High in the northern highlands of Ethiopia lies a town carved from legend. Lalibela is not just a destination; it’s a place that feels pulled from the pages of scripture. Here, eleven medieval churches are chiselled straight into red volcanic rock — not built, but born from the earth itself.
This is the Bible in basalt.
More than 800 years old, Lalibela’s churches aren’t relics. They’re alive. Every day, barefoot pilgrims file through tunnelled walkways, lips moving in prayer, white robes billowing in the highland breeze. On Sundays, the churches fill with frankincense and song.
I remember standing at the edge of Bete Giyorgis, the iconic cross-shaped Church of St George, in the early morning light. The sound of birds, the murmurs of prayer, and not another tourist in sight. If these churches stood in Europe or the Middle East, they’d be crawling with camera phones and day-trippers. But here, in Lalibela, you can still feel the mystery.
I first saw Lalibela’s churches on TV when I was a teenager. The image of those rock-hewn walls never left me. Years later, when booking flights for gorilla trekking in the DRC, I realised Ethiopian Airlines offered a free stopover in Ethiopia. I didn’t hesitate.
My detour to Lalibela wasn’t a side trip.
It was a pilgrimage.
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Quick Guide to Lalibela
Visited: July
Suggested Time: 2-3 full days
Where to Stay: I stayed at Alef Paradise, a midrange place with the best location in town, near all the churches, and nice breakfast. Nearby, Top Twelve also looked like a nice place.
Famous for: Rock-hewn churches, mountains
Transportation: You can walk around town like everyone else, or get a blue Bajaj for longer trips
Top Tip: Get a guide at the airport or your hotel for the first day, at least.
Unique Experience: Attend morning mass if you’re in Lalibela on a Sunday
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How to Get to Lalibela?
The fastest and most sensible way to get to Lalibela is to fly from Addis Ababa with Ethiopian Airlines. Three flights leave Bole International Airport each morning. One goes direct in just under an hour, while the other two make brief stops in Bahir Dar or Gondar before reaching Lalibela in around three hours.
If you flew into Ethiopia with Ethiopian Airlines, you’re in luck. Domestic fares are significantly cheaper for international passengers. Booking is easy online or at any Ethiopian Airlines office in the country.
Make sure to get a window seat for your flight to Lalibela. The aerial views over the jagged Ethiopian highlands are breathtaking. It’s only when you’re soaring above that you realise just how remote Lalibela really is.
As for taking the bus: don’t. It takes two days to get there from Addis. Unless you’re collecting tales of unnecessary suffering. Sure, it makes a great humblebrag back at the office — This one time in Ethiopia… — but there are better ways to spend your time than crawling up mountain switchbacks in slow motion. Take the flight. Thank me later.
Getting Around Lalibela
Lalibela’s airport is about 25 km out of town. Minibuses await the incoming planes just outside the airport building. It’s a small airport, and you can’t miss them.
A ride to Lalibela costs 100 Birr. These minibuses leave as soon as they are full, so make a run for one that’s almost full.
Lalibela is a compact town, and you can safely walk everywhere you want. Everyone walks in Lalibela and so should you. Donkeys probably outnumber cars a hundred to one. So go with the flow and walk. There are a few bajajis (blue tuk-tuks) around town, so flag one down or ask your hotel to call you one if you really need it.
When to Visit Lalibela
Lalibela is a year-round destination, and the churches are open to visitors in every season. I visited in late July, smack in the middle of the rainy season, and it didn’t dampen the trip at all. The surrounding highlands were lush and green, and though it rained now and then, the skies usually cleared by midday.
At 2,600 metres above sea level, Lalibela stays cool year-round. Pack something warm any time of year, especially for those early morning church visits.
Most travellers aim for the dry season between October and March, when the weather is more predictable. But the real magic happens during major Ethiopian Orthodox holidays, when Lalibela fills with white-robed pilgrims and the churches come to life in ways you can’t quite imagine — chanting, incense, and all.
