Category Archives: Blog

Tabots come out at Senay Mikael in Lalibela

Deacons at Giyorgis festival Lalibela

Is Lalibela safe and ready for tourists?

Many people are asking me about Lalibela, and the predominant question is: “is it safe?” The answer for me it’s very easy: “yes!“.

I have been in Lalibela three times this year: in late January to witness the beautiful Giyorgis (St George) festival and again at the end of May to discuss with our guides and local government how to get several of the community tourism guesthouses back into operation (some have already been hosting hikers); then lastly in mid June. Each time I was well looked after: a very comfortable bed, a working shower with hot water, good food… and cold beer. The last time was with my son and a group of clients to see the special Mikael and St Lalibela celebrations and do some exciting cycling on the mountain above the town (totally awesome)!

Eating out in Lalibela

What happened in Lalibela?

However, all would-be guests will probably know Lalibela was overrun by the TPLF in the fighting that embroiled much of northern Ethiopia recently. It was a shock to us all when, in August 2021, the TPLF came across the mountains from the road that leads between Mekele and Dessie, through the small mountain village of Muja, catching everyone by surprise. At first nobody wanted to believe it. But in Lalibela it was very real. Most of the guides I know fled down into the lowlands and up onto the plateau heading towards Bahir Dar, and for 3 months the people who remained struggled under occupation with precious little food.

Kids looks through window at Senay Mikael celebrations

At the start of December 2021 government & Amhara forces retook Lalibela, following a government counter-offensive led by PM Abiy in late November. It seemed inevitable that the Tigrayan forces would be pushed back further north. But 11 days later they regrouped and again took Lalibela and some nearby towns. It seems they wanted to secure a line of retreat back to Tigray. In keeping with this, the TPLF retreated out of Lalibela a few days afterwards.

What has Changed now?

So why do I believe it safe to visit Lalibela again now? At the point when Lalibela was taken initially TPLF forces were on the march south into Amhara Region, and it seems they intended reaching to Addis. Now there has been a truce which has stood since March and no real fighting since late December when the Ethiopian forces stated that they wouldn’t advance into Tigray. In addition aid trucks are delivering humanitarian assistance to Tigray in increasingly more significant quantities, which was one of the demands of the TPLF and their stated reason for advancing towards Addis. It doesn’t seem that either side wants to resume full scale fighting and although it is slow, diplomacy is inching forward. It’s widely assumed that if fighting did resume, it would be over the disputed territory to the west of the Tekeze bordering Sudan. This area is north and west the Simien mountains and a very long way from Lalibela.

Tesfa team at Lalibela A/P

I don’t see any risk to be in Lalibela as a tourist at this time. There is a functional airport with regular flights linking the town to Addis Ababa, as well as a good road to connect to Bahir Dar and places further south. That many western governments still have Lalibela painted red on their travel advice is an anathema to me! It defies logic. Especially since many ambassadors (including the US ambassador) visited Lalibela in May this year and pronounced it safe!

Lalibela Needs Tourists to visit

On top of the inaccuracy, it is stopping people visiting Lalibela, when the town is crying out for assistance. Lalibela derives most of its income from tourism, and without tourists visiting, thousands of people are struggling to make ends meet. It is not just the hotel staff and the guides, there are drivers, musicians, shop owners, carpenters, mechanics, you name it – all are struggling.

Many hotel owners are keeping their hotels operating in Lalibela in the hope that tourists come. They have bought

Tabots paraded at Senay Mikael Festival

generators so that they can provide guests with power to heat water for showers and recharge phones. Keeping their hotels open is actually costing them money. The guides are so eager to show their guests around the extraordinary 800 year old churches that are carved out of the bedrock with a labyrinth of tunnels connecting them. In fact everyone in the town is welcoming and happy to see the few foreigners who have made it to visit Lalibela, and people are doing their best to make those that come feel welcome.

Lalibela is truly an incredible place.

