Skip to content
Mixroutes
Dire Dawa
Autonomous city in eastern Ethiopia

Dire Dawa

Dire Dawa is a city in eastern Ethiopia near the Oromia Region and Oromo border and one of two chartered cities in Ethiopia.

Plan a trip to Dire Dawa→From Jijiga

Dire Dawa alongside present-day Sitti Zone were a part of the Dire Dawa autonomous region of the Somali Region stipulated in the 1987 Ethiopian Constitution until 1993 when it was split by the federal government into a separately administered chartered city.

Get in

Getting to Dire Dawa

  1. 01
    Aba Tenna D

    Ethiopian Airlines flies several times a day, as well as Air Djibouti and a few other smaller airlines of Middle Eastern countries.

  2. 02
    Dire Dawa

    Almost 10 km outside the city centre, in the town of Melka Jebdu.

See

Worth seeing

There isn't a whole lot to see in Dire Dawa. The French-built train station can give you a 19th-century feeling. At night and early in the morning, the Dechatu River Basin has a heart-warming sunset and sunrise scene.

  1. 01
    Palace of Haile Selassie

    A small palace built for former Emperor Haile Selassie.

Do

Things to do

Most of the residents of the city chew the narcotic leaves known as "Chat" (aka qat, khat, catha edulis). In the afternoon, in many places, Dire Dawans sit in circle and consume khat, with several cups of coffee. During this time there could be a heated discussion. Avoid political topics, especially with the Ethiopian Somalis or Somali refugees.

Eat

Where to eat

Paradiso restaurant found on the road to Harar near the edge of town is regarded as the best Italian in town. It is most famous for lasagna and the roasted goat meat with rice. The traditional Ethiopian dishes are also of high quality. Peacock Hotel has some nice ice cream and pool tables.

  1. 01
    Al Hashim Tafach

    Renown throughout the region for its baclava and other baked goods.

How locals move

Getting around Dire Dawa the local way

  • Get inIt rarely takes longer than fifteen minutes for a minibus to be ready to leave.
  • Get aroundThe blue and white minibuses are in abundance in Dire Dawa, as are the small blue bajaji (auto rickshaws).

From Wikivoyage: Dire Dawa, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-03.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.