Asheton St. Maryam Monastery | አሽተን ቅድስት ማርያም ገዳም

It’s 20$ usd cash per person to enter, which is extortionate. Not included with your 100$ church ticket. Wait for the lady at the blue sign to pay. Do not give money to anyone else except at the monastery entrance sign. The monastery itself is mildly interesting. The views of canyons and farms along the way are beautiful. The hike + visit will take you about 5 hours round trip including breaks, starting from the town center. Expect the usual tip hassling along the way, though much less than Lalibela proper. A guide is not needed, you can follow the route on google maps though there is a minor shortcut along a sketchy cliff trail you might not find on your own

Though not intricately built as the churches in Lalibela, going to this place is worth it just for the experience of getting there and seeing the surrounding area. I would recommend going there in the early morning or late afternoon as the climb takes it toll. The road to the church is not yet built so beware. Take a three wheeled taxies to there from city center as it would be cheaper for there to wait for you when you get down or hike. enjoy.

The journey to the monastery is much more enjoyable than the monastery itself. It’s another example of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church’s greed, asking for an entrance fee of 30 dollars. This is absolutely absurd, and I say this as someone who loves monasteries. But this fee is simply too much – it’s money wasted here. However, the surrounding area and the journey through the villages with stunning views of Lalibela and the surroundings are definitely worth it. If you take a tuk-tuk, you can have it stop at the best spots for photos.

Best place if you can I recommend hike to mountain it has best view

I always being blessed visited Asheten maryiam monastery . Its the oldest monastery and the first construction of king lalibela him self in 9 and 10 century

Amazing location for a little monastery, it’s worth the Climb here. The rocky mountaintop of this sacred mountain is beautiful and the 360° view of the surroundings spectacular.

Price update June 2019, it costs 350 birr. Not 200. The short 10min walk up to the monastery from the end of the road is nice as well as the views. They are building a roof and a museum, that is what I hope the money is going for, the Monastery it self is not going to wow anyone after all the churches of lalibela. Check the photo of the view, that is the best part. Also we paid 250 birr for the tuk tuk to take us there and back down to the centre of town, that is an adventure.

Did the hike all the way up from town but when we got to the checkpoint we were told foreigners must pay $20 US each to continue the last bit to the ruins. The checkpoint guy would not relent. OK then, got in a good workout with some fine views, but, ah, no, we think we'll just hike back down and skip the silly foreigner's entry price.