The big dates to know are:
- Enkutatash (Ethiopian New Year) – 11 September
- Maskal (Finding of the True Cross) – 27 September
- Genna (Ethiopian Christmas) – 7 January
- Timkat (Epiphany) – 19 January
Timkat is especially popular, so if you plan to visit then, book flights and accommodation well in advance.
Whenever you go, try to include a weekend in your stay. Saturday is market day, when the town fills with colour and energy as people pour in from the surrounding countryside. Most stay overnight to attend Sunday mass at the churches, and trust me, there’s no better time to experience Lalibela than at dawn on a Sunday, with the sound of chanting echoing through the rock-hewn halls.
Who Built the Lalibela Churches?
Lalibela is home to the largest concentration of rock-hewn churches in Ethiopia — eleven in total, carved directly into the earth. Historians estimate they were created between the 7th and 13th centuries, but how exactly they were made remains a marvel. Each church was chiselled top-down from solid volcanic rock, then hollowed out from the inside, leaving behind freestanding structures that are as functional as they are miraculous.
Local belief holds that angels helped finish the job. According to legend, human workers toiled by day, while angels continued through the night. The churches were completed in just 24 years. One, they say, was carved overnight.
Ethiopia was the second country to adopt Christianity as a state religion (after Armenia), and the churches of Lalibela share some elements with the Geghard Monastery, which we visited in Armenia. Some historians suggest that Armenian pilgrims may have helped build or influenced the construction of Lalibela’s churches.
The visionary behind the complex was King Lalibela. After Jerusalem fell to Muslim forces, he sought to recreate a New Jerusalem in Ethiopia. The churches were laid out to symbolically mirror biblical Jerusalem, and a narrow trench, the River Jordan, was dug from the rock to separate the two main clusters.
This spiritual connection runs deeper than symbolism. Ethiopians believe they are direct descendants of King Solomon. The Queen of Sheba, who appears in both the Bible and Ethiopian tradition, is said to have travelled to Jerusalem, where she had a son with Solomon. That son, Menelik I, returned to Ethiopia and became its first emperor. He is also believed to have brought the Ark of the Covenant with him, which is allegedly housed in Axum.
It’s within this lineage and legacy that the Lalibela churches take shape. Its a sacred project carved from both faith and stone.
The eleventh church, Biet Gyorgis (St George’s), stands alone, cut in the shape of a cross. It is the most photographed, the most perfect, and the one you will never forget.
3 Days in Lalibela Itinerary: How Many Days in Lalibela is Enough?
Wondering how many days in Lalibela you really need? I’d say at least three full days. That gave me just enough time to see the churches properly and hike into the surrounding mountains. Here’s how I spent my three days in Lalibela.
Day 1 – Saturday: Arrive & Church Orientation
Arrive in Lalibela on Saturday morning and head straight to the market. Saturdays are when the town comes alive. Villagers pour in with donkeys and handmade goods, and it’s chaos in the best way. After lunch, visit the ticket office and buy your five-day entrance pass to the churches (US $50 in 2025; no one-day or partial passes). Spend the afternoon getting your bearings with a guide for an orientation tour of the churches.
Day 2 – Sunday: Mass & Main Churches
Wake before dawn and head to St. George or another church for Sunday morning mass. This was easily the most powerful moment of my time in Ethiopia. The churches are full of worshippers, draped in white, incense thick in the air. After breakfast (and maybe a nap), spend the rest of the day revisiting the churches your guide showed you yesterday.
Day 3 – Monday: Hike to Ashetan Maryam
On your final day, take a hike up to the hilltop monastery of Ashetan Maryam. The path is steep but scenic, and the views over the Lasta mountains are worth every step.
Things to do in Lalibela
Saturday Market in Lalibela
This sprawling market is chaotic and energetic, just like a good old African market should be. Vendors walk hours, perhaps a whole day, from settlements in the surrounding mountains to come and sell their stuff here. Most stalls sell one single product, whether that be onions, grain, honey, textiles, natural incense, coffee, shovels or whatever.
I really liked the livestock section, where you can see farmers dealing in cattle, donkeys and goats.
