Feeling like Indiana Jones - I did a very nice and refreshing tour to Washa Mic kael church while staying in Addis Abeba. The church is precursor and experimental to the Lalibela churches and is interesting to visit if you want to know the amazing ethiopian rock churches better. Being older, the church is not in as good condition like the Lalibela ones but it has much charm. The pleasant and smelly walk among the eucaliptus trees to reach the church adds interest to the visit. The church still gets devotion (I saw burned candles) and there is a painting of the very interesting Saint Teklehaimanot (he was one-legged and the painting is quite surreal as the amputed leg is painted apart of the Saint). I did a nice encounter when visiting the church when meeting an ermite nun living there in a cove. I was really amazed! I did the tour with a really nice guide called MARY (say « Maru ») EMAGNU which I recommend a lot (WhatsApp and phone +251 91 005 9912 @Travelingisnicegood). It is impossible to visit the church without a guide as you have to know the walking way to the church and you could get easily lost if you don’t know the way. You better have a guide who knows the road to this almost forgotten church, off the classical road of the mainstream visits in Addis Abeba.

Can't get to Lalibela, but a want to see a Rock Hewn Church near Addis Ababa? Washa Mikael!! - I was fortunate to be on the very first Washa Mikael trip with Bernabas of ShebaLand Tours. We had a little extra time at the end of a three day trip to Awash National Park, and no firm plans. So, while enjoying a refreshing Habesha beer after a long day of driving and hyena watching, we consulted the map together and found this seemingly little known church just north of Addis. We looked at each other and said, "Let's check this out!" A couple of days later, post safari, Bernabas picked me up at the crack of dawn, and we headed off to find Washa Mikael. This being the first time he'd been, we wound our way up the narrow and rutted streets in the general direction of the ruins, asking passers by at each intersection until we had to park and start walking. We continued querying locals until we found the right path and ended up at a modern church at the summit of the hill with an active mass going on. We quietly asked around and a gentleman led us to a door on the other side of the courtyard. He opened it, and ushered us through. On the other side was the ruined Washa Mikael rock hewn church. We were looking down into it from our level, and It is in a considerable state of disrepair, and has the remnants of scaffolding erected to support the facade. Large blocks littered the ground inside of the church, and it was pretty wildly overgrown. In order to get down to the level of the entrance, we had to hike around and down to a tunnel bored in the rock, and then stoop and walk through, trying to avoid the large puddle inside. Once through, we were confronted with the impressive, but crumbling front of the church. Bernabas and I spent a short while wandering around, snapping photos and trying to get back into the interior without getting attacked by the ferocious little black ants. We were mostly successful, but eventually, the ants won, and we retreated to shake them from our shoes and pants, and scratch at where they nipped at us. Fortunately, they didn't eat much. It is a bit more than a kilometer walk up to the site, and was a great opportunity to see some of the way regular people live and work. The forest was also nice to walk through, especially with the eucalyptus trees fragrant aroma wafting through the air. Overall, it was a really neat trip, and a great way to wrap up an adventure filled weekend. Use your favorite search engine to look up more information on the site, and specifically search for Bruce Strachan and his studies of the location. He's got a great web page (to which - unfortunately - I can post no links...but you're smart. You can find it.). Very informative, although it is a little dated and will make you sad that nothing's been done recently to save this historic site. Bernabas and the team at ShebaLand Tour are great. When you go with them, you will get first class treatment, and a well organized, personalized tour. I absolutely had a blast, and left with new friends in an amazing country.