even take food directly from his mouth.

Unfortunately Harar is rarely included in trips due to its remote location, but can be reasonably easily fitted into a wider exploration of the southeastern quarter of the country.

This area is usually visited as part of a private-guided overland safari, starting in Addis Ababa and exploring the southern parts of the country, including any or all of Awash, Aledeghi, Harar, the Bale Mountains and the Southern Omo Valley, over the course of one or two weeks.

It’s also possible to fly from Addis Ababa to Dire Dawa on the plains below Harar, from where it’s about 50km up the escarpment to the city.

Seasonality

Harar has a subtropical highland climate and is best visited during the Oct-Mar dry season.

Throughout the year mornings are cool to mild, whilst afternoon temperatures are warm to very warm (around 25C/78F) and nights are pleasantly cool (around 13C/57F).

The main rains fall during Apr-Sep, with up to 100mm/4″ per month. That’s pretty high considering how very arid are the surrounding desert plains.

Where to stay

The city of Harar is not blessed with a great selection of good quality accommodation options. The larger hotels are all located in the new town, which isn’t great, so we tend to use the tiny and wonderfully named (in two senses of the word) Rewda Guest-house, which may be simple, but at least it’s at the heart of the old city.

a stop on an overland safari through the south