This market is the social event of the week for these market people. Once a week, they get to leave their village, come down into town, catch up on the gossip and buy supplies to take back to their homes. More importantly, they get to stay over to attend mass at the church on Sunday morning.
Visit the Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela
If there is one thing that you absolutely must not miss in Ethiopia, it is the magnificent churches of Lalibela. Unlike the great cathedrals of the world dominating the skylines of their cities, Lalibela’s churches are hidden underground, and you will not see them until you’re literally about to fall on them.
Definitely get a guide for your first visit. I visited both church clusters and the Church of St. George in one day with a guide, and then returned the next day on my own.
Opening hours: 06-00-12:00, and then again from 14:00-17:00
Exploring the Northern Cluster of Lalibela’s Rock-Hewn Churches
This is where you start your tour of Lalibel’s rock-hewn churches. At the Northern Cluster, where the ground opens up and the churches drop below your feet. The ticket office is here, so is the steady stream of local guides—some official, some not, all ready with stories. Let them show you around, at least the first time. Trust me, it’s worth it.
The star of this group is Biet Medhane Alem (House of the Saviour of the World). It’s the largest monolithic church in Ethiopia—entirely carved from a single block of rock—and feels more like an ancient temple than a church. Step inside, and the vast forest of stone pillars might just take your breath away.
Right next door is Biet Maryam (House of Mary), believed to be the oldest of the eleven. It’s smaller but far more ornate, with faint but beautiful frescoes and carved ceilings that hint at its age and significance.
Tucked inside the same courtyard are Biet Meskel (House of the Cross) and Biet Danagel (House of the Virgins)—two small chapels that often get overlooked but are worth a quiet moment.
Finally, there’s Biet Golgotha, one of the holiest sites in Lalibela and the supposed tomb of King Lalibela himself. The church is closed to women and off-limits to all, making the inner sanctum even more mysterious.
This cluster is a powerful introduction to Lalibela’s otherworldly beauty.
Exploring the Southern Cluster of Lalibela Churches
Cross the Yordanos River, also carved from stone, and you’ll reach the Southern Cluster of Lalibela churches. The southern cluster is a more intricate, mysterious counterpart to the Northern group. These churches aren’t as massive, but what they lack in size, they make up for in detail, symbolism, and mystical atmosphere.
Here, tunnels and trenches link the churches together in a maze-like network. Some were for drainage, others for quick access, but to pilgrims, these passageways represent something deeper: a symbolic journey through darkness toward salvation.
One such tunnel, called The Hell, connects Biet Gabriel-Rufael to Biet Merkorios. I shuffled through the pitch-black darkness with one hand on the wall, the other brushing the ceiling, while my guide quietly traced the shape of a cross on my back for protection.
Biet Amanuel is spectacular. Thought to have been a royal chapel, it’s among the most finely carved and photogenic churches in Lalibela, second only to St George.
Finally, Biet Abba Libanos is a striking cave church with only the roof and floor attached to the rock. According to tradition, it was built overnight by angels and King Lalibela’s wife. Its warm pink hue has earned it the nickname “Little Petra.”
The southern cluster offers a deeper understanding of the spiritual and architectural significance of Lalibela’s rock-hewn churches.
Biet Giyorgis: The Iconic Rock-Hewn Church of Lalibela
Biet Giyorgis (Church of Saint George) is easily the most iconic of all the rock-hewn churches in Lalibela — and perhaps the most photographed site in all of Ethiopia. Carved in the shape of a perfectly symmetrical cross, this monolithic structure descends nearly 12 metres into the earth and is entirely cut from a single block of volcanic rock.
What sets Bete Giyorgis apart, aside from its striking design, is its location. Unlike the other churches grouped in clusters, Saint George stands alone, both geographically and symbolically. You approach it via a narrow stone path that descends dramatically into the rock, revealing the church from above like a hidden cross.
It’s also the only church without a UNESCO protective roof, which makes it even more photogenic, especially at sunrise or sunset when the light hits the pinkish tufa walls just right.
