Several years ago when I had my first layover in Ethiopia, I told myself that I’d go back someday to actually visit the country. When i started doing my research about Ethiopia, there’s one place that I really wanted to visit: Lalibela. But it’s in the Amhara region where there’s an active conflict going on. And that complicates matters.
First, a little background. Lalibela is one of Ethiopia’s top attractions, and it’s not hard to see why. This is where the famous rock hewn churches are located. These eleven monolithic churches were carved out of rock back in the 12th century. During that time, christian pilgrimages to the holy land were halted due to Muslim conquests in the region. Thus, King Gebre Mescal Lalibela sought out to construct a “New Jerusalem“. The holy city of Lalibela became a substitute for Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Thus Lalibela has attracted Christian Pilgrims from all over the world. For many years, Lalibela has been the most visited place in Ethiopia, until conflict struck the region.
Many people haven’t heard of the Tigray War. It’s disheartening whenever I bring this up with fellow travelers, very few have any idea of what I’m talking about. The allied forces of the Ethiopian Government and Eritrea were on one side of the conflict, and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) on the other. Tensions have been simmering for years between the two sides. For almost three decades, Ethiopia’s federal government had been ruled by leaders from the Tigray region. Eventually, discontent led to protests, leading to a government reshuffle back in 2018. The present prime minister, Abiy Ahmed then rose into power. Abiy Ahmed was very popular at the start. he even won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 when he ended a long standing territorial dispute with Eritrea. However, Tigray’s leaders saw Abiy Ahmed‘s reforms as an attempt to change Ethiopia’s federal government and centralize power. During the pandemic, Tigray defied the central government and held their own regional elections. The central government retaliated by suspending funding to the region. Armed conflict started on November 2020 when the Prime Minister ordered a military offensive against forces in Tigray, allegedly in response to an attack on a military base housing government troops. This armed conflict spilled to other regions, including neighboring Amhara where Lalibela is located. By the time both sides agreed to a truce two years later (though Eritrea was not part of this agreement), it was estimated that there had been as much as 600,000 casualties. This includes many civilians. Let that sink in. As much as 600,000 lives lost, yet many people around the world remain unaware of this. Mass extrajudicial killings of civilians took place regularly. Many women, even little girls were raped. Where was the international concern? Where was the outrage? Where was the international clamor to end the hostilities? Why weren’t citizens of different countries pressuring their own governments to exert international pressure and give aid? I’m veering away from the topic here, but this deserves special mention. Regional conflicts are currently happening in many African countries. There’s an active conflict going on in the Amhara region in Ethiopia. One continues to happen in the Democratic Republic of Congo. One is happening in Sudan. In the Central African Republic. The list goes on. Do some research, and the amount of civilian casualties is staggering. Atrocities are being committed on a daily basis. Yet people don’t even talk about what’s happening in these countries? Is it not trendy to keep an eye on what’s happening in Africa? It’s all about Palestine? I’m not saying the world should ignore what’s happening with the Palestinians, but let’s open our eyes to what’s happening elsewhere. Atrocities aren’t being committed on Palestinians alone. Many people around the world also deserve our attention, help, and sympathy.
Anyway… back to Lalibela. When the Tigray War ended last November 2022, tourism in the Amhara region gradually recovered. Thousands of pilgrims even flocked to Lalibela to celebrate Ethiopian Christmas that year. But this respite was short lived. The Ethiopian government eventually planned to disarm regional forces. About 5 months later, the Ethiopian military raided the Amhara region to disarm paramilitary and militias in the region, including FANO (an ethno-nationalist militia that claims to represent the Amhara). These militias resisted, resulting to the conflict that still continues in the present day. What’s funny is, these militias were fighting alongside the Ethiopian military against the Tigray Forces during the Tigray War. Former allies turned enemies. You cannot make this stuff up.
