What's on in Gondar, Ethiopia through the year

Peak crowds — Genna, Timkat at Fasilides' Bath

• Festival

  Genna

  6–8 JanChristmas & New YearCrowded

  Ethiopian Christmas on 7 January, kept with an all-night service and the end of the Advent fast. It is the quieter of the town's two January occasions, and a fortnight later everything doubles in price. Source ↗

• Festival

  Timkat at Fasilides' Bath

  18–20 JanMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  The stone bath below the castle is filled for the one morning of the year, and when the water is blessed the crowd goes in over the walls. This is the country's best-known Epiphany and beds are gone months ahead. Source ↗

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in February.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in March.

Busy — Fasika, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Fasika

  5 Apr – 5 May · usuallyEaster & Holy WeekCrowded

  Orthodox Easter closes eight weeks of fasting with a midnight service and a long meal after it. It follows the Orthodox calendar, so it usually falls a week or more later than the Western date. Source ↗

Busy — Fasika, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Fasika (5 Apr – 5 May (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in June.

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in July.

Quiet — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in August.

Busy — Enkutatash, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Enkutatash

  11–12 SepNational holidayCrowded

  Ethiopian New Year, at the end of the rains, when the yellow meskel daisies are out on the hillsides and children go door to door singing. A family day more than a spectacle. Source ↗

• Festival

  Meskel

  26–28 SepMajor festival

  A demera bonfire is built in the square and lit on the eve of the 27th, with priests circling it in procession. It marks the end of the rains and the start of the season the roads to Simien are reliable. Source ↗

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in October.

Busy — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in November.

Busy — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in December.