Flight +
nights stay in a
star hotel / double room, is
Note
These values represent only an estimate of costs for travels from New York, bought in
2014-08-05 with departure date in
2014-10-19 and return date in 2014-10-27 . These values refer the best quality and price according to parameters of selection set by Bananatrips. Prices may have changed since date of publication and will also depend on the specific date of reservation. The success in obtaining good prices is to make reservations in advance. For specific values in other dates please REQUEST A SEARCH BEFORE MAKING YOUR RESERVATION.
Lalibela is a city in Ethiopia that is a centre of pilgrimage for much of the country. It has a population of 15,000.
How to Get There
By plane
Ethiopian Airlines has scheduled flights at least once a day to Lalibela Airport (ICAO code HALL, IATA: LLI). Flights are often overbooked: make sure you reconfirm your seat at least 1 day in advance and show up at the airport on time! Flights can also be rescheduled or cancelled at short notice because of weather or for operational reasons. The airport is mid-sized. For a tiny town like Lalibela, the airport seems over-sized. It is at least 30 minutes by shared taxi (40 birrs per person as of 2008) away from the town. As of May 2013, most hotels will agree to pick you up for an extra 70birr. 70 birrs for a minibus to/from Lalibela was confirmed december 2013.
Bedrock church
By bus
There is a daily bus from Addis Ababa. It is a two-day journey with an overnight stop at Dessie. The bus passes through Woldia mid-morning and will pick up passengers from the bus station if it has room. Another bus runs daily from Woldia, leaving at dawn. Both the Woldia and Addis Ababa buses depart Lalibela at 6am.
It is usually possible to get to/from Bahir Dar by bus in one day by changing buses at the village of Gashena, approximately 1-2 hours from Lalibela depending on traffic and weather. If you are travelling to or from Gondar by bus, you will usually have to spend the night somewhere.
Coming from Aksum the best possible way would take about two nights with stopovers in Mekele and Woldia. However, if you are lucky you might be able to catch a shared taxi in Mekele which brings you along Highway 1 to Woldia where you the next day can catch a bus heading towards Bahir Dar with a stop at the Gashena Junction to Lalibela where you have to wait for another bus/car bringing you to Lalibela. This might take a few hours.
By car
The road to Lalibela is fine until you get to the village of Gashena, the last 1-2 hours consists of a small and unreliable road which is partly made of tarmac and partly sand. From Bahir Dar the drive takes about 7-8 hours and from Gondar about 10-11 hours. It is possible to get private drivers in both Bahir Dar and Gondar, would cost about 100-200 $ depending on negotiations, location and driver.
Get around
You can rent minibuses to drive you around the city. They usually are found outside the airport. Unlike other bigger towns and cities in Ethiopia, there are NO blue and white minibuses that regularly run through this small town. There are a few horses pulling carts.
You can walk safely around town (although people may look at you strangely or with amusement). School children may try to befriend you, and follow you around, perhaps beg. As of 2010 and onwards the government has tried to forbid begging, the situation is at this point much better than before but some people can still beg or invite you to their homes where strategic begging can be done.
Walking is the best way to get around, as you can even get from the far Southern point (where the Tukul Village hotel is located) up to the far Northern point (Ben Abeba restaurant) in 25mins. Aside from children coming up to beg (see section below 'Stay Safe'), the roads are completely safe to walk on. At night, you just might want to bring a flashlight since roads are not well lit for passing cars to see you. All 11 churches are easily seen in one half day by foot (be sure to get a guide).
