Cultural journeys
On Christmas morning, priests in white line the rim above Bete Maryam and answer the chant rising from the courtyard below.
Paused while Amhara is under official travel warnings and flights to Lalibela are suspended.
Departs 05 Jan
Addis Ababa
Candles, white shawls and Ge’ez chant through the night of 6 January, then a doro wat feast that ends a 43-day fast.
Overview
At sunrise on 7 January, priests in white turbans line the rim of the rock above Bete Maryam, while more priests chant in the courtyard below. The two choirs answer each other for about two hours: those above stand for the angels, those below for the people of the earth, and the song joins them. Lalibela was cut from the rock as a new Jerusalem, and tens of thousands of pilgrims, some after weeks on foot, sleep on its hills to spend Christmas there.
Expect cold nights at about 2,500 m and long hours standing. This route is paused for now; we will reopen it when it is safe.
Itinerary
Your guide meets you at Bole International Airport on Monday 4 January. Over dinner, we explain the vigil and the morning chant, what to wear, and how to move through a crowd of pilgrims with respect.
A morning flight to Lalibela, where pilgrims wrapped in white are already arriving on foot. In the afternoon a local church guide leads you through the northern group of five churches, linked by passages and tunnels cut through the same rock.
In the morning, Bete Giyorgis, cut in the shape of a cross at the bottom of its own pit, and the eastern group of churches. After an afternoon’s rest, we join the candlelit vigil around Bete Maryam, which runs through the night. You can return to the hotel with a guide at any point.
We are back at Bete Maryam before sunrise, when the priests climb to the rim and begin the chant with the choir below, swaying with prayer staffs and sistra. Then a late breakfast, a long rest and a Christmas dinner of doro wat in the evening.
About 1.5 hours by 4WD into the hills to Yemrehanna Kristos, a church of wood and stone built inside a cave. The afternoon is free for the town’s market streets or a last walk among the churches, now quieter as pilgrims start for home.
A morning flight back to Addis, lunch together, then a transfer to Bole for your flight home.
Itineraries can change with weather, road and flight conditions. We will tell you promptly if they do.
Gallery
Photo: Unsplash
Good to know
Dress code: Modest clothing with shoulders and knees covered; women cover their hair with a shawl, which we provide.
This tour follows the Strict policy. Days are whole calendar days before departure.
| When you cancel | What you get back |
|---|---|
| 30 or more days before departure | 50% refund |
| Fewer than 30 days before departure | No refund |
A non-refundable USD 150 per traveller (domestic flights) is deducted before these percentages are applied.
Questions
You may also like
Departs 17 Jan
Addis Ababa
Walk beside the tabots to Jan Meda on the eve, then stand in the crowd at dawn as the blessed water falls.
Length 04 days
Omo Valley
Four days in the Lower Omo, from Ari farms around Jinka to the Karo village on its bluff above the river.
Length 02 days
Harar
A walled Muslim city of painted houses and narrow lanes, explored with a Harari guide, and wild hyenas fed by hand at dusk.
Plan with us
Choose your dates above, or tell us what you have in mind and we will shape the trip around you.
