Family Friendly Activities Lalibela

Travel advisory, as of October 2026. Lalibela is in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, where the UK FCDO advises against all travel and the US government tells its citizens not to travel. Fighting has resumed across northern Ethiopia, flights to Lalibela have been suspended since 24 September 2026 with no restart date announced, and there is no safe overland route. Nothing described here can be booked now; this page describes the town for a future visit once advisories change. Read the FCDO advice and the US State Department before making any plans.

Families and Lalibela

Lalibela is a hard place for young children, and nothing here can be planned now. Several churches sit in unguarded quarry pits about 10 to 12 metres deep. Stone thresholds are polished and slippery, and the tunnel between two church groups is about 35 metres long and pitch dark, so carry a torch.

If you go one day

• Take shoes off at every church, cover shoulders and knees, and keep voices low. Women cover their heads. Ask before taking any photo, use no flash during prayer, and do not touch the carvings.
• The town is about 2,500 metres above sea level, so go slowly on the first day and drink water.
• The churches stand close together and are seen on foot. Vehicles do not run between them.

Lalibela has no lake, boating, swimming or spa. Untreated surface water in the highlands can carry bilharzia, so never swim or wade in streams.