I was in Ethiopia in early December last year, so obviously this conflict was ongoing. It isn’t continuous though. In between periods of heavy combat, I’ve heard there have been days or even weeks when there’s no active conflict going on. It seemed that I arrived in the country during one of those days. Before landing, I asked one flight attendant if it was safe to go to Lalibela. She said there’s no active conflict going on in the town itself. And since the airport was operational again (FANO took control of the airport just 4 months prior to my arrival), it would be safe to visit Lalibela if I took a flight. Traveling by land is definitely not an option. Then i met someone at the hostel who knew someone who was there in Lalibela when i asked about it, and this someone said that she was safe… Yeah… it may be safe at the moment, but i realized that things could go south any minute. But Lalibela is that one place in the country that i really wanted to check out…. surely spending just one night in Lalibela would be safe? What are the chances of conflict suddenly escalating during those 24 hours that I’d spend there? I was like… f*ck it. I opened the Ethiopian Airlines app and booked a flight the next day.
About flights within the country… Ethiopian Airlines has a monopoly, and if you take lots of domestic flights, expenses would definitely add up. If you flew to Ethiopia via Ethiopian Airlines though (i.e. you have an international flight booking with the airline), you’d get about 50% off each flight. That’s right. If you plan on taking domestic flights within the country, you better fly to the country via Ethiopian Airlines. If you have an international flight booking, you’d get the rate for locals. Several years back, the process was cumbersome. You had to go to a local ticketing office and show your International flight booking, then buy an airline ticket in person. These days, you just have to click a tab on the app saying you have an international flight booking. I’ve been told they’d just ask for proof upon check in. In my experience though, I was never asked for proof while checking in at the airport. Maybe they already have it on their system that I had an international flight booking. idk.
The flight was a little eerie. It was maybe a little over half full, but I was the only foreign passenger. It figures. I’m the only traveler stubborn enough to visit the part of the country where there’s an active conflict going on. Even within the country, there’s not much recent news coming out of the Amhara region. You get your information mostly through hearsay rather than through official news sites, and the minute I turned on my phone upon landing, I knew why. Though you will have cellular service (i.e. you can call and text), you’ll have no access to the internet. The government blocks internet access in the entire Amhara region. When I asked some locals why the government does this, they said it’s because the government does not want people to see what’s really going on through various social media channels. Journalists are also not allowed in the region for the same reason. I’ve been told that when there’s actual combat going on, like when there was a gunfight between the military and FANO in the town itself just 3 weeks prior (oops), the government totally cuts off cellular services. That’s right, you can’t even call or text. That took me aback a little. Did i make the right decision to visit Lalibela? If i get caught in an active shootout, and in the event that i get shot, I wouldn’t be able to call and inform anyone. I’d just die without anyone knowing. I’d just be an afternote, some stupid faranji who got caught in the crossfire.
Since there won’t be any public transportation from the airport, I had to arrange an airport transfer service from the hotel. I only paid 400 Birr (about 7 US dollars) for a roundtrip… a bargain considering I was the only one they’re picking up, and considering the fact that the airport wasn’t exactly close to town. Roads were practically deserted though, so it only took about 30 minutes. Still it was unsettling. It was about 1 in the afternoon, but there were barely any civilians outside. What I saw lots of… were there military. They were everywhere. I saw lots of military trucks going around. We had to stop through several check points, and the soldiers kept asking for my passport, probably wondering what the hell I was doing there. Close to town I saw a number of students walking. That brought a smile to my face. Somehow, there’s some sense of normalcy. Children were still able to go to school, in spite of what has been going on for the past couple of years.
One good thing about visiting an area of active conflict, everything’s gonna be cheap. I only paid USD 18 for one night at the hotel. i found out later they usually charge 60. One fancy hotel was only charging USD 40 a night. I found out later on that they usually charged 150. Makes sense, when there’s barely any tourists coming. During those 24 hours that I spent in Lalibela, i was the only traveler. All the hotels and lodges were open, but aside from my hotel, they were empty. I guess they were thinking some random traveler might show up somehow, so they had to be ready just in case. There are many hotels because Lalibela was a top tourist destination. Now everyone in the tourism industry could barely get by.
After dropping my bags at the hotel, I figured i should head to the churches and get it over with. I had to go with a guide for safety. The site was about a 30 minute walk from the hotel. On the way, there were soldiers on every street corner. Halfway there, i noticed something odd. People were all walking fast. Then a couple more minutes, everyone was running. Something was definitely wrong. People were running away from something. I asked the guide what the heck was happening. After asking someone, he told me that there was an active shootout between FANO and the military just outside of town. Jesus. I asked him if we should head back instead. He told me it would be better to head to the churches because it was closer. Also, it was totally safe there. Neither the military nor FANO would dare damage the churches. That made sense.
