We’ve gone to several churches and monasteries in Ethiopia ranging from 300 to 10,000 years old. These were all good to amazing sites.
But, if you dare, go to the Abuna Yemata Guh monolithic church. It is completely carved out of sandstone and is at the summit of a rock wall.
You initially start at 7700 feet. You hike up 1420 steps. After that you do some class three scrambling until you get to the base of the rock wall.
Then you have to remove your shoes and go barefoot about 40 feet up a near vertical wall (you will be barefoot from here on out). This is a class 5.4 climb. we were offered a rope and a rock climbing harness that had seen better days.
All of the locals did this climb unroped. Our guide asked us if we wanted to be roped up, and I initially told him that I was sure if he could do it unroped that I would be able to do it unroped. But that went out the door when I found out that we had to do it barefoot (for religious purposes).
A short scramble after that takes you to the women’s chamber.
From there, you have an 18’ unroped class 5.2 climb (with an old tree branch on the left-hand side that you can grab onto with one hand for support). Finally, you walk along a ledge for 30 feet. It has an 800 foot shear drop down the side. Now you have made it to the church. Regular worshipers do this every week! (several have fallen off the side over the years).
Once you are inside this 1,500 year old church, all of the walls are hand painted.
This was an amazing, truly special site to journey to. The only church that I’ve been in that has been more impressive is Westminster Abbey.
