Located in the West Welega Zone of the Oromia Region, the town has a latitude and longitude of 9°20′N 34°29′E / 9.333°N 34.483°E / 9.333; 34.483 with an elevation of 1673 meters above sea level.

[2] The town also hosted an unpaved airfield with regular flights by Ethiopian Airlines, now abandoned and in state of disrepair, and has postal service.

He described the settlement as "a large village" that was recovering from a recent famine, but at the time of his visit "with extensive plantations of durra, maize, angolib (a species of edible, sweet durra-stalk) and cabbage.

[1] The Oromo Liberation Front held their first national congress in Begi February, 1988, having taken control of much of the Ethiopian territory along the Sudan border.

To resolve this dispute, the Transitional Government of Ethiopia organized a referendum in 1994; the majority of voters decided in favor of joining Oromia, and Begi was placed under that region later that year.