In recent years it was becoming overrun by the volume of tourists visiting. Now you can visit in peace, with just the rhythmic chanting from the priests, to the deep beat of the big Kebero drums, and a tinkle of the sistrum an ancient rattle that dates back to pharaonic Egypt.

Deacon using sistrum in Lalibela

On a festival you may see the holy Tabots wrapped in brocaded cloth and carried under an umbrella, paraded out of the church. Or just spend a few hours in contemplation in once of the ancient churches, observing the spiritual life of the church.

You will be reminded of the how ancient is Lalibela and it’s orthodox church. Its history has fingers that go deep back into a past shrouded in mystery, way deeper than any western church. And the rural life of the farmers, who have now ploughing their land with teams of oxen, and are sowing the seeds by hand, for a crop that they can harvest in November and December, is also a very ancient way of life. The Tesfa Community treks in the surrounding mountains are the best way to see and experience this way of life.

I urge any of you with a desire to come and explore, to travel to Ethiopia soon. You will be greeted with big smiles and a hospitality that leaves you humbled.

Categories: Ethiopian News, Blog

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Mysterious monasteries as Ethiopia travel gets easier

By: Mark Chapman

April 13, 2022

Mysterious hidden Monastery

Bethlehem church – timber & stone roof

The mysterious Bethlehem monastery is gearing up to welcome the first tourists. This monastery was reportedly built in the fourth century following the construction of Mariam Sion church in Axum. It is built in the ancient way with blocks of stone for the floor and walls and then a wooden roof, but what makes this church even more intriguing is that it is hidden by typical round wall with a corrugated roof, and so from outside looks like most other churches, although it is anything but!

Flagstone marking entrance to basement chambers

Even more mysterious is that the monks claim that the Ark of Covenant is kept
beneath the church. They recount the tale of an Italian version of Indiana Jones who some 80 years ago determined to explore the chambers beneath the church. Apparently he came up having experienced an explosion he assumed to be volcanic, left the church and died within a day. The priests sealed the access stone and no one has been back down since.
This monastery is one of the key learning places – a church university for priests who want to study the scriptures and music of St. Yared, and there is a residential compound attached to the church.
We are now able to arrange for guests to stay at Bethlehem, either in a guesthouse or in tents, which will fit perfectly onto a trip between the Tesfa community guesthouses in neighbouring Meket (just south of Lalibela), and Gondar or Bahir Dar.

Travel to Ethiopia gets easier

Bole Airport in Addis

With Omicron replacing the Delta variant across the world the threat of COVID 19 has diminished. Although cases may have increased and transmission is rapid, immunity and much lower mortality and hospitalisation seem to follow. Official statistics for Ethiopia show that deaths of people with COVID and active cases have all but disappeared now. In Addis Ababa, where previous spikes in mortality were visible as funeral tents went up along the roads, life has settled down to something approaching normal.
In terms of travel, the Ethiopian Public Health Institute has now revised the directive with the result that travellers do not need to have a negative PCR test if they are vaccinated against COVID (all the mainstream western and Chinese vaccines – all double doses – except J&J, valid two weeks after vaccination) and can provide evidence (one presumes a certificate with the correct stamp on it).
This means the end for most travellers of expensive PCR tests and the worry about having travel plans cancelled due to a positive test.

E-Visas being processed

Add to this that the online visa applications are being processed speedily now – but do use the correct government website . Make sure you are using the one ending .gov.et. You will need the address of your first night in a hotel, and a digital passport photo less than 2MB best as JPEG format. And same size/ format for a copy of the info page of your passport. If you do not hear back from them in 72 hours please contact us – they may need a nudge to get it done.

Simien Mnt Lodge

National Park Re-opened

The Simien National Park, which was closed during the conflict, is now open for business and Simien Mountain Lodge, which recently was renovated, is serving clients again. Through most of the last 24 months they have kept their staff on the payroll and remain a beacon of light for tourism in the area. Too many tourism professionals have suffered, while others have looked for alternative income streams that have taken them away from the sector. That this lodge remained open has given some of these people hope that tourism will return.

