Why visit Negēlē
Townapedia lists 1 place to stay in and around town.
Weather in Negēlē
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Negēlē
Negele Borana (Amharic: ነጌሌ ቦረና) is a town and separate woreda in southern Ethiopia. Located on the road connecting Addis Ababa to Moyale, it is the capital of the newly-established East Borana Zone of the Oromia Region. Negelle Borana is the largest city traditionally inhabited by the Borana Oromo. It has a latitude and longitude of 5°20′N 39°35′E with an altitude of about 1,475 meters above sea level.
From the Wikipedia article Negele Borana (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where to stay1
Gas and EV charging1
History
The town of Negele Borana was founded in the early 20th century; the Swedish doctor F. Hylander described it in 1934 as an "Amhara new settlement and fortress with palisades", which was "the farthest outpost towards Jubbaland".
At the beginning of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War from 4 October 1935, Negele Borana served as the headquarters of Ras Desta Damtew. The Italians subjected the town to frequent bombing raids. The Italians under General Rodolfo Graziani captured the town shortly after their victory at the Battle of Ganale Dorya, which further weakened the southern Ethiopian defenses.
The town was occupied by the British Gold Coast Brigade on 27 March 1941, who had pushed north from Dolo. The British colonial unit found that the Italians had abandoned the settlement 10 days before they arrived, and in the time between the buildings had been looted and destroyed by the neighboring Borena Oromo. By the time David Buxton visited Negele Borana in 1943, he found that a battalion of the Ethiopian Army had garrisoned this "half-built Italian settlement".
From the History section of Negele Borana on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Map of Negēlē
2 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Negele Borena Abageda Airport (EGL) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 14 km away.
- Shakiso 90 km northwest, 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
- Negele Airport, Chinpr, CC BY-SA 3.0
Page built November 4, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us or suggest a place.