Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela

Eleven 12th/13th-century rock-cut churches in Ethiopia; UNESCO World Heritage and active Orthodox pilgrimage site.

Country:Ethiopia

Language:English; Amharic

Published:2025-11-15

Audience:Travellers, heritage professionals, religious pilgrims

Lalibela is a town in the Amhara Region of northern Ethiopia, famous for its eleven medieval monolithic churches carved into the rock face. The churches were built in the 12th and 13th centuries under King Lalibela, who sought to create a "New Jerusalem" after Muslim conquests halted Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land. The site was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1978 and remains an active centre of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity and major pilgrimage site, particularly during Christmas (Genna) and Epiphany (Timkat).

Keywords

Lalibela

rock-hewn churches

Ethiopian Orthodox

UNESCO

pilgrimage

Source & licence

Source: Wikipedia

URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lalibela

Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

Wikipedia article. CC BY-SA 4.0 attribution required.

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