How We Travel · 02 of 06
Arrive for the feast days
Christmas at the rock churches, Epiphany at the royal bath
Twice each January the north gathers. Pilgrims in white fill the trenches of Lalibela for Genna, Ethiopian Christmas, and twelve days later Gondar carries its tabots to Fasilides' Bath for Timkat.
Genna falls on January 7th. The night before, thousands of pilgrims keep vigil among Lalibela's rock-hewn churches, and at dawn the priests chant from the rock above them. It is a working act of faith rather than a performance, and the best way to see it is quietly, from a place arranged well in advance.
Timkat follows on January 19th. On the eve, the tabots — the consecrated tablets of each church — are carried in procession to Fasilides' Bath in Gondar; the vigil runs through the night, and at dawn the water is blessed. Both dates follow the Ethiopian calendar and move by a day in some years, so we confirm them when you book.
Rooms and vantage points go early, which is why we plan festival journeys a year ahead — and why we travel with an Orthodox Christian scholar who can explain what is happening, and when to put the camera down.
What this looks like
- 01The Genna vigil at Lalibela among pilgrims dressed in white
- 02The Timkat procession and the blessing of the water at Fasilides' Bath
- 03An Orthodox Christian scholar as your festival guide
- 04Accommodation and viewing positions secured twelve months ahead
- Typical setting
- Lalibela & Gondar
- Dates
- Jan 7 & Jan 19
- Time needed
- 8 – 16 days
- Season
- January only
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