What's on in Lalibela, Ethiopia through the year

Peak crowds — Genna at the rock churches, Timkat

• Festival

  Genna at the rock churches

  6–8 JanChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook early

  Tens of thousands of pilgrims walk in for Ethiopian Christmas on 7 January and hold an all-night vigil in white shawls around Bete Maryam. Beds in town are taken a year ahead and prices go with them. Source ↗

• Festival

  Timkat

  18–21 JanMajor festivalCrowded

  The Epiphany procession takes the tabots out of the churches and down to the water, a fortnight after Genna and with most of the same crowd still in town. Source ↗

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  After the pilgrims leave

  1 Feb – 31 May · usuallyOff-season shutdown

  Once Timkat is over the town goes quiet until the rains, and the churches are close to empty on a weekday morning. Guides are easy to find and rooms are a fraction of the January rate.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: After the pilgrims leave (1 Feb – 31 May (usually))

Busy — Fasika, Ethiopian Easter, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Fasika, Ethiopian Easter

  5 Apr – 5 May · usuallyEaster & Holy WeekCrowded

  Fifty-five days of fasting end with an overnight service and the first meat in two months. It follows the Orthodox calendar, so it usually falls a week or more after the Western date. Source ↗

Still on: After the pilgrims leave (1 Feb – 31 May (usually))

Busy — Fasika, Ethiopian Easter, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: After the pilgrims leave (1 Feb – 31 May (usually)), Fasika, Ethiopian Easter (5 Apr – 5 May (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in June.

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in July.

Quiet — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in August.

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Festival

  Meskel

  26–28 SepMajor festival

  A demera bonfire is lit in the churchyard on the eve of 27 September, smaller than the one in Addis and far closer to it. It marks the end of the rains and the start of the walking season. Source ↗

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in October.

Busy — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in November.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in December.