Travel to Lalibela
Lalibela
is the most popular location
for cultural explorations of Ethiopia
a truly world-famous location
Lalibela is a relatively small town of around 20,000 people, remotely located amongst the mountains of northern Ethiopia, famous for its genuinely impressive collection of monolithic rock-cut churches.
The second most holy city in the country after Axum, Lalibela is a major centre of pilgrimage and has a population which is almost completely Ethiopian Orthodox Christian.
A visit to the churches of Lalibela tends to feature in the vast majority of trips to Ethiopia, sometimes as a quick flying visit from the capital, but more commonly as part of a more extensive exploration of the north of the country.
To be honest the town is a bit messy and the accommodation options are all pretty mediocre, but the churches are so iconic that it’s hard to skip the place.
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How to visit
The north of Ethiopia is usually reached by means of regular daily flights from the capital Addis Ababa.
Some of the interconnecting journeys within the region are best done by air, others have to be done by road.
Lalibela is usually connected by air to most locations, the road journeys in and out are too arduous to be included in many trips.
The usual stay duration in Lalibela is two nights, which gives you a full day for exploring.
Seasonality
The best time to visit Lalibela is generally considered to be during the Nov-Mar dry season period.
The area lies on the margin between a tropical savanna climate and a subtropical highland climate, with an Apr-Sep rainy season, which reaches a peak during Jun-Aug.
Peak daytime temperatures are usually rather high, at around 28C/82F most of the year, rising to 30C/86F (occasionally spiking to 34C/93F) in advance of the rains during Mar-May. However nighttime temperatures usually still fall to a pleasant 13C/55F year round.
Where to stay
The town of Lalibela contains only a very modest range of accommodation options, mainly at the lower end, but with a small selection of slightly better properties which are slightly better suited to an international audience.
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