World Heritage in Ethiopia

The world heritage in Ethiopia (as of 2016) includes nine UNESCO world heritage sites , including eight world cultural heritage sites and one world natural heritage site. The East African state of Ethiopia ratified the World Heritage Convention in 1977. The rock-hewn churches of Lalibela and the Simien National Park were among the twelve sites in 1978 that were the first to be included in the World Heritage List. As the last World Heritage Site in Ethiopia to date, the Konso cultural landscape was added to the World Heritage List in 2011.

World heritage sites

The following table lists the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in XYZ in chronological order according to the year of their inclusion in the World Heritage List (K - cultural heritage, N - natural heritage, K / N - mixed, (R) - on the Red List of World Heritage in Danger ).

 Map with all coordinates of World Heritage Sites: OSM

image	designation	year	Type	Ref.	description
(more pictures)	Simien National Park ( location )	1978	N	9	between 1996 and 2017 on the Red List of World Heritage in Danger
(more pictures)	Rock-hewn churches of Lalibela ( location )	1978	K	18th	The rock-hewn churches of Lalibela are a collection of eleven churches that were carved into the surrounding red basalt lava as monoliths around the year 1250.
(more pictures)	Fasil Ghebbi in the Gondar region ( location )	1979	K	19th	Fortified city, residence of the Ethiopian Emperor Fasilidas in the 16th and 17th centuries
	Lower Awash Valley ( location )	1980	K	10	Valley on the lower reaches of the Awash River , one of the most important paleontological sites in Africa, where Lucy was found
(more pictures)	Tiya ( location )	1980	K	12	stelae in relief with symbols of an ancient Ethiopian culture
(more pictures)	Aksum ( location )	1980	K	15th	only ruins remain of the ancient city
(more pictures)	Lower Omo Valley ( location )	1980	K	17th	Valley on the lower reaches of the Omo River , prehistoric site near Lake Turkana , oldest finds of anatomically modern man ( Homo sapiens )
(more pictures)	Fortified old town of Harar Jugol ( location )	2006	K	1189	walled old town of Harar , contains 82 mosques, three of which date from the 10th century
	Cultural landscape of the Konso ( location )	2011	K	1333	stone terraces and fortified Konso settlements

Tentative list

The sites that are intended for nomination for inclusion in the World Heritage List are entered in the tentative list .

Current World Heritage candidates

Currently (as of 2020) seven sites are entered in the tentative list of Ethiopia, the last entry was made in 2020. The following table lists the sites in chronological order according to the year of their inclusion in the tentative list.

 Map with all coordinates of current World Heritage candidates: OSM

image	designation	year	Type	Ref.	description
	Bale Mountains National Park	2008	N	5315
	Religious, cultural and historical sites by Dirre Sheikh Hussein	2011	K	5649	see Sheikh Hussein
	Holqa Sof Omar: Natural and Cultural Heritage	2011	K / N	5651	The cave system of the Sof-Omar Caves is considered to be the longest in Africa with a length of over 15 kilometers. The Webi Gestro River flows through it. For centuries the caves served as religious centers for Muslims, but also for traditional religious groups.
	Sacred Landscapes of Tigray	2018	K	6301	There are 121 churches carved from the rock in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. The proposal includes a total of 80 of these rock- hewn churches in the Gheralta , Tembien and Atsbi landscapes .
	Melka Kunture and Balchit ( location )	2020	K / N	6443	Paleolithic archaeological site of Melka Kunture and Balchit
	Cultural landscape of Gedeo	2020	K	6448	The Gedeo Zone has been on the tentative list as a cultural and natural site since 2012.
	Yeha Cultural Landscape	2020	K	6477	Already on the tentative list from 1978–1981

Former World Heritage candidates

This site was previously on the tentative list, but was withdrawn or rejected by UNESCO. Sites that are included in other entries on the tentative list or that are part of world heritage sites are not taken into account here.

 Map with all coordinates of former World Heritage candidates: OSM

image	designation	year	Type	Ref.	description
	Yeha	1978-1981	K

Web links

Commons : World Heritage Sites in Ethiopia  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Ethiopia on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ethiopia. In: whc.unesco.org. UNESCO World Heritage Center, accessed May 27, 2020 . 
2. ^ Tentative list of Ethiopia. In: whc.unesco.org. UNESCO World Heritage Center, accessed January 20, 2020 . 
3. ^ Former Tentative Sites of Ethiopia. In: World Heritage Site. Retrieved May 29, 2019 . 

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap