Day Tour - Adadi Mariam Church and Tiya Steles from Addis Ababa

This day trip from Addis Ababa is to visit Adadi Mariam and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Tiya. It is one of the most frequently booked excursions of Merit Ethiopian Experience Tours.

If you are,

🤔 Thinking of getting out of Addis Ababa for 1-day,

🤔 Wondering what a rock-church looks like,

🤔 Deciding which private one-day round trip from Addis Ababa to book,

🤔 Looking for real Ethiopian experience within a single day, or

🤔 Searching for tour guide with private transportation to visit Adadi Mariam rock church and Tiya Cemetery,

Then, this page is exactly for you.

With private comfortable private vehicle, spend a day out of Addis visiting Adadi Mariam Rock Church, and Tiya Cemetery. Experience authentic Ethiopian culture with local village visits. Be fascinated with picturesque views of the Rift Valley with a local tour guide.

Find out below how our day trip from Addis Ababa to Tiya and Adadi Mariam Rock Church can add value to your stay in Addis. To see what we mean, please read TripAdvisor Reviews on this day excursion from Addis Ababa.

Get quick answers to questions about this 1-day long trip near Addis Ababa. Contact us on WhatsApp

Among our one day trips from Addis Ababa, this tour is unique because it combines visits to historical and natural sites. The excursion also includes a cultural experience and a visit to an interesting religious site in Ethiopia.

You will visit the ancient rock-cut church of Adadi Mariam. Learn about Ethiopia's history at Tiya Stele Field Cemetery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

General information about Day Tour to Adadi Mariam Rock Church and Tiya Steles

Duration - 8 to 9 hours

Total Distance Covered – 200 km (125 miles)

Major Points of Interest and Attractions to visit: - 
- Adadi Maryam Rock Church (founded in the 13th Century AD and still used)
- The UNESCO World Heritage site of the Steles of Tiya (a grave site from the 14th Century AD)
- Scenic stops at best viewpoints to see the Rift Valley
- Local cultural experience and Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony
- Taste delicious Ethiopian meals at a local restaurant and
- Visit a weekly held cultural market (Sundays and Thursdays)

Following is the road map of this Addis Ababa excursion to Adadi Maryam rock church. See also the relative locations of Melka Kunture Prehistoric Site and Tiya World Heritage Site.

This Addis Ababa day tour also includes enjoying stunning views of the Rift Valley. And experience life of locals by visiting a local family.

On Thursdays and Sundays, visit a weekly held cultural local market of the Oromo people.

Itinerary: Meet your professional local tour guide at your hotel in Addis Ababa. After a brief introduction of the day trip, start driving south of Addis Ababa. We use a private Toyota Corolla (1 or 2 people or Toyota Minivan (3 to 6 people). Our vehicles have air conditioning and seat belts.

Along the tour, you can stop at best viewpoints for photos and breaks.  

The first stop this day trip is at an outlook to enjoy and take photos of the picturesque Rift Valley of Ethiopia. The Rift Valley of Southern Ethiopia is part of the Great East African Rift Valley.

Then walk over the bridge over the Awash River. Awash is one of the biggest rivers in Ethiopia and an inbound river which doesn’t reach the sea.

Drive 55 km (34 miles) southwest of Addis Ababa on the way to Butajira town. Then, turn right and continue driving 12 km (7.5 miles) on gravel road to Adadi Mariam Church.

Visit the ancient rock carved church of Adadi Mariyam. The famous King Lalibela carved Adadi Mariam church from a single piece of rock in the 13th Century. King Lalibela is famous for carving the more sophisticated, beautiful churches of Lalibela. These rock churches are in the Northern Ethiopia at the town of Lalibela.

Quick Facts – Rock cut churches in Ethiopia

• Apart from the world famous 11 rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia has more than 200 functional churches carved out of rock.
• Most of the rock churches are in Tigray region of North Ethiopia. The largest concentration of Ethiopian rock-cut churches is at Lalibela, North Ethiopia.
• The 12th and 13th Century old churches of Lalibela were the first (1978) site of Ethiopia to be enlisted in the UNESCO World Heritages Site list.
• King Lalibela carved the rock church of Adadi Mariam in the 13th Century AD. Adadi Mariam is one of Ethiopia’s stone churches you can visit in a day trip from Addis Ababa.

You may wonder why King Lalibela established Adadi Mariyam Church far south apart from the 11 rock churches in the North of the country. In the 13th Century AD, King Lalibela visited Zuquala Abo Monastery. It was that time Lalibela carved the monolithic Adadi Mariyam Church. Please, read our blog on Adadi Mariam Rock Church.

On Thursdays and Sundays, visit the colorful cultural weekly market at Adadi town. Weekly held cultural markets in Ethiopia have significant social importance.

On the way back to the main road, stop for half an hour at a local family house. Attend Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony. Learn how to cook the Ethiopian pancake - Enjera (or Injera).

Next, drive 30 km farther south to the Steles of Tiya. The grave site at Tiya was designated a World Heritage Site in 1980 under the Category of Rock-art and Pre-history. At the cemetery of Tiya, visit 40 stone grave markers. At Tiya, look at large single upright blocks of monumental tombstones.

The stone pillars depict beautiful carvings of swords and other enigmatic symbols. These huge monolithic monuments stood in the 14th Century AD in honor of local hero. Tiya is the closest UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ethiopia to Addis Ababa.

Tiya is the most accessible site from Addis Ababa where you can see massive megalithic structures. You’ll discover the prehistoric monuments at Tiya in a day from Addis.

Read more about the different megalithic monuments in Ethiopia.

Quick Facts – UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Ethiopia

Ethiopia has the largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa.

• Ethiopia has 13 tangible and intangible heritages recognized by UNESCO as World Heritages.
• Melka Kunture Prehistoric Site of Ethiopia is among UNESCO’s ‘tentative’ World Heritages list.
• From the Ethiopia’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Steles of Tiya is the closest to Addis Ababa. This private one day excursion from Addis Ababa includes visits to Tiya and Melka Kunture.

En route back to Addis Ababa, stop at a small local restaurant for lunch.

If interested in archaeology and prehistory, visit the Prehistoric site of Melka Kunture. Melka Kunture Prehistoric Site is 50 km south of Addis Ababa, set by the Awash River. Melka Kunture displays old stone tools, fossils of human beings and other animals which are over 1.5 million years old.

Melka Kunture has exhibits of four divisions classified with their displays and focus of study. Geology in prehistoric Africa and study of volcanoes are part of the visit. Your tour guide at Melka Kunture takes you to the Open-Air Excavation Site. This outdoor museum at Melka Kunture dates back to 800,000 years (0.8 million years) back.

This private trip is customable to allow visitors do more of what they are interested in. If you want to extend the excursion with about three hours more, you can visit the Rift Valley Lake of Ziway, and enjoy more scenic views of the Rift Valley.

Per person price of Day Tour to Adadi Mariam Rock Church and Tiya Steles from Addis Ababa