So in spite of what’s happening, the churches were open. After checking the contents of my bag, they asked me for USD 100 to enter. I was surprised. All this time I’ve been debating on whether or not to head to Lalibela, I didn’t even bother to check how much they were charging for entrance to the site. lol. If you don’t have US dollars with you, they accept local currency. And don’t worry, they use the official bank rate and not the black market rate. they even threw in a Lalibela shirt— something I’d never wear, but it’s a great souvenir.
Another good thing about going to Lalibela these days: I had the churches all to myself. Without any other people around except for my guide and the priests inside each church, I was able to appreciate these structures more. There are two groups of Churches. Five are located to the north of the River Jordan, another five to the south. The Bete Giyorgis Church (Church of Saint George), perhaps the most famous one (the one that looks like a cross from above) is separated from the rest. Each church is different from the others, and it’s necessary to check out all of them. It took me almost two hours to visit each church. I suppose one could take less time, but I wanted to take advantage of the situation. Without anyone else there, it was as if I was having an exclusive tour. Paying a hundred US dollars to see these amazing structures up close was definitely worth it.
By the time I was done, my guide told me that he won’t be able to accompany me back to the hotel. He was in a bit of a hurry to leave, which i found odd. I guess he was worried about his family. He asked some 14 year old kid to take me back instead. The town was completely deserted by this time, though random trucks full of soldiers were driving around. We were mostly walking on alleys and avoiding the main streets. I could see that this kid was afraid, especially when there were soldiers passing by. We had to stop whenever soldiers were around to remain hidden from their view. What kind of government is this, i thought to myself, when its own citizens are afraid of its military personnel. Shouldn’t citizens feel safe when they are around? When it took a while before the soldiers left one spot, the kid asked me if I knew how to get back to the hotel on my own. I told him no, I didn’t. And i didn’t have GPS. There’s no way i could find the hotel on my own, so we just waited until the soldiers finally left. That took about 20 minutes. For 20 minutes, we were totally silent. He didn’t want to talk because the soldiers might hear us. When we started walking again I asked him why he was afraid of them. He said his brother was part of FANO, and the soldiers would surely target him if they found out. I found out later than many of the people in Lalibela had family who are part of FANO. There were even FANO members still living in town, unbeknownst to the military. This explains why many citizens of Lalibela seemed to be afraid of them. When we reached the hotel, he removed the necklace he was wearing and tried to put it around my neck. I was hesitant to accept it, and I asked him why he was giving it to me. He said it’s something to remember him by, because he was sure I was never seeing him again. I saw the extreme sadness and fear in his eyes, as if he sensed that he was going to die soon. He was about to cry. I gave him a hug and gave an extra tip for bringing me back to the hotel. We were at the main road, and he quickly ran away once we’ve said our goodbyes. He was really afraid of being seen out in the open while there’s an ongoing confrontation just outside of town.
I ate an early dinner at the fancy sister hotel. By the time i was done, it was around 5 PM. I left a huge tip, something I don’t normally do… but when will they have guests again? It could take days. Or weeks. Or months. There’s no certainty. I went outside. The sun was still up. What the heck would I do. There’s totally no internet access. I couldn’t walk around when everyone in town was basically sheltering in place aside from the military. Nothing was open. Even small shops were closed. it was a ghost town. Heading outside of town is not an option when there’s an ongoing confrontation between the military and FANO. Such a shame though, because on the ride to town, I saw a lot of great areas for hiking. I imagine trekking was popular in the area years ago before the conflicts started. I’m a night owl so there’s no way I could sleep early. I headed back to the hotel, took a shower, fixed my stuff, edited some pictures. It was 7 PM and it was still too early to sleep. I decided to head outside just to see what’s up.