Sunday Mass in Lalibela
There is no better time to visit the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela than early on a Sunday morning. Long before sunrise, the town begins to stir as figures dressed in white shawls move quietly through the streets and trenches, heading toward the churches. The sound of chanting and the steady beat of drums echo through the rocks, guiding the way.
Sunday mass in Lalibela is not just a ritual; it’s a living expression of centuries-old faith. Worshippers gather inside and around the churches, filling every crevice and corner. Elders lean against the carved walls, eyes closed in prayer. Children sit cross-legged on the stone. Smoke from burning incense hangs in the air.
Biblical is the only way to describe Sunday morning in Lalibela
As the light shifts from grey to gold, the churches come alive. The scene is quiet yet powerful — spiritual without spectacle. And while cameras are welcome in some areas, it’s the kind of moment that asks to be witnessed rather than recorded.
If you’re wondering what the best thing to do in Lalibela is, this is it. Make sure your visit includes a Sunday. Mass isn’t just something to see. It’s something to feel. Something that lingers long after you’ve left the rock churches behind.
Hiking to Ashetan Maryam Monastery: A Scenic Day Trip from Lalibela
One of the best things to do in Lalibela, beyond the churches, is hiking to Ashetan Maryam Monastery, perched on the slopes of Mount Abuna Yosef at nearly 4,000 metres above sea level. This half-day hike offers both spiritual and scenic rewards, making it a perfect escape into the Afro-alpine wilderness of northern Ethiopia.
The trek to Ashetan Maryam takes about two hours each way along a steep and winding trail. While not technically difficult, the high altitude and sharp incline can make it a challenge. But the panoramic views and fresh mountain air are well worth the effort. Hiring a local guide in Lalibela is strongly recommended, both for navigation and to support the community.
Along the way, you’ll pass through wild highland meadows with a chance to spot gelada baboons, birds of prey, and if you’re extremely lucky, the elusive Ethiopian wolf. The scenery here is dramatic and reminded me of the Drakensberg Mountains back in South Africa.
The monastery itself is humble, carved into the rock like the churches below. Inside, the resident priest may reveal the church’s ancient treasures — centuries-old manuscripts, crosses, and relics — in exchange for a small tip. He might even pose proudly for photos.
For anyone wondering how many days in Lalibela is enough, a hike to Ashetan Maryam is reason enough to add a third day to your itinerary.
Where to Eat in Lalibela
If you’re wondering where to eat in Lalibela, there are a few memorable spots worth carving time out for — especially when you need a break from the churches or want to soak in the view with a cold drink and a good plate of food.
Ben Abeba Restaurant & Lodge: Food with a View in Lalibela
For the best food and the best view in town, Ben Abeba is unmissable. I repeat: DO NOT MISS BEN ABEBA. This otherworldly restaurant perched in the Lasta Mountains of northern Ethiopia looks like a spaceship that decided to land and stay for dinner. It’s part restaurant, part lookout point, and fully unforgettable.
Come before sunset, order a cold one, and watch the mountains soak up that golden hour glow. The food is just as impressive: try the Ethiopian shepherd’s pie or daily specials. If it gets chilly, your server will bring you a cosy blanket. Yes, really.
Ben Abeba is slightly outside town, so take a tuk-tuk (about 30 birr) and ask the staff to call one when you’re ready to leave.
Seven Olives Restaurant: A Relaxing Lunch Spot in Lalibela
If you’re visiting the churches and wondering where to eat in Lalibela between sightseeing sessions, head to Seven Olives Restaurant. Located close to the northern cluster, it’s the perfect place for a midday break when the churches close from 12:00 to 14:00.
The shaded garden is a peaceful spot to rest your legs and digest the morning’s history lessons. The menu is a mix of traditional Ethiopian food and more familiar fare — think pasta, burgers, and pizza if you’re craving something less injera-based.
I came here twice. One day I had a hot and spicy Berbere curry (yes, you should get it too), and on the other, I went back to basics with injera and lentils. Both times, it hit the spot. It’s not fancy, but it’s reliable, tasty, and refreshingly calm when Lalibela gets busy.
