Best time to travel to Ethiopia​: Ancient Wonders of Lalibela

I’m trying to figure out how to even write about this place. Ethiopia. It’s just… not what you think it is. All the books and blogs say ‘ancient’, but that word doesn’t mean anything until you’re there. You’re just standing on some normal-looking rock, and then you realize the whole church is under your feet. The entire thing. Carved out of that same rock.

My pictures are useless. They don’t show that feeling. And that’s before you even get to the mountains, with the baboons that just… sit with you. So I’m trying to write about that stuff. The real stuff, you know? Like, is it safe to travel to Lalibela? What are the actual things to do in Lalibela that aren’t in the boring guides? That’s what this is.

The really strange thing about Ethiopia is that its two most famous places couldn’t be more different.

First, you have the Simien Mountains. It’s all about being high. You’re on top of everything, looking down. The history is nature—the cliffs, the weird baboons. It’s wild.

Then there’s Lalibela. And it’s the total opposite. It’s about going down. Into the earth. It wasn’t made by nature; it was made by people and their belief in something. And the churches aren’t empty ruins, they’re alive. People are in there, praying.

So one experience is all about the sky, and the other is about being deep in solid rock. Going from one to the other is the real journey.

As visitors explore these historical sites, they are transported back in time, immersed in the ancient history that has shaped the country. The ongoing heritage of these cultural treasures continues to amaze and inspire, providing a look into Ethiopia’s extraordinary history.

What the guidebooks often miss is that Ethiopia’s history isn’t a static exhibit. In Lalibela and the Simien Mountains, it’s a constant, living presence that you walk through, breathe in, and experience with all your senses.

Okay, so there’s this one place, Bet Giyorgis. The cross-shaped one. And it’s… wait, it’s not a building. You’re just on the ground, walking on flat rock, and then boom, there it is, way down in a big hole.

Abebe that was my guide’s name he just points. You follow him down this little path cut in the rock and it’s like the world just shuts off. All the noise from the town, gone. And you start to hear this… this sound, like a low humming. It’s not a speaker, it’s real people. All in white robes. I guess some of them walk for weeks to get there. It’s been a church for like, 800 years. So it’s not a museum. It’s… yeah. The air inside is cold. And the silence is just really, really thick. You just gotta go there.

The Simien Mountains are just… wild. I remember we stopped for lunch, maybe the second day of the trek. On this big flat grassy area. And then they just appeared. The Gelada baboons.

Not one or two. I mean hundreds of them. A massive troop. Just came over the hill and walked right past us, didn’t even care we were there. They sat down maybe ten feet away and just started eating grass and picking bugs off each other. It was crazy. And right behind them, the ground just disappears. A thousand-foot drop.

It wasn’t like watching animals in a zoo. Not at all. It felt like we were just guests in their world for a minute. And they completely ignored us. Yeah. That’s what it’s like there.

The place just doesn’t make sense. It kind of breaks your brain a little when you’re there. The local story they tell you is that angels came down and carved all 11 churches in one night. And honestly, when you’re standing there, touching the walls… that story starts to sound more believable than the real one.

Because the real story is just… how? Some people, hundreds of years ago, just started chipping away at a mountain. Not building up with bricks. They dug down. They carved away tons and tons of rock just to leave a perfect church behind. There are no seams. The columns, the altar, the whole thing is all one single piece of stone. It’s just… crazy.

So yeah, to answer the question, can you visit Lalibela? You should. It’s one of the wildest things anyone has ever built.

Often called the “Roof of Africa,” the Simien Mountains National Park is more than just a stunning mountain range; it’s an ecological island. Formed by ancient volcanic activity and carved by millions of years of erosion, these highlands have created a unique, high-altitude habitat that supports life found nowhere else on Earth.

The animals there are just… unreal. I mean, they’re the whole reason the park is so special. The main thing you’ll see are the Gelada baboons. They’re the stars. They kind of look like little lions with this red patch on their chest, the “bleeding heart” thing they talk about. And they just eat grass. That’s it. The only monkeys in the world that do. You can get so close to them and just watch them.

Then there are the really rare ones. You have to be super lucky. We didn’t see an Ethiopian wolf—they’re like, the rarest dogs in the world or something. But we did see a Walia ibex. This big goat with these huge, curved horns, just standing on a cliff that looked impossible to stand on.

It’s just all these weird, special animals in one place. That’s why people say it’s like the Galápagos of Africa, I guess.