The hotel was actually beside a couple of houses, and I saw several people looking out their windows. One kid approached me and asked where I was from. Why i was in Lalibela. Usual questions locals ask tourists. After a couple of minutes, he invited me to their house to have some coffee. Having coffee would probably mess up my sleep schedule even more, but I had nothing to do, so I thought to myself screw it, and i said sure. They were just about to have dinner. His mother was making Injera bread from scratch. She offered me some, but I declined because I wasn’t hungry… I did accept the cup of coffee she offered though, I didn’t want to be rude. But i still felt kinda bad. Looking at their living conditions, i didn’t want to take anything from them, even if it’s just a cup of coffee. While they were having dinner, we started talking about their lives for the past couple of years. Her eldest son was a tour guide, and obviously for the past couple of years he totally had no income. Her husband is a farmer, but even that was hard do when there’s a constant risk of confrontation between the military and FANO. The next morning, there were more people outside, and I received two more invites. Honestly, it was amazing interacting with locals this way. How they invited me and offered me a glimpse into their daily lives. It was eye opening. This was one of those times that i wished i were a billionaire so I could help all the people I encountered. Just hand out wads of cash left and right. But these families weren’t asking for monetary support even though they desperately needed it. It seemed that they were genuinely happy having guests. They were genuinely interested in hearing my stories. And the impression I was getting was, they wanted to me know what life has been like for them, and maybe… hopefully… I could spread the word.
I knew what they wanted. They wanted an end to this conflict so that their lives could go back to normal. But it’s not that easy is it, when many of these civilians are sympathetic to FANO. I’m sure the Ethiopian government would not give in to FANO‘s demands, hence this standstill of sorts. Both sides should set aside their egos and try to find common ground. Both sides should make sacrifices and give some concessions. The longer this conflict continues, the more their citizens suffer. If they truly care about these people, they should strive to find common ground.
It’s not just Lalibela that’s affected. The Amhara region is home to many famous attractions in the country. Gondar, about 6 hours away from Lalibela by land transport, was once the seat of Ethiopian Emperors and is home to many palaces and fortresses. Bahir Dar, the capital of the Amhara region, is home to many historic monasteries, Lake Tana, and the Blue Nile Falls— the biggest falls in Nile River system. These places were all very dependent on tourism, you could only imagine how this conflict has affected the livelihood of the citizens in the region. Just a few weeks ago the military were battling militias inside the city of Bahir Dar. Last January in the town of Merawi, various witnesses attest that the military raided several houses of suspected militants and executed them outright. These civilians were executed without due process, it was all based on assumptions and unproven accusations. The civilian death toll was estimated to be from 80 to 100. No wonder the citizens of Lalibela were afraid of their own government’s military.
You’re going to hear people saying it’s safe to visit the Amhara region. Heck, just do a simple search online. You’ll see a number of vloggers who have also recently been to the region like me, and they say it’s safe. Yeah, a confrontation between the military and regional militias does not occur daily. And hey, even though there was one happening on the day I went, it was on the outskirts of town and I got home safely. Still, I wouldn’t recommend going at this time. However, if you’re stubborn like me and you absolutely have to, ask around about the present situation. It’s not easy because there’s no internet access in the Amhara region and the government bans journalists in the area, but you’re bound to meet someone who knows someone who is there right now. Phone lines after all, remain open as long as there’s no active confrontation going on. Although you’d find buses heading to destinations within the Amhara Region, do not risk it. And don’t even dare renting a car and plan to drive around this region on your own. Don’t be stupid. The safest way to reach any destination in the region these days is to fly. It won’t be totally safe once you get there, but at least you won’t get caught in any crossfire that occurs sporadically on the roads between towns. I was planning on heading to Gondar after Lalibela, but I’d have to fly back to Addis first before flying to Gondar— I found that impractical and that’s gonna cost additional and unnecessary expenses, so I decided to skip it (there are direct flights between Lalibela and Gondar now though, twice weekly. I would have taken this if this was an option last December). I’ve heard of one backpacker heading to Lalibela from Gondar. She called the hotel staff when i was about to leave because she had to cancel her booking. Her reason? The bus had to turn back because a shootout between FANO and the military just happened on the road halfway to Lalibela. To fellow budget travelers and backpackers: don’t be stupid. Would saving a couple of hundred bucks be worth risking your life over? if you can’t afford to fly, just skip it. Or wait until this conflict ends. Jesus.
Having witnessed first hand how this conflict has affected the livelihood of citizens in the Amhara Region, i feel bad for telling people that it’s not a good idea to visit at this time. But no destination is worth risking our lives over. It would be best to wait until this conflict is resolved. In the meantime, let’s try to find other ways to help these people. Spreading awareness about this conflict would be a good start.
no roads to follow 
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