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Ethiopia · Amhara

Dessie: how to get there and around

Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.

OverviewFlightsHotelsTrainsBusesCar rentalTours

Dessie is a city of 270,400 people in Ethiopia (Amhara), 2,494 m (8,182 ft) above sea level.

Key facts

Population270,400
Elevation2,494 m (8,182 ft)
Area15 km²
Time zoneAfrica/Addis_Ababa (UTC+3 now)
CurrencyBirr (ETB)
Dialling code+251
Driving sideRight
Plug typesAC power s and sockets: British and related types, Euro, SN 441011, Schuko, Type E, Type L
UN/LOCODEETDSE
Coordinates11.133, 39.633
Dessie

Open Dessie in Google Maps

Daylight in Dessie runs from about 11 h 31 min a day in late December to 12 h 49 min in late June (computed for 11.13° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.

Getting there

No airport with scheduled passenger service sits within 100 km of Dessie in the OurAirports register, so flying in means a longer transfer from the nearest served city.

Buses to Dessie · Driving and car hire

Nearby cities, and how to get between them

Common questions

How big is Dessie?

About 270,400 people live in Dessie, across 15 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).

What time zone is Dessie in?

Africa/Addis_Ababa, currently UTC+3.

What currency is used in Dessie?

The Birr (ETB). Traffic drives on the right.

Which cities are near Dessie?

Addis Ababa (254 km), Djibouti (386 km), Balbala (382 km), Jijiga (399 km), Gonder (287 km).

Where these facts come from

  • GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
  • Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
  • OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
  • Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines

Data compiled 14 September 2026. Hotel and hostel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.