Hāgere Hiywet, Ethiopia
አምቦ
Hāgere Hiywet is a town of 99,900 people in Oromiya, Ethiopia.
Why visit Hāgere Hiywet
Townapedia lists 1 park or trail, 3 places to stay and 1 attraction in and around town.
Highlights include Ambo University.
Weather in Hāgere Hiywet
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Hāgere Hiywet
Ambo (Oromo: Amboo, Amharic: አምቦ) is a town in west-central Ethiopia. Located in the West Shewa Zone of Oromia Region, west of Addis Ababa, it is the capital city of West Shewa zone. This town has a latitude and longitude of 8°59′N 37°51′E and an elevation of 2,101 meters.
From the Wikipedia article Ambo, Ethiopia (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Things to do1
Ambo University
School · 0.8 km
University in Oromia Region, Ethiopia
Parks, trails and playgrounds1
Where to stay3
Schools, colleges and libraries1
History
After Lij Iyasu was captured, he was held for a while at Ambo, before being transferred to house arrest at Fiche. In the early 1930s, Mahtama Selassie Walda Mesqal, who had studied agriculture in France and Spain, started an agricultural station near the town. By 1933, Ambo had started to be a recreation place with the construction of some bath cabins with cisterns of concrete, and a couple of European-type hotels, as well as simple villas for the Emperor and important persons.
By 1938, the Guida dell'A.O.I. described improvements to Ambo which included a post office, telephone service, a clinic for outpatients, restaurants, and a projected hotel. Two Italian forts were constructed, and in a cave the Italians had erected a monument for casualties of the Pusteria Division. The approach to Ambo was still over an old bridge, and below it a natural bridge used by caravans.
When the Allies reached Ambo with a South African armored car patrol in early 1941, they had to evacuate 140 "utterly panicked Italians". The British operated an improvised camp for prisoners-of-war at Ambo until 1942.
From the History section of Ambo, Ethiopia on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Map of Hāgere Hiywet
6 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Fincha Airport (FNH) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 85 km away.
- Guder 10 km west, about 10 min by car
- Gīnch’ī 33 km east, about 33 min by car
- Gēdo 44 km west, about 44 min by car
- Waliso 52 km south, about 52 min by car
- Tulu Bolo 54 km southeast, about 54 min by car
- Ījajī 59 km west, about 59 min by car
- Ādīs ‘Alem 61 km east, about 1 h by car
- Kachīsī 69 km north, about 1 h 15 min by car
- Genet 72 km east, about 1 h 15 min by car
- Welk’īt’ē 78 km south, about 1 h 15 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, landmarks and historic places
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Page built November 4, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us or suggest a place.