World class attractions

Sebreatsemu Giyorgis in Lalibela - tabots return to the church

Giyorgis church – Rock-hewn in Lalibela

Now that fighting across the region has stopped, the State of Emergency ended, and flight services resumed, the first trickle of visitors is returning to some of the attractions in the region: Lake Tana with its secluded monasteries; Lalibela with its labyrinth of rock-hewn churches connected by passageways and tunnels; Gondar with its romantic castles, baths and an extra ordinary church, and the Simien Mountain National Park with its high mountains, vertical escarpments and unique flora and fauna. Three of these are UNESCO World Heritage sites, and the fourth, Lake Tana, is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and all are amazing places to visit.

Dawn at Mescha community guesthouse Wof Washa

Mescha guesthouse, Wof Washa forest

Community Tourism

Tesfa Community Treks are also getting going again, as a steady stream of hikers has made their way to the guesthouses in Wof Washa Forest (near Ankober) and to the mountains around Lalibela to explore these stunning areas and experience the lives of the local farmers. Here the local host communities, after two years with virtually no guests, are thrilled to receive visitors again. Treks can be from 2 nights upwards, and we can do several nights at one guesthouse for those wanting more time with the communities. More details on our website.

Book your trip soon!

I urge you to look at visiting Ethiopia soon. These remarkable places are quiet and peaceful. You can enjoy them without the crowds that were coming in 2019, and in the process help the guides, and other tourism professionals and service givers who are really struggling. Contact us here or email us on info@tesfatours.com

Categories: Ethiopian News, Blog, Tesfa Tours News

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A Biblical Land – opening up again

By: Mark Chapman

March 2, 2022

Old Ethiopian image of the Queen of Sheba mounted and armed

The Queen of Sheba on horseback

As Ethiopia begins to open up after two years of restrictions on travel at first due to COVID 19 and then due to a spreading conflict, it maybe time to ponder what makes Ethiopia a unique travel destination and magical place to visit, and to start looking at the you can visit.

Ethiopia – a Biblical Land!

Statue of Emperor Tewedros

Ethiopia conjures up many images in the mind of the would be traveller. Images that come from characters from Ethiopia’s rich history of Emperors, of the Queen of Sheba and of the mysterious Prester John; also geographical images: of the River Nile, the Rift Valley, of high mountains and deep gorges and hot deserts; and this mixed in with images from the 70’s & 80’s of famines and wars. Added to these are more recent images, perhaps garnered from TV documentaries that show the unique wildlife of the Ethiopian highlands:

Male Gelada baboons running by the escarpment

Gelada Baboons (or monkeys as scientists now like to call them) scrambling around on precipitous cliffs flashing their crimson gums and eye lids; and the Ethiopian wolf – the world’s rarest in the dog family, interacting with touching tenderness with their pack as they eke out their lives in the Afro-alpine moorlands.

Ethiopian Wolves in Bale (Photo Martin Harvey)

Many have used the term ‘Biblical’ to describe what they see in Ethiopia, maybe inspired by the immense landscape, or the people often wrapped in cotton shawls (gabis), or by herds of cattle, camels, sheep and or goats roaming the open land. You certainly sense the huge and ancient human and physical landscape that both stretches away in front of you and goes back into the mists of time.

Tabots return to Giyorgis church Lalibela

For me however it is more about how the Orthodox Christian highlands are so focused on the church, the saints days and holidays and the scriptures – all of which are referred to as the Bible. The Church calendar dictates the days you can plough, thresh and harvest, and the days you can’t. There are the days to gather round the church and members of the community compete to be the one responsible for providing the locally brewed beer. Weddings are set according to this calendar too. Churches are often built on top of cliffs,

Zuramba church, built on top of a volcanic plug

surrounded by unspoiled forest giving you an idea of how wooded the landscape could have been a thousand years ago. Around the older established churches – monasteries – are clusters of huts where students learning the age old chants also learn the texts and debate their meaning. Some of these monasteries have older students who become specialists in the subjects taught at that location.

