Can you visit Harar right now?

You can visit Harar right now, but plan it carefully. Harar and nearby Dire Dawa are not under do-not-travel advice. The simplest way there is to fly from Addis Ababa to Dire Dawa and take the short road up to Harar, about 50 km. What needs thought is the ground in between: the road from Dire Dawa passes through a zone some governments warn against, and the long road from Addis crosses areas under warnings too, so this is a trip to fly, not drive, from the capital.

It is worth the effort. Harar's old walled town, Jugol, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a maze of alleys, colourful houses, mosques and shrines, and famous for the hyena men who feed wild hyenas by hand every night. We can book your flights to Dire Dawa and your hotels, and look after your transfers at Bole on the way out and back.

How do you get to Harar?

Fly to Dire Dawa. Ethiopian Airlines flies between Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa, the nearest airport to Harar. From Dire Dawa the road climbs about 50 km from the hot lowlands into the cooler highlands, passing Lake Haramaya, which has filled up again after years of being dry. Travellers usually arrange a private car or go with a local guide; minibuses also run the route.

Don't drive from Addis right now. Harar is around 525 km from Addis Ababa by road, and the route east of Adama towards Awash passes through areas where official advice is against all but essential travel, with attacks on vehicles reported along the main Addis–Djibouti road. Flying avoids all of it.

Fuel shortages have hit road transport in 2026, so build in some slack. Before any trip we check the latest reports from our driver network, and we often hear about changes before they reach the news. We can book your Ethiopian Airlines flights and your hotels in birr, and you pay us one amount in US dollars or your own currency.

What is Harar Jugol?

Jugol is the fortified old town of Harar, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006. Its walls were built between the 13th and 16th centuries, and five historic gates once divided the town into five quarters. Inside the 48 hectares of the old town are 82 mosques, three of them dating back to the 10th century, and 102 shrines. Harar is often called the fourth holy city of Islam.

The alleys are too narrow for cars, so you explore on foot. Look out for traditional Harari townhouses with their decorated interiors, Indian-influenced merchants' houses built after 1887, and the house linked to the French poet Arthur Rimbaud, now a museum. Harari, the town's own Semitic language, is still spoken here, and the town has kept its crafts and traditions.

How does the Harar hyena feeding work?

Spotted hyenas have lived alongside Harar for centuries, clearing the town's scraps. Regular hand-feeding began in the mid-20th century; one well-known account credits Yusuf Mume Saleh, a local farmer, with starting it, and his son Abbas Yusuf still keeps the nightly ritual going as one of Harar's hyena men.

• When: every evening after dark, when the hyenas come to the edge of town.
• Where: at feeding sites just outside the old city walls, including one near Erer Gate. Your guide or hotel will know where the hyena men are that night.
• What happens: the hyena man feeds the animals scraps of meat by hand, or from a stick held in his teeth. Visitors are usually invited to feed them too.
• Cost: agree a fee with the guide or hyena man in advance.
• Once a year: on one special night, residents feed the hyenas porridge, and how much they eat is read as a sign for the year ahead.

These are wild animals. Follow the hyena man's lead, keep hands and food where he tells you, and don't wander off in the dark afterwards; go back with your guide or driver.

What else can you do in Harar?

• Walk the alleys and gates of Jugol with a local guide, who can explain the shrines and take you into a traditional house.
• Browse the markets in and around the old town.
• Drink Harar coffee: the area is one of Ethiopia's historic coffee names, and coffee has deep roots here.
• Stop at Lake Haramaya on the road from Dire Dawa, where boating and fishing have returned.
• Spend a night in a traditional guesthouse inside the walls for the full atmosphere.

What should you know before you go?

• Harar is a devout Muslim town: dress modestly, ask before photographing people, and be respectful around mosques and shrines, especially during Ramadan.
• There is no or low malaria risk in Addis Ababa, but there is risk in many areas below 2,500 m, which includes Harar and Dire Dawa. Ask a travel clinic.
• Dire Dawa is much hotter than Addis; Harar is milder.
• Two or three nights lets you see the old town by day and the hyenas by night without rushing.