When to go · Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa in May
Good month. Warm, drier.
Key facts
- Verdict
- Good
- Temperature
- 24° / 10°
- average high / low
- Rain days
- 8
- Crowds
- Low
- Ethiopia overall
- Prices
- Low
- Ethiopia overall
Verdict
Warm, drier.
Weather in May
- Addis AbabaHighs around 24 °C, lows around 10 °C, rain on about 8 days
- Central highlands, Ethiopia · Addis Ababa, Bishoftu, Bale Mountains, and the northern plateaufine
Mild all year at altitude (days 20–25 °C, cold nights); the big rains (kiremt) run June to September, with short rains around March–April.
Short rains and belg season
Occasional showers, warming days; wildflowers on the hills.
Watch: Afternoon downpours become more frequent through May.
Festivals and holidays
Dates as our data lists them. Moving holidays (lunar and Islamic calendars, Easter) shift every year: check the date for your year before you build a trip on it.
Ethiopian Easter (Fasika) check
Moves yearly, often later than Western Easter · Churches citywide
Preceded by a long fast (no meat or dairy for observant Orthodox Christians); big family meals to break it.
Eid al-Fitr check
Islamic calendar, moves yearly · Mosques citywide, including Anwar Mosque
Public holiday; mosques busy.
Patriots' Victory Day
5 May · Nationwide
Public holiday marking the 1941 liberation from Italian occupation.
Siklet and Fasika (Good Friday and Orthodox Easter) big impact
Apr–May (moves yearly — check; 2 May in 2027) · Ethiopia
End of the 55-day fast; offices close, domestic flights busy.
Crowds and prices
- Crowds · Ethiopia overall
- Low
- Prices · Ethiopia overall
- Low
Ethiopia overall: Hot in the lowlands, rain in the Omo; quiet and cheap in the highlands.
What to pack
- A warm layer for the evenings