Konso, Ethiopia
Konso is a town of 4,593 people in South Ethiopia Regional State, Ethiopia.
Weather in Konso
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Konso
Karati (Karat) is a town in south-western Ethiopia and the capital of the Konso Zone in the new South Ethiopia Regional State (formerly, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region). Situated 20 km north of the Sagan River at an elevation of 1,650 metres (5,410 ft), it is also called Pakawle by some of the neighboring inhabitants. The town and the surrounding villages were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2011 as a cultural landscape for its unique cultural traditions and importance for the Konso people.
From the Wikipedia article Karati (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Travel tips from other travellers: Konso on Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0).
History
Oral traditions of the Konso people suggest that they migrated to the region roughly 400 years ago, which is supported by the number of generations (21) noted since the first ritual chief. In 1897, Menelik II took over the city.
Father Azaïs presented the Waga (wa'kka) statues in 1931. In 1956, Murdock associated the archeological megaliths of the town to a cushitic signature. In Kluckhohn's Markets of Africa published in 1962, the author traces high levels of ancient economic developments in the city. In 1984, Amborn studied the historic labor-intensive agricultural techniques of the region.
The site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on September 30, 1997, due to its purported universal cultural significance and official made a World Heritage Site in 2011. Konso is the first place in Ethiopia recognized as a "cultural landscape".
A permaculture farm, Strawberry Fields Eco-Lodge, was founded in 2007 north of town and works with international volunteers and three local schools to grow food, promote ecotourism, and provide permaculture education.
From the History section of Karati on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Map of Konso
0 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Arba Minch Airport (AMH) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 89 km away.
- Gīdolē 46 km north, about 46 min by car
- Yabēlo 78 km southeast, about 1 h 15 min by car
- Arba Minch 87 km north, 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
Loading what members have shared...
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
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Konso village 02, Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0
Page built November 4, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us or suggest a place.