Mezena Lodge

a functional hotel on the outskirts of the town

Mezena Lodge is located in the town of Lalibela in the north of Ethiopia.

Set at the top of an escarpment just to the southeast of the town centre, Mezena Lodge (also known as Mezena Resort and Spa) has expansive views of the surrounding mountains.

Although the position is not as far removed from the town as might be ideal, it’s certainly far enough out to make you feel like you’ve escaped the melee.

The hotel was opened in 2017 and is owned and run by local Ethiopian, Yohannes Assefa, along with staff who are mostly drawn from the local community, all of whom we’ve always found to be very pleasant and eager to please.

Mezena Lodge occupies a large sloping site, at the top of which is a very large main building, with reception, bar, lounge and dining areas, as well as a curio shop, gym, spa and conference facilities. It leads out to a broad terrace with a swimming pool.

In our experience the food service here is only of an average standard. There are two restaurants, one serving international dishes, the other specialising in local Ethiopian food, including classics such as tibs (a kind of stir-fried stew), wat (a kind of curry) and injera (flatbread).

Guest accommodation is in thirty thatched bungalows, which are pleasantly ranged down the forested slope below, definitely the most attractive feature of the place, although the interiors are rather spartan.

Activities

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.

The primary activity in Lalibela is visiting the various rock-cut churches.

Other activities include hiking through the farmlands and mountains around the town, as well as various bars, restaurants and co-operative groups in the village.

The Lalibela area tends to be combined in trips with various places of interest in the north of Ethiopia, including Gheralta, the Danakil Depression, Axum, Gondar, the Simien Mountains and Bahir Dar.

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.

Getting there

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.

usually visited in combination with other areas to the north of Ethiopia