Eritrea is a travel destination in Eastern Africa. Its capital is Asmara. November and December are its two best months to visit, ranked on 1991–2020 climate averages.
Top places to visit in Eritrea
Asmara Art Deco City (landmark, Maekel) — UNESCO World Heritage capital — the best-preserved collection of Italian Modernist architecture in Africa; Futurist petrol stations, Cubist cinemas, and Art Deco apartment blocks built in the 1930s.
Dahlak Archipelago (natural, Semienawi Keyih Bahri) — Isolated Red Sea coral island group — pristine coral gardens, manta rays, whale sharks, dugongs, hawksbill turtles, and historic 8th-century Islamic graves on uninhabited limestone islets.
Fiat Tagliero Building (landmark, Maekel) — Eritrea's most iconic structure (1938) — a Futurist service station shaped like an aeroplane; cantilevered concrete wings span 30 m without any supporting columns; now a UNESCO monument.
Debre Bizen Monastery (landmark, Maekel) — 14th-century Coptic Orthodox monastery perched dramatically on a cliff above Nefasit — no women admitted; monks preserve medieval illuminated manuscripts and ancient crosses.
Massawa Old Town (city, Semienawi Keyih Bahri) — Ancient Red Sea port with Ottoman, Egyptian, and Italian layers — coral-built palaces, the Imperial Palace of Haile Selassie, the Sheikh Hanafi Mosque, and Massawa's famous seafood restaurants.
Filfil Solomuna Forest (natural, Semienawi Keyih Bahri) — Eritrea's last remaining tropical rainforest — vervet monkeys, olive baboons, leopards, and endemic birds in a lush escarpment descent from the Eritrean highlands to the Red Sea coast.
Adulis Archaeological Site (landmark, Semienawi Keyih Bahri) — Ruins of the ancient Aksumite Red Sea port (3rd century BCE) — one of East Africa's most important ports from antiquity; standing stele, Roman trading artefacts, and ancient warehouses.
Mendefera & Amba Soira (natural, Debub) — Gateway to the northern highlands — Eritrea's highest point (3038 m) towers above terraced farmland and ancient hilltop monasteries; clear-day panoramas into Ethiopia and Sudan.
Qohaito (Koloe) (landmark, Debub) — Pre-Aksumite highland ruins at 2700 m — multi-layered archaeological site with dam, temple, and necropolis from the 5th century BCE; one of the least-visited ancient cities in Africa.
Asmara Cinema Roma (landmark, Maekel) — Masterpiece of Italian Art Deco cinema design (1937) — ornate interior, original projection booth, and an elegant curved façade; still screens films and hosts cultural events in the capital.