Bonga, Ethiopia
ቦንጋ
Bonga is a regional capital of 56,000 people in South West Ethiopia Peoples' Region, Ethiopia.
Why visit Bonga
Townapedia lists 1 museum or landmark, 1 park or trail and 2 places to stay in and around town.
Weather in Bonga
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Bonga
Bonga is a town, woreda and one of the multicapital of the South West Ethiopia Peoples' Region in Ethiopia. Located in the Keffa Zone upon a hill in the upper Barta valley, it has a latitude and longitude of 7°16′N 36°14′E with an elevation of 1,714 meters above sea level. Not confused with another town named "Bonga", near Gambela Region.
From the Wikipedia article Bonga (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Museums and landmarks1
Parks, trails and playgrounds1
Where to stay2
Churches and places of worship3
History
The first European recorded to have visited the capital of the former Kingdom of Kaffa was Antoine Thomson d'Abbadie, who resided for 11 days in the marketplace reserved for Christian traders in 1843. The royal residence at Bonga was not as elegant as those in Gomma, Gera, and Limmu-Ennarea. Capuchin monks founded a mission there in 1845 and discovered some medieval churches which remained as evidence of the early infiltration of Christian influence before the invasion of the Oromo.
When Paul Soleillet visited Bonga in the 1880s, he described its trade as primarily slaves, coffee, civet cat oil, coriander and ivory, the turnover amounting between 200,000 and 300,000 dollars a year. Following the conquest of Kaffa by the generals of Menelik II in 1897, Bonga was deserted; governor Ras Wolde Giyorgis made neighboring Anderaccha his capital.
From the History section of Bonga on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Shopping1
Schools, colleges and libraries1
Healthcare1
Map of Bonga
10 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Jimma Airport (JIM) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 76 km away.
- Wacha 49 km west, about 49 min by car
- Āgaro 77 km northeast, about 1 h 15 min by car
- Jimma 78 km northeast, about 1 h 15 min by car
- Mīzan Teferī 79 km southwest, about 1 h 15 min by car
- Komtikas 84 km southwest, about 1 h 30 min by car
- Tēpī 88 km west, about 1 h 30 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Local news
Headlines from INDB.
Reviews, tips and questions
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Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Page built November 4, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us or suggest a place.