Awetu Park follows the course of the Awetu River through the city and is the main green space in central Jimma. The Italian colonial administration laid out the original town along this river in the 1930s, and the park has been the lungs of the city ever since. It is a working park — used by joggers, families, and students from the nearby university — rather than a formal botanical display.
The riverside walk is shaded and pleasant, particularly in the morning before the city gets going. The park is a good place to observe daily life in Jimma: vendors set up along the paths, children play football on the grass, and the sound of the river provides a counterpoint to the noise of the streets. Coffee ceremony sessions sometimes take place under the trees in the afternoons, set up for locals rather than for show.