Deep in the highlands of northern Ethiopia, Lalibela holds one of the most astonishing concentrations of sacred architecture on earth. Eleven medieval churches — not built atop the ground but carved downward into solid volcanic rock — have been places of continuous Orthodox Christian worship for some 800 years. Food and travel creator Mark Wiens walks you through this extraordinary complex in his vivid on-the-ground tour, capturing the candlelit chapels, incense-filled passages, and white-robed pilgrims that make this lalibela walking tour unlike anything else in Africa.
About This Walking Tour
Mark Wiens, known for his immersive travel and food documentaries, filmed this tour of Lalibela’s rock-hewn church complex while visiting Ethiopia. The video follows him through the two main clusters of churches — the northern group and the eastern group — as well as the isolated Bete Giyorgis (Church of St George), widely regarded as the most perfectly preserved of all eleven churches.
What the video captures so well is the living nature of Lalibela. This is not a museum. Priests chant in ancient Ge’ez, the liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Worshippers in white shammas (shawls) pray on the rock-cut floors. Incense drifts through low doorways connecting churches to one another via underground tunnels. Throughout, Wiens reacts to what he sees with genuine wonder, making the experience feel shared rather than narrated.
The complex occupies roughly one square kilometre, meaning the walk between all eleven churches is physically manageable within a single day — but the emotional and historical weight of what you encounter along the way makes it feel much larger. The video runs at a measured pace, pausing at the carved facades and rooftop views that give the best sense of just how deeply into the earth these structures descend.
Highlights of Lalibela
The northern cluster centres on Bete Medhane Alem (House of the Saviour of the World), the largest rock-hewn church in the world at roughly 33 metres long and 11 metres high. Its exterior is supported by 36 carved columns, and the dim interior is divided into five aisles whose proportions echo a classical basilica — except the entire structure is a single piece of volcanic rock.
Connecting to Bete Medhane Alem through a shared courtyard is Bete Maryam, considered the oldest church in the complex and decorated with a carved ceiling of geometric crosses and biblical scenes. Adjacent is Bete Golgotha, which according to Ethiopian tradition houses a replica of the Ark of the Covenant and contains life-size reliefs of the saints — a chamber restricted to men.
The eastern group across a trench includes Bete Gabriel-Rufael, positioned dramatically in the cliff face and reached by a narrow bridge. Bete Amanuel nearby is considered the finest in terms of exterior carving, with its precisely cut pilasters and cornices.
Standing alone in its own deep pit to the southwest is Bete Giyorgis — the Church of St George. Its flat roof is carved with three nested Greek crosses, and the descent into the pit through a narrow rock-cut path is one of the most theatrical approaches to any building in the world. On Ethiopian Christmas (Gena, celebrated in January by the Julian calendar), thousands of white-clad pilgrims fill every ledge and passageway of the entire complex.
A Brief History of Lalibela
The churches are attributed to King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela, who ruled the Zagwe dynasty of Ethiopia in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Ethiopian tradition holds that after a divinely inspired visit to Jerusalem — then under Crusader control — he resolved to create a new Jerusalem in Africa that his subjects could reach without the long and dangerous journey north. He named the site Roha; the name Lalibela was applied to the town in his honour after his death.
Ethiopian Orthodox tradition also holds that the churches were built with angelic assistance: human workers built by day and angels continued the work at night. The historical reality is that a workforce of tens of thousands, drawing on the skills of both local craftsmen and Coptic and possibly Syrian architects, excavated downward into the red volcanic tuff over several decades.
Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity itself is one of the world’s oldest surviving Christian traditions, established in the 4th century under King Ezana of Aksum. Lalibela thus represents not a beginning but a magnificent mid-point in an unbroken Christian heritage that continues in daily liturgy at every one of these eleven churches today. The site was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.
Practical Tips
Lalibela is served by Aba Tenna Dejazmach Yilma Airport, with multiple daily flights from Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airlines (approximately one hour). The airport is about seven kilometres from town. All eleven churches are accessible on foot within the compact complex; a guide is strongly recommended both to explain the significance of each church and to navigate the underground tunnels safely. The entrance fee covers all churches. Visitors must remove shoes before entering and dress modestly — long trousers and covered shoulders apply to all genders. The dry season from October to February offers the most comfortable walking conditions; January’s Ethiopian Christmas (Gena) is extraordinarily atmospheric but accommodation books out months in advance. Altitude is approximately 2,600 metres — acclimatise before attempting the full walk if arriving from sea level.
Watch & Explore More
Mark Wiens has spent years filming markets, street food, and sacred spaces across Ethiopia and East Africa — his Lalibela video is among his most watched Africa episodes. For more African walking tours on this site, explore the Fes Medina and Tanneries walk and the Mombasa Old Town and Fort Jesus tour. Subscribe to more walking tour content at @walkingtoursvideoscom.