Weather in Ethiopia

The Ethiopian highlands are best visited during the dry season from October to May. October and November are particularly beautiful, as the rains have just ended, leaving the landscape luminously green, rivers full, and waterfalls at their most spectacular. The Great Ethiopian Run and the Timkat festival in January are cultural highlights worth planning around. The coolest and most comfortable months for hiking the Simien Mountains are November through February, when temperatures are mild and the air is crisp and clear.

The period of June through August is the main rainy season, called Kiremt, when the highlands receive heavy rainfall and many dirt roads become impassable. However, the Omo Valley in the south and the Danakil Depression in the northeast have their own climatic patterns — the Omo is best visited from September to February, while the Danakil is most accessible from October to March before temperatures become life-threatening. The Ethiopian New Year celebration of Enkutatash falls in September at the end of the rains, when yellow Adey Abeba flowers carpet the fields in brilliant color.