AI generatedDebre Libanos
Ethiopia · Oromia · 2500 m
Short description of Debre Libanos
The monastery of Debre Libanos was founded in the thirteenth century by the saint Tekle Haymanot and remains the principal house of the Ethiopian church, set on the rim of a gorge that falls a thousand metres to a tributary of the Blue Nile. Italian troops executed hundreds of monks and deacons here in reprisal during the occupation, and the site carries that memory openly. Troops of gelada graze along the cliff edge and hardly look up. An old arched bridge that everyone calls Portuguese spans a stream below. The road out runs through country that carries a travel warning.
AI edited
Recommended length of stay
Travel seasons at a glance
Best time to visit: October – February
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All highlights and sights
- The monastery church of Debre Libanos
- Gelada troops along the gorge rim
- The viewpoint over the Jemma gorge
- The Portuguese Bridge
- The cave and holy spring of Tekle Haymanot
- The memorial to the monks killed in 1937
- The stained glass of Afewerk Tekle
- The waterfall below the bridge (July - October)
- Lammergeiers and vultures over the escarpment
- The rim walk from the monastery to the bridge
Ways to get there and away
- Airports nearby:
- ADD Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (Addis Ababa) · 82 km south(recommended)
Map view
Distances
Nearest destinations
Main cities in Ethiopia
Straight line. With the car symbol: road distance and pure driving time, where already worked out. Population: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0).