Lalibela, Religious mountain town in Amhara, Ethiopia.
Lalibela is a mountain town in the Lasta highlands of Ethiopia. The settlement sits at around 2500 meters elevation and contains eleven churches carved directly from solid volcanic rock.
King Lalibela ordered the construction of the churches in the 12th century when Christian pilgrims could no longer travel to Jerusalem. The work took decades, with thousands of laborers chiseling directly into the bedrock.
Pilgrims from across Ethiopia come here to pray and attend services inside the rock-carved churches. Priests live in simple quarters around the structures and maintain liturgical traditions that go back centuries.
Sturdy shoes are necessary to walk through the narrow trenches and tunnels connecting the churches. The high elevation can cause breathing difficulty during exertion, so moving slowly helps.
Each church was carved from a single block of stone, with walls created from the outside inward. The masons left no waste material because excess rock was used to shape pillars and arches.
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