ETHIOPIA
Over the past few years I’ve seen the most stunning photos of Ethiopia’s Orthodox in Lalibela, so it’s been on my bucket list to visit, however, it wasn’t easy to find exact information online. I’ve decided to compile everything you need to know about visiting Lalibela, Ethiopia during the Orthodox Easter celebrations so I hope it helps!
Where to Stay
I stayed at the Honey Land Hotel Lalibela, which was centrally located in town and about a twenty minute walk to the main church, St. George. The rooms were clean, hot water, everyone was wonderful, great food at the restaurant, and a great value.
Guide Recommendation
Honestly at first I didn’t even think about getting a guide since I like to explore freely on my own. However, Mule was highly recommended by Honey Land Hotel, reasonably priced, and spoke good English so I thought it might be good to have someone take me around to all the spots I wanted to photograph and have good insight. He was beyond fantastic and I absolutely loved having him — he knew all the best spots to stand for photography during the ceremonies so I highly recommend him as well. I also noticed no tourist wandered around without a guide. Feel free to mention my name if you reach out to him over Whatsapp (+251935438503).
Good Friday
If you’re looking to maximize your photography time, I highly recommend you fly in on Thursday. That way, you can spend time watching and capturing all the ceremonies at the churches on Friday. The flight on Friday come in midday, which also works if you’re short on time and want to still see some of the ceremonies. You’ll still get to see some of the festivities and there’s one ceremony you shouldn’t miss at 6 PM.
Saturday
The festivities on Friday are incredible, but if you’re looking to explore the churches without the crowds this is the day to do it. Saturday is also market day, so the women are at the vegetable / honey market and the men are at the cattle / goat market. I recommend going to the churches in the morning then visiting the markets midday when all the hustle and bustle is going on.
Saturday evening is when the major Easter festivities begin. Chanting starts at 10 PM, but you can get a great spot from above looking down at the crowds if you arrive at 9:30 PM. When they start lighting the candles, take your shots quickly from above once all the candles are lit, then go down below when the priests circle the church so you can get some great portraits of people up-close with their candles before they go out.
Easter sunday
Continuing from the 10 PM chanting, the actual mass begins at midnight and lasts for two hours, and the celebrations conclude at 4 AM. If you’re interested in getting drone shots of the famous St. George church, I highly recommend going at sunrise at 6 AM since everyone will be sleeping or with family at this time. The flight out on Sunday is a little after noon and I think this is the perfect time to fly out. I’m always worried about seeing everything in an allotted time frame so I hope this is useful.
