Look Inside Lalibela
Ticked off
Eleven churches carved downward into solid rock eight centuries ago, still filled with chanting priests and white-robed pilgrims.
The adventure
Most churches are built up. In Lalibela they were carved down. Around 800 years ago, on the orders of King Lalibela, masons cut entire churches out of the volcanic rock, chiselling away the ground around each one to leave freestanding buildings sunk deep in trenches, complete with windows, columns and carved doorways.
Visiting feels less like sightseeing than stepping into living history. You walk barefoot through dark tunnels and narrow passages, past priests in embroidered robes who will show you ancient processional crosses and illuminated manuscripts by candlelight. The finale is Bete Giyorgis, the Church of St George, a perfect cross shape carved into the bedrock, best seen from above in the soft light of late afternoon. At festivals such as Genna and Timkat, thousands of pilgrims dressed in white fill the churches with chanting.
Why it’s epic
- Eleven monolithic churches, carved from rock in the 12th and 13th centuries.
- Bete Giyorgis, the cross-shaped Church of St George, sunk about 12 metres into the ground.
- One of the first UNESCO World Heritage Sites, inscribed in 1978.
- Genna (Ethiopian Christmas, 7 January) and Timkat (Epiphany, around 19 January) draw huge crowds of pilgrims.
What it is
Lalibela has 11 medieval churches carved out of solid rock, still used by Ethiopian Orthodox Christians.
How to do it
Fly from Addis Ababa to Lalibela. Hire a local guide to explain the churches.
Top tip
Check UK Foreign Office advice for the Amhara region before travelling.
Need to know
- FCDO advice for the Amhara region has warned against travel because of conflict in recent years, so check it carefully before booking.
- UK visitors need an Ethiopian e-visa, and the easiest way in is a domestic flight from Addis Ababa.
- Shoes come off inside the churches, so bring socks, and a local guide is essential to understand what you are seeing.
Plan this trip
- Rough cost
- £2,000 to £5,000 per person, including flights from the UK
- Time needed
- 2 days
- Best time to go
- October to March
- Fly into
- LLI airport
Flights to Ethiopia and the domestic hop to Lalibela are the main costs, plus the church entry ticket and a guide.
Do it yourself
- Tours and ticketsGetYourGuide
- FlightsKiwi.com
- Adventure travel insuranceWorld NomadsWe receive a fee when you get a quote from World Nomads using this link. We do not represent World Nomads. This is not a recommendation to buy travel insurance.
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My experience
Ticked off, but the full story is still to be written up.
Over to you
Is “Look Inside Lalibela” on your bucket list, or have you already done it? Tell me in the comments, and if you've got a question about it, ask away and I'll answer.