Priest displays a bible

These same churches are home to ancient Bibles and religious scriptures, some far older than anything emanating from Europe. Scholars seek to study these texts to see some of the earliest Christian writings. Some, like the book of Enoch, are not found in the west and yet illuminate the early thinking of the church. Along with these ancient texts are beautiful processional crosses and other treasures that can take your breath away if you are fortunate enough to be shown them.

Visitors travelling through Ethiopia will generally only scratch the surface of this biblical land. But the experiences, visual as well as audible, will leave an indelible mark on them, often ensuring that these visitors return again to see more. Whether they see a church on an Amba (flat mountain top), or a Tabot processing through town or country side, or bands of

Tabots & incense at Senay Mikael festival

pilgrims heading to a special celebration, they will sense something very ‘other’ about Ethiopia. It is something that at once brings echos that resonate with the traveller’s generational past, a time when his/her forebears lives went in a rhythm with the church, and lived intimately with crops and livestock interwoven into their lives. A time before mechanisation and a time when life was lived as a community. In this way travelling in Ethiopia, particularly into the countryside, is also a travel through a time warp, giving a sense of what the modern world has lost in its rapid advances over the last few centuries. Something about this touches the soul of the traveler to Ethiopia and lights up a place inside that was hidden.

Each week now, more countries around the world are dropping all COVID related travel requirements. For travel to Ethiopia there is only a requirement for a negative PCR test taken within 5 days of arrival in Addis. For re-entry to most of the rest of the word there maybe a PCR test required, but only for unvaccinated travellers.

In addition the UK Government’s travel advice has moved to put much of the country in green (OK to travel). With the conflict having become much reduced and the Ethiopian parliament recently repealing the national State of Emergency, it is anticipated that places such as Gondar and Lalibela (which are now open for business) will move from Amber to Green listing in the coming weeks.

Ethiopia badly needs tourism to restart. Two years without income has bought most individuals that have relied on tourism for their livelihood local economy to their knees. Its not just guides and hotel workers, but all the others whose their sell goods and services to the tourism industry. Ethiopia so looks forward to welcoming visitors back in the coming months. Contact us at Tesfa Tours to make suggestions based upon your preferences

Categories: Tesfa Tours News, Blog

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‘Je m’appelle Demissie!’

By: Mark Chapman

February 18, 2022

Revisiting Lalibela and the North

Giyorgis church for festival in Lalibela

As I head back to Addis after four days travelling in Amhara region, I’m struck by how normal things are, yet Ethiopia is far from normal as we get caught up in processions to celebrate the Ascension of St Mary. It is the wonderful abnormalities that make Ethiopia so fascinating and beautiful.

In four days I’ve visited remote monasteries to be told that in actual fact the Ark of Covenant lies beneath its ancient stone floor, and carries a fearsome power that killed the only person who attempted to uncover it; I’ve seen the sacred

Giyorgis Tabot camps out near Yadukulay Guesthouse

tabots, the holy heart of the church, camping out in fields surrounded by brocaded umbrellas and chanting; we’ve been generously hosted in people’s houses with plates of enjara, spicy sauces, curds, local beer etc, I’ve visited people who have endured the horrors of war and yet emerged smiling and happy to have foreign guests.

As we drove in and out from Lalibela numerous times this week, we became well known at the checkpoints and were always ushered through with a broad smile, but I will remember one soldier most: each time we passed he called out: “Bonjour. Ça va?” And today he greeted us with: “Je m’appelle Demisie”.

Community guesthouse at Boya, some damage

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Wherever you go Ethiopia is full of surprises which give you many reasons to smile, and remind me why I love this country so much.

The big news from this recce trip is that the communities in Meket and the neighbouring areas are eager to host tourists again. Yes they have faced hardships, and many guesthouses have had materials looted by TPLF or damaged, but they were so happy to see me after this time. I was greeted with

Villagers from Wajela guesthouse want tourists back

hugs and smiles.

The community trekking guides in Lalibela are also desperate for work and want to start as soon as they can.

We have repairs to do and purchases to make to get the guesthouses up to standard and to help those communities that suffered the most. If you would like to contribute please get in touch with me.

