Tiya

Tiya is a town in central Ethiopia. It is situated in the Gurage Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region south of Addis Ababa. It is also the location of the Tiya archaeological site, famous for its unique stelae.

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Place details

Locality: Tiya
Region: ኦሮሚያ ክልል Oromia أوروميا
Country: ኢትዮጵያ
Population: 0

via OpenStreetMap · GeoNames

Air quality

71US AQIModerate

PM2.5: 19.6 µg/m³
PM10: 29.3 µg/m³

As of 2026-08-11 07:00 · Open-Meteo

Key facts

Settlement.official_name: Tiya
Settlement.image_skyline: Tiya vue d'ensemble.JPG
Settlement.imagesize: 250px
Settlement.settlement_type: Town
Settlement.pushpin_map: Ethiopia
Settlement.pushpin_label_position: bottom
Settlement.pushpin_mapsize: 250
Settlement.pushpin_map_caption: Location in Ethiopia
Settlement.subdivision_type: Country
Settlement.subdivision_name: Ethiopia
Settlement.subdivision_type1: Region
Settlement.subdivision_name1: Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region
Settlement.subdivision_type2: Zone
Settlement.subdivision_name2: Gurage
Settlement.population_as_of: 2005
Settlement.population_total: 3,363

via Wikipedia infobox

Travel guide

Understand

There's not much here except the archaeological site, which, although impressive, doesn't take a lot of time to explore. Tiya is in central Ethiopia, in the northern part of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region, some 90 km from Addis Ababa. It makes for a fine day trip from Addis Ababa or can be visited on route to, e.g., Langano.

Much of the exact background and history of the stones is not yet understood by experts, and interpretations of the depicted images vary. Guides will have interesting stories to tell, some of which are backed by research, while other rather stem from local beliefs.

Get in

It's possible and convenient to hire a car (with guide) in Addis Ababa. Less convenient, but obviously cheaper, you can take public transport. There's an early morning bus to Butajira from Addis Mercato (the market square in Addis Ababa). It leaves before 9am, so make sure you're there early. Ask to be dropped off at Tiya.