Why visit Gimbi
Townapedia lists 1 place to eat in and around town.
Weather in Gimbi
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Gimbi
Gimbi (ጊምቢ) is a town in western Oromia Region, Ethiopia. Located in the West Welega Zone, it has a latitude and longitude of 9°10′N 35°50′E with an elevation between 1845 and 1930 meters above sea level. It is the administrative center of Gimbi woreda. The area gets an average of about 1,500 millimeters of rainfall each year, with places like Gimbi receiving over 2,800 millimeters annually.
From the Wikipedia article Gimbi (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Restaurants and cafes1
Churches and places of worship1
History
According to d’Abbadie, Gimbi was named after a king. It first appeared on the 1903 map by Hughes Leroux as Mount G. The town was likely founded in the 1910s and initially served as a gébbi (administrative center) for the local Oromo Leeqaa under the rule of Gäbrä Égziýabéher Moroda.
An Ethiopian Orthodox church was built in Gimbi around 1895. By the 1930s, Gimbi was one of the most important markets of Welega Province and a meeting point of roads. The extension of the main road to Nekemte had not yet reached as far as Gimbi by 1935.
A school for the blind was opened in Gimbi by the Western Synod of the Mekane Yesus Church in 1971. However, by 1981 all Evangelical churches in the neighboring region were closed, except the one in the town itself.
Seventh Day Adventist Churches, and Schools, have been serving the city. The Seventh Day Adventist Hospital was the first hospital in Gimbie and was founded in 1947. More recently a government hospital called Gimbie Public Hospital was established. The operational budget of this hospital is government subsidized.
The Oromia TV sub-station and the Gimbi Campus of Wollega University were opened by Regional president Abadula Gemeda 23 February 2009. In June 2022 the Oromo Liberation Front besieged the town and heavy gunfire was reported.
From the History section of Gimbi on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Map of Gimbi
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Getting there and nearby towns
Nejjo Airport (NEJ) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 58 km away.
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.