John’s Café: Where to Eat Cheap in Lalibela
Looking for budget-friendly food in Lalibela? John’s Café is a little gem. Cheap, cheerful, and very friendly. It’s the kind of place where you feel at home even before your food arrives.
The fresh juices are excellent, the coffee is as good as anywhere in Ethiopia, and the staff are warm and welcoming. I came here on a fasting day and tried the fasting injera, which came with a colourful spread of veggie stews — lentils, beetroot, cauliflower, beans, egg and spinach. It was simple and nourishing, the kind of meal that makes you feel grounded.
Nothing fancy here, just honest food, fair prices, and a calm local vibe. Highly recommended if you’re after something low-key and satisfying.
Where to Stay in Lalibela
Several representatives, guides, and touts from hotels and guesthouses will greet you upon entering the arrival building at Lalibela Airport. They will all try to convince you that their place is the best and even throw in free transport into town.
I didn’t book accommodation online before arriving In Lalibela. One of the guides at the airport convinced me that Alef Paradise was the ideal place for me.
Alef Paradise is a solid budget option with comfy, clean rooms and friendly staff. The location is conveniently close to the churches, much closer than most of the competition. I even had a glimpse of Biet Giyorgis from my balcony. It has hot water in the shower, but the water pressure isn’t the greatest. It’s Ethiopia after all, so the hot water itself is a luxury. The on-site restaurant has good food and chilled vibes.
Do You Need a Guide in Lalibela?
I’m usually the first person to advise against hiring a guide when travelling independently.
However, in Lalibela, I believe that a guide adds immense value and understanding to your visit. I definitely suggest getting a guide for at least the first day. This will give you a good orientation and understand the layout of the churches. These guides do point out things that guidebooks/TripAdvisor don’t tell you.
My Lalibela guide was more of a buddy than a guide. Believe me, NOTHING is worse than a human tape recorder simply playing back facts. Between showing me the symbolic carvings in the church windows and pointing out the differences between Moses and Gandalf, my guide told me about life in Ethiopia, what it’s like to live in Lalibela, suggested the best coffee in town, and showed me where to find the coldest Saint George Lager.
I can not recommend my guide, Zenebe, highly enough. If he doesn’t find you at the airport, you can contact him at 0913420383 or by email: zenebe28@yahoo.com
Where Will You Go Next in Ethiopia?
Check out these guides for more inspiration:
➜ Things to See and Do in Harar – Explore colourful markets, shrines, and the city’s unique hyena tradition inside the walls of the Harar Jugol.
➜ High in Harar – A photo journey of khat culture in Harar
➜ Addis Ababa Layover Guide – See the capital instead of only staying in the free layover hotel
Hi, thank you for your post. It has really inspired me to visit Lalibela. I am just a bit conxerned about the security and safety in the area. Did you feel safe when you were there? Can you share your experience about this? Thank you.
Hi Jamie,
I visited Lalibela a few years ago, so can’t comment on the current situation. During my visit, though, I felt 100% safe. I walked around everywhere.
I was in Addis Ababa a few months ago and also felt safe there.
Lalibela is an amazing place, hope you get to see it.
Just wanted to say thanks for your detailed report on Lalibela. We (my wife and I) ended up contacting Zenebe based on your recommendation and hired him when we came through Lalibela in Dec 2025. Couldn’t agree more — he ended up being really more like a local friend that provided access and context that made all the difference. Really excellent experience, even though we typically prefer to travel independently and don’t often hire guides.
As for safety, Lalibela was totally easy in Dec 2025 (we flew in and out of Addis). Our main interaction with the Ethiopian military was when we hiked up to Hudad outside of Lalibela, which they were using as a base at that point. It was all good though, and Zenebe was able to get the soldiers to let us see the gelada monkeys nearby 🙂
Hi Fabian,
Great to hear some good news from Ethiopia. Thanks for the update on safety and it’s also good to hear that Zenebe is still doing his thing. It has been a few years since I visited.