Goha Hotel

The Goha Hotel, part of the government run chain of hotels, stands at the crest of a hill with a commanding view of the city of Gondar - a city of famously enchanting and mysterious castles. The Hotel consists of four suites and 60 twin bed rooms all with modern conveniences and facilities. There is a good restaurant serving a variety of delicious Western and African inspired cuisine. For your pre- and post- dinner drinks, there are two hotel bars serving great cocktails. The hotel also has a well-equipped laundry facility, standby power generator, landscaped gardens, parking facilities, and a swimming pool, though at times of drought, the pool may be left empty to conserve water.

Gondar was the imperial capital from the 17th to mid-19th centuries, and today visitors can see the imperial compound, with castles still in good condition (some recently restored) and the bath of King Fasilides, where at Timkat (Ethiopian Epiphany) a nearby river is diverted to fill an area the size of a small swimming pool. Worshippers plunge into the cold water in a re-enactment of the baptism of Christ in the River Jordan. Although many of Gondars churches were destroyed during the Mahdist invasion from Sudan in the 1880s, one very fine example, Debre Berhan Selassie, was saved, according to the legend, by a swarm of bees which stung the invaders. The walls and ceiling are completely covered with murals.