Lalibela Things to Do

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For a small donation of 2 Birr! He is located near Bet Giyorgis Church. As you walk down to the bottom, you go right for the Church or left to this friendly Monk and his spring. The water is actually clean and tastes fine. Comes in a large 2 litre bottle family sized bottle.

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This is probably the most famous. It stands alone to the southwest of the rest and you may have seen pics of it in touristic leaflets or posters.
You come to it from the top, so first thing you see it's the cross-shaped roof. To see it all you have to come closer to the border of the cliff of the patio where the church lays. It is a 3 storey building with many architectural interesting details. In the walls of the patio walls there are holes and caves where eremits used to live. In some there are mummies and skeletons of former eremits!

This is the name given to this monolithic marrow slope at the right of Bet Gabriel-Rafael church. It is compared to the way to Heaven because it is narrow, difficult to climb, and easy to fall down (to Hell?).
No climbing allowed anyway!

There are a few small churches and chapels in the middle of the Eastern Group, all connected by tunnels, corridors... some of them were built as chapels, but some were just rooms, halls, stables... of the Palace of King Lalibela in the 12-13th century.

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This church is the first you will find coming from the north. It has a very peculiar shape, with a covered gallery in front and an amazingly deep patio. Inside it's not amazing, but the view of it from the top of the hill deserves the visit. It is said to have served as Palace Hall for Lalibela king.
There is an entrance from the bottom of the patio but it is closed in rainy season.

This is the only "independent" church in this group, I mean all the rock around has been removed and the church stands alone in a courtyard.
It has a marvellously carved facade, all the details you see on it are carved from the rock, none added afterwards! It is the finest example of Axumite style probably.

This is one of the finest churches here. It is a stone cube carved all around a mountain, is like a huge cave and in the middle there is this church like a huge column. Its red facade is rather distinctive. There are chambers in the outside walls, for eremits.
You can't really see much in the pic as there were scaffolding all around when I visited it.