Ethiopia’s deep history isn’t confined to its ancient sites. It lives and breathes in the daily rituals of its people, a vibrant culture that is both deeply traditional and warmly hospitable.

Yeah, the big festivals like Timkat are a huge spectacle. But the thing I remember most? The coffee. The coffee ceremony.

I got invited into a family’s home, just this small place outside Lalibela. The woman of the house, she did the whole thing from scratch. Roasted the green beans right there on some coals. The smell was amazing, really smoky and sweet in that little room.

Then she ground them up by hand and brewed it three separate times in this clay pot thing, a jebena. The whole process took forever, like almost an hour. And you just sit and talk. She serves it in these tiny little cups with no handles. It’s not about just getting a quick coffee. It’s like… a whole event. A welcome. A really important tradition for them.

You realize pretty quickly that Ethiopia is a special place. It feels… precious. And you want to make sure you’re traveling the right way.

The good news is, it’s pretty simple. Your money can be a really powerful tool for good there.

When you pay the fee to go trekking in the Simiens, that money actually helps protect the animals, like the Ethiopian wolf. It pays the guys who patrol the park. It’s the same when you choose a local tour company instead of some big international one. Or when you eat at a family-run place. It just means the people who own these amazing places get to benefit from you being there. It’s a good system. You get a better, more authentic trip, and you help preserve the things you came all that way to see.

Here are a few things I learned that might not be in the standard guidebooks.

Look, just go in the dry season. Sometime between October and May. It’s just easier.

The trekking in the Simiens is good then, skies are clear. And you might get lucky and catch a festival if you time it right. Timkat is in January.

The weather in Ethiopia is just crazy, though. The mountains are one thing. But then there’s this other place, the Danakil Depression, which is one of the hottest places on the planet. For that, the best time to visit Danakil Depression is completely different, you have to go in the cooler months like December. It’s a totally separate thing to plan. Just remember that.Getting

You’re gonna want to fly between places. The country is big. Just trust me on that one.

Also, in Lalibela, don’t try to see the churches without a local guide. I know the Lalibela entrance fee is kind of a lot, I think it was around 50$? But the guide is what makes it all make sense. Otherwise you won’t get any of the stories.

For the Simien Mountains, it’s different. They actually make you take a guide and a scout. It’s a park rule. For safety and stuff. Which is good, because they’re the ones who can spot the wildlife.

Oh, and book everything early. Your hotels, your guides, all of it. If there’s a festival happening when you’re there, it gets packed out fast.

The days in Lalibela are long. And dusty. You spend hours walking, climbing through churches that are cut out of the rock. It’s amazing, but you get really tired. And you’re just covered in this red dirt.

But then you get back to your lodge. And you can just have a normal, hot shower. And then sit out on the balcony with a cold St. George beer while the sun sets over the mountains. That part is pretty magical, too.

It’s a strange mix. This super ancient, spiritual day, and then this totally modern, simple comfort. I loved that part. It means you can actually recharge and be ready for whatever comes next.

That trip was… a lot. Not a simple one. Rewarding, sure, but it takes something out of you.

It makes your brain work. Lalibela gets in your head about faith. The Simiens, that’s just pure nature, the scale of it all. You can’t really compare the two.

You don’t just come home with pictures. You come home with this… feeling. That you saw something actually real. Ancient. I don’t know. It’s a trip that sticks around in your head.

FAQ

Q: Is it safe to travel to Lalibela? A: The town of Lalibela itself felt totally safe to me, the people are amazing. But the wider region can be a different story, so you absolutely have to check the official government travel advisories before you book anything. Seriously.

Q: Can you visit Lalibela without a guide? A: Don’t even think about going without a guide.

You technically can, but it’s a huge mistake. The guide is what turns the carved rocks into a masterpiece. Just hire one. It’s worth every penny.

Q: What is the Lalibela entrance fee? A: Just a heads up, the entrance fee is a little steep. It was 50 bucks when I was there.

But that ticket is actually a pass that’s good for like, 5 days, and it gets you into all 11 of the churches. The money helps keep the place up since it’s a UNESCO site, so I’d say it’s for a good cause.

Q: What are the absolute essential things to do in Lalibela? A: The number one thing is, of course, exploring the churches, dedicating at least two full days to see both the northern and southern clusters. Beyond that, I highly recommend participating in a traditional coffee ceremony, visiting the local market, and perhaps hiking to the Asheton Maryam Monastery for incredible views over the town.