City
Addis Ababa: a ridge between two river basins, a bonfire square and Lucy
Addis Ababa’s landscape, festival and fossil record meet at three places: Entoto’s watershed ridge; Maskel Square, where the annual Damera bonfire is held; and the National Museum of Ethiopia, whose Lucy and Selam fossils appeared in a 60-day Prague exhibition in 2025 before a Prague museum report said they had headed home.
At a glance
A place worth remembering
Entoto: where the city-edge hills split two watersheds
The Key Biodiversity Areas factsheet places Entoto Natural Park on Mount Entoto’s south-eastern face, rising from the city’s northern edge near 2,600 m to a ridge path above 3,100 m. The trail sits on a watershed divide: Abbay (Blue Nile) drains to its north and Awash to its south. Kew’s Tropical Important Plant Areas profile maps an Entoto Hills IPA of 114 km² at 2,560–3,200 m and describes the mountain chain as the divide between those rivers. KBA’s last assessment, dated 2011, describes eucalyptus plantations across the wider range. Kew reports that Eucalyptus globulus plantations had replaced much of the natural forest and that work to restore juniper woodland is underway. The profile records more than 220 plant species across the wider area, which includes Gullele Botanic Garden. Kew cites a 2017 study by Woldegerima et al. that found greater plant diversity in forest patches with regenerating Juniperus procera than in patches dominated by Eucalyptus globulus.[1][2]
Maskel Square: preparing the Damera festival pyre
UNESCO inscribed the commemoration on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013 and places the annual celebration on 26 September, marking the unearthing of the True Holy Cross of Christ. In Addis Ababa, Maskel Square is the setting for Damera, a bonfire that Ethiopia’s Orthodox patriarch lights at the ceremony’s climax. UNESCO describes a gathering of hundreds of thousands, with priests chanting, praying and dancing.[3]
Lucy and Selam: from Prague toward home
Prague’s National Museum published a release on 30 October 2025 saying Lucy and Selam had headed home to Addis Ababa after 60 days in Prague. It notes that the original fossils are not permanently exhibited at their home museum in Addis Ababa. The Smithsonian lists Lucy (AL 288-1) among the Australopithecus afarensis finds from Hadar, Ethiopia, and the Prague release calls her 3.2 million years old. An August 2025 Associated Press report said the National Museum of Ethiopia exhibits a replica of Lucy and keeps the real remains in a secure vault.[7][5][4]
Good to know
A few clear answers before you explore.
Which river basins does the Entoto ridge divide?
North of Entoto’s ridge is the Abbay (Blue Nile) basin; south of it is the Awash basin. The KBA factsheet places the trail above the natural park on this divide, and Kew describes the same watershed split across the mountain chain.[1][2]
What happens at Maskel Square?
The Damera pyre is built at Maskel Square, where Ethiopia’s Orthodox patriarch lights it at the ceremony’s climax.[3]
When did Prague’s museum report the fossils’ departure for Addis Ababa?
The release is dated 30 October 2025 and says the fossils had been on display for 60 days before the pair set off for Addis Ababa.[7]
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