Bahar Dar is located on the southern shores of Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile, with its ancient 37 islands and 20 monasteries and both blue and the white Nile’s most spectacular feature, the Tis Isat Falls.

On the island of Dega Stifanos you will find the church of Saint Stefanos, which has a priceless collection of icons and manuscripts, Kibran Gebriel, with many ancient books, and the impressive and beautiful Ura Kidane Mirhet and its intriguing frescoes, and houses the mummified remains of Ethiopian emperors.

For the modern traveler, the starting point of any visit to the Blue Nile Falls, or to the islands of Lake Tana, is the bustling markets town of Bahar Dar. The colorful markets and a variety of handicrafts and weaving centers also make it a comfortable base for excursion by land or water. Bahar Dar port provides access by boat to a number of historic lakeside churches and monasteries near and far. Most date from the 17th century and have beautiful painted walls. Many such places of worship now have fascinating museum, at which the visitor can see priceless illustrated manuscripts, historic crowns and fine royal and ecclesiastical robes. Some monastic islands are forbidden to women, but others can be visited by all.
Visitors to Bahar Dar can also see tankwas, locally made canoes, made out of the papyrus reeds growing by the lake shore, as well as an historic old building erected, in St. George’s church compound, by the 17th century Spanish Jesuit, Pero Paes.