Lalibela

Understand

thumb|300px|Bet Giyorgis – one of 11 rock-hewn churches in Lalibela Lalibela is a great little town to visit. Its complex of churches chiselled from pink volcanic rock have been called the "eighth wonder of the world". In addition, the wonderful year-round climate and exhilarating mountain views, combined with some of the finest lodgings outside of the capital, are reason to spend a few days soaking up the fine vistas. Lalibela's relative isolation and small size means you will get to understand more intimately and thoroughly the innate piety and hard lives of the rural poor.

To the north of Lalibela, Dewosach, where much of the decorating and illumination of holy books was done in the time of King Lalibela, rises more than another 1,000 m (3,280 ft) above Lalibela to 3,670 m (12,040 ft) while the much nearer and slightly lower Asheten with its distinctive flat top lies to the east. Asheten means smell in Amharic and this mesa was named during the reign of King Lalibela's nephew, King Neakutoleab, who burned frankincense while building Saint Mary's church on its summit – visiting monks said they found it by following the smell.

This is not to say that everything in the garden is rosy. Women here bear an unfair workload, and you may wince when you see little girls of five and six bent double and almost hidden from view by the immense load of firewood on their backs while their elder brothers play outside table tennis. Sanitation and public cleanliness is …

Get around

You may lose a few kilos walking up and down the streets (some cobbled, some dirt). You can rent bajajis/tuktuks or minibuses to drive you around town for about 25 birr per person (minimum 50 birr). Unlike bigger towns and cities in Ethiopia, no blue and white minibuses regularly run through Lalibela.

You can walk safely around town (and people will greet with many wanting to practice their English or offer their services or wares). School children may try to befriend you, and follow you around, perhaps beg. From 2010 onwards the government has tried to forbid begging, and the situation is now much better than before, but many people still beg after a long conversation or invite you to their homes where more successful begging can be done.

See

thumb|Map of Lalibela churches thumb|Inside Bet Medhane Alem This town is known around the world for its churches hewn from the top down into living rock, most of which were built during the reign of the eponymous Lalibela, king of Ethiopia, when he moved his capital here in the Zagwe period. Contrary to certain spurious myths, they were not built with the help of the Knights Templar; rather, they were produced solely by medieval Ethiopian civilization. However, there is controversy as to when the churches were constructed. Some scholars believe that the churches were built well before Lalibela and that Lalibela simply named them after himself. They were declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978.

The churches are open 06:00-12:00, and 14:00-17:00. In practice, they open about half an hour late and close half an hour early. Admission to all costs US$50 for adults, and USD25 for children aged 9-13 (ticket valid for 5 days). You must carry your passport with your ticket. You can pay in birr at the official exchange rate, so it is cheaper to pay in birr if you have changed your money on the black market. Entry is free for children under 9 and Ethiopians without a foreign passport. Licensed guides are available from the tourist office in Lalibela for 200 birr per day. These guides are well trained and have an excellent working knowledge of the churches and good relationships with the priests. Unlicensed guides will approach you all over the village, but they often know very l…

Do

Visit the weekly market on Saturday. There's not much you would want to buy, some local weaving possibly, but it's an invaluable insight into local life. Make sure you visit the donkey park.

Buy

There is an ATM at Dashen Bank on the ground floor of the Aman Hotel close to the Ethiopian Airlines office, and another next door at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia. The Dashen one permits up to 2000 birr in one transaction with multiple daily transactions possible up to your daily card limit. Only Visa is accepted. For other card holders the only option besides having an acquaintance send money via Western Union is to go to the Mountain View Hotel. They will charge MasterCard plus a 10% surcharge and give you birr.

Even in Addis Ababa, Ethiopian "supermarkets" are only glorified "sari sari" shops and the range of goods carried by even the tiniest village shop in the highlands of Scotland would put them to shame. The best stocked place in Lalibela is the "WOW Supermarket" on the west side of the steep Sebat Woyra Road about 200 m before it joins Adebabay Street by the Seven Olives Hotel.

Eat

thumb|upright=1.3|Ben Abeba, one of the most distinctive pieces of modern architecture in Ethiopia, yet it's in the isolated little town of Lalibela thumb|Habtamu tending the fire close to dining tables at Ben Abeba, January 2018

Hotel Lalibela (in the south downhill, on the main street with the souvenir shops opposite Tukul Village Lodge). Excellent food in the attached restaurant for reasonable rates. 30-100 birr (Sep 2016). The restaurant at the Seven Olives Hotel (listed in the Sleep section below) serves some of the largest and tastiest helpings in Lalibela. Their steak stuffed with rice and vegetables and served with a most delicious kita made from aga is delicious and large enough to feed two at less than 110 birr (June 2013). This delightful restaurant set in a mature garden in the commercial centre of town is circular, with a giant 10m diameter weaving forming the ceiling and making you feel like you are under the giant traditional cover of a mittad cooking injera!

Drink

In addition to the places below, there are cheaper local places with tej (honey wine) for 5-10 birr per bottle. thumb|Entertainment in Torpido Tej, January 2018

Sleep

Lalibela has an extremely high proportion of faranji seeking accommodation, as opposed to locals; consequently budget accommodation is scarce and overpriced.

There are many "tourist class" hotels whose owners and managers have often never visited Addis Ababa – never mind travelled outside Ethiopia – and seem to suffer the delusion that guests from Europe, Asia and Australasia will not understand prices in birr. Consequently they invariably will quote a laughably high price in US dollars at first.

Prices quoted below are for the low season of June-August and hoteliers will try to extort a much higher price during festivals and other busy times.

Most tourist class lodgings are concentrated in two areas: Shimbrima at the north-western end of Adebabay St, many with stunning escarpment views and a gentle climb to the economic centre of town and a steeper descent to the church complexes Getergie at the south-western end of town, on and off Getergie Rd and without the stunning escarpment views (but still with fine views of the surrounding buttes and mesas) but still a long way to the bus station on the eastern side of town. Hotels in this district have both a steep climb to the church complexes and then an equally steep climb to the economic centre of town. However, maybe it's better to stagger downhill to your bed after a day's sightseeing?

For those arriving by bus, this very basic hotel may save them both some dosh and a long uphill hike to the town proper:

Go next

Bahir Dar – to the west Mekele – to the north Simien Mountains. Lalibela is at 2,600 m, and so is good acclimatisation for the higher mountains, especially if you do some day walks in the hills surrounding the town.