But please also help to get the business started again. I can promise you or your friends an amazing adventure in Ethiopia.

Categories: Tesfa Tours News, Blog

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UK Govt travel advise for Ethiopia 4 Feb 22

UK Travel advise showing most of Ethiopia as Green

By: Mark Chapman

February 6, 2022

UK Govt safety zones for travel in Ethiopia

The UK government updated their travel advise for Ethiopia as of 4 February 22, to include large areas of Amhara regions (North Shoa & Gojam) as green, as well a a large part of Afar region. The inclusion of N.Shoa means that the community trekking in Wof Washa forest will now be in the ‘green zone’. In addition we at Ride the Rift, are staging a charity bike ride on 4-6 March in the Ankober area of North Shoa- now in the Green zone! Visits to Bahir Dar with the Blue Nile Falls and the monasteries on Lake Tana are now also Green. For now Lalibela and Gondar are in the ‘amber zone’, but we really hope the UK government recognise that they are also safe in the coming weeks. Both Lalibela and Gondar saw a large number of diaspora and other visitors over the January holidays of Gena

Giyorgis church for festival in Lalibela

(Ethiopian Christmas) and Timkat, and I myself went to Lalibela and experienced a special festival of St.George in Lalibela
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Lalibela on 26 January and can attest to the fact that it is calm and secure, and looking forward to receiving overseas visitors again.

With the Ethiopian government announcing last week that the cabinet has agreed to lift the State of Emergency that was declared across Ethiopia in November, the situation in the country is becoming calmer, and we are already seeing that people are looking to travel after 2 years of Covid and conflict has limited any opportunity to explore this incredible country. This is great news for the guides, hoteliers and others who have lost so much in the last 2 years.

Categories: Tesfa Tours News, Ethiopian News, Blog

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Worshippers holding tapers on Jan Meda for Timkat

Melkam Timkat

By: Mark Chapman

January 18, 2022

Worshippers on Jan Meda for Timkat

Huge overhead flag on Addis Ababa street

Flags decorate the roads that the Tabots will be processed along

Timkat is one of the most important festivals in the Ethiopian Orthodox church, celebrating the baptism of Jesus in the Rive Jordan. On the days leading up to Timkat, Addis Ababa is decked out with colourful flags and other decorations to make the routes that the sacred Tabots will travel on as beautiful as possible. Roads are swept and drains cleared. Today (Tuesday) the eve of Timkat the tabots are processed out of the churches across the country to the special grounds where the baptismal ceremony will be staged on the day.
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Replica on St Georges church from Lalibela in Addis for Timkat

A replica on Bete Giyorgis church of Lalibela on a roundabout in Addis

This year I have seen remarkable edifices erected – such as the replica of Bete Giyorgis – the famous rockhewn church of Lalibela on roundabouts where the Tabots will pass.

Church music & flags for Timkat on Jan Meda

But most moving is the many thousands of people that go to the special Timkat grounds across the capital and indeed across the country. Holding ‘twafs’ (tapers) they pray and hold vigil near the tabots. There is a serenity and beauty the I really love in these places and even the presence of a foreigner like me with his bike was welcomed by all.
I and the team at Tesfa Tours, wish everyone a wonderful Timkat holiday – Enkwanaderasachu!

Categories: Ethiopian News, Blog

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Keep informed about Ethiopia -Subscribe to our newsletter

By: Mark Chapman

January 14, 2022

Ethiopia – Gorgeous !

Sign up to receive our updates on the situation in Ethiopia and how tourism is coming back. I will also be keeping you updated on the situation of our guesthouses and the communities who own them.

It should go without saying that your contact details will only be used by Tesfa Tours, we will not inundate you with too many updates, and you will always have the option to unsubscribe should you want to.

