Lalibela

Lalibela is a mountain town in northern Ethiopia, famous for its churches carved entirely down into solid rock in the reign of King Lalibela in the 12th and 13th centuries. UNESCO inscribed it as a World Heritage Site in 1978, and it is sometimes called the Jerusalem of Africa.

The best known is the Church of Saint George (Bete Giyorgis), cut in the shape of a cross in a deep pit; you see it whole from above before descending through a rock trench. The other churches are linked by passages and tunnels cut into the rock.

The site is still alive, visited by pilgrims and monks; visitors take off their shoes inside the churches and respect the services.

Lalibela lies in the Amhara region, to which official travel advice currently says not to travel. We arrange visits only when that advice changes.