Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the river. The four daily minibuses from Atsbi to Dera can drop you at the signed junction
(Birr10, 10 minutes), but you'll almost certainly have to walk back to town.
CHURCH
Mikael Imba
Offline map
Of all Tigray's rock-hewn churches, Mikael Imba, possibly dating from the 11th century,
most resembles those seen at Lalibela. A three-quarter monolith, the interior is huge
(16.6m wide and 9m deep) with 25 pillars (nine freestanding) holding up the 6m-high
ceiling. The view from here is great. It's 9km south of Atsbi and has an easy 20-minute
ascent, which is finished with a short ladder. There's no public transport here.
TEMBIEN CLUSTER
Isolated from the other clusters, Tembien receives so few visitors that on our last visit no
children asked us for anything; not even 'highland'. Abi Adi, the nearest town, sits gor-
geously in a half-ring of mountains. It's best approached from Adwa or Mekele. The dir-
ect road from Hawzien is often impassable requiring a 135km drive through Nebelet.
Market day is Saturday.
Abba Yohanni
Offline map
Impressively located halfway up a 300m-high sheer cliff face, this church is reached by a
15-minute climb using steps, tunnels and little bridges. The crooked carving and large
cracks make the three-aisled, four-bayed interior as fascinating as the facade and the
bright afternoon light makes it easy to photograph. As a bonus, it's an active monastery,
so the key is never far away. On the downside, it means women are prohibited. Architec-
turally it can't compete with many others, but all things combined, it's one of the best. It
sits 13.5km from Abi Adi on the back of the mountain. The last 7.5km is on a 4WD-only
road that gets very little traffic, except on market day.
If the church has captured your imagination, you'll be pleased to know that another 42
churches founded by Yohannes are in the vicinity. The only problem is that not only are
they all invisible, some are also guarded by a sword-yielding Yohannes.
CHURCH
Gebriel Wukien
Offline map
In a grove of trees on the other side of the same mountain as Abba Yohanni, this architec-
turally interesting 15th-century church, entered through a rock-hewn trench, has three
CHURCH