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Categories: Tesfa Tours News, Ethiopian News, Blog

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Ethiopian Pilgrims celebrate Christmas in Lalibela

By: Mark Chapman

January 8, 2022

Gena ceremony in Lalibela

It was very special this year as Ethiopian Pilgrims celebrated Gena -Ethiopian Christmas- in Lalibela, a town which was taken by the TPF several times in recent months. Lalibela is the most holy place to celebrate Gena in all of Ethiopia, the new Jerusalem, built by the Saint King Lalibela at the end of the 12th century as an alternative for Ethiopians from making the dangerous journey to Jerusalem for Christmas. Each year thousands of pilgrims walk across country to celebrate Gena in a special ceremony above the churches

https://www.africanews.com/2022/01/07/after-fights-pilgrims-return-to-ethiopian-world-heritage-site-lalibela/

Lalibela, with its labyrinth of churches hewn out of the bedrock in the 12th century, has become the flagship of Ethiopian Tourism, and is often described as the 8th wonder of the world.

We hope that this celebration at the beginning of 2022 will be the beginning of Tourism restarting in Ethiopia. Near to Lalibela, in the mountains a little to the south are a series of community owned guest houses were tourists have been trekking in the beautiful countryside for the last 10 years or more. I will be able to find out in the coming days when we can restart this community trekking.

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Great-Ethiopian Homecoming

By: Mark Chapman

December 21, 2021

Outdoor fun in Ethiopia

Following the call by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopian all over the world to join the Great Ethiopian Homecoming Challenge, Tesfa Tours has been working with our partner Tour Companies under the banner of Ride the Rift to develop some exciting tours and offer them at a discounted rate to diaspora.

Ride the Rift Special Diaspora Tours

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We invite you to look at our trips and come and see some of these exiting places with us. Between us we have a huge experience across this beautiful country and would love help you see more.

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Ethiopia is off the UK redlist

By: Mark Chapman

October 13, 2021

Waterfall in North Shoa on the Ride the Rift trip

Ethiopia has at last been taken off the UK’s redlist. This means that if you have been vaccinated for COVID (in a country whose vaccinations the UK recognises ie: a western country) you can visit Ethiopia and return to the UKL without needing to quarantine.

In addition as of this week the UK travel advise from the FCDO has improved – as based on the current assessment of COVID-19 risks – they no longer advises against all but essential travel to Ethiopia. However the FCDO currently advises against all travel to Amhara Region – but we are hopeful that parts of the region will move from this amber rating to green in the coming weeks.

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View of Ankober Lodge, end of the Charity bike ride with Ride the Rift

In fact Tesfa Tours, in conjunction with several partner companies, has been running hike & bike trips in the highlands within a few hours drive from Addis Ababa. We call this collaborative effort Ride the Rift as it was set up to raise money for guides and cooks who have been left high and dry by the crash of the tourism industry that came as a result of COVID. We continue to raise money for these individuals and their families – and have have helped over 60 people so far and hope to make this 100 by the end of 2021. The next outdoor adventure trip is taking place on 16th October, with our 2nd annual charity bike ride on 20/21 November. Along with trips to the south of Ethiopia – Bale mountains, The Omo Valley and the Rift Valley, there are still opportunities to get out and see much of what Ethiopia has to offer.

Categories: Blog, Ethiopian News, Join Upcoming Tours

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Category Archives: Blog

Lalibela: an ancient and holy town, waiting for visitors

Is Lalibela safe and ready for tourists?

What happened in Lalibela?

What has Changed now?

Lalibela Needs Tourists to visit

Lalibela is truly an incredible place.

Mysterious monasteries as Ethiopia travel gets easier

Mysterious hidden Monastery

Travel to Ethiopia gets easier

E-Visas being processed

National Park Re-opened

World class attractions

Community Tourism

Book your trip soon!

A Biblical Land – opening up again

Ethiopia – a Biblical Land!

‘Je m’appelle Demissie!’

Revisiting Lalibela and the North

UK Travel advise showing most of Ethiopia as Green

Melkam Timkat

Ethiopian Pilgrims celebrate Christmas in Lalibela

Great-Ethiopian Homecoming

Ethiopia is off the UK redlist

From the Blog

Smog in Addis for Hedar Mikael

Tigray goes Green

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