A flat-topped mountain with sheer sides and one way up: a plaited leather rope hanging down a 15-metre cliff. At the top, a monastic village of monks and students around the oldest standing church in Ethiopia.
Debre Damo is an amba, a table mountain whose summit plateau, about a kilometre long, is ringed by cliffs. Tradition says Abuna Aregawi, one of the Nine Saints, was lifted up by a serpent to found the monastery here in the 6th century.
Today the only way up is the 15-metre rope. A monk at the top lowers a second rope that is tied around your waist as a belay; you climb the plaited leather one hand over hand, feet walking up the rock. It is strenuous rather than technical, and the monks have seen every kind of climber.
On top is a small world of stone houses, cisterns and fields. The main church, built in the Aksumite style with layers of stone and wood and projecting "monkey-head" beam ends, is the oldest standing building in the country. Its carved wooden ceiling panels are famous.
Women, and female animals, are not admitted to the mountain; there is a small chapel at the foot. Plan it as a long day trip from Mekelle or an overnight stop in Adigrat. The monks will tell you to take the rope slowly; take it slowly.
A long drive, a short sharp climb and a slow wander on top.
Drive north via Adigrat; the last stretch is a rough track to the foot of the amba.
Walk up the path to the base of the cliff, where the ropes hang.
Let the monk tie the belay, then climb the leather rope, using your feet on the rock.
Visit the old church and its carved ceiling, then walk the plateau's paths and cisterns.
Look out over the canyons from the edge, then go back down the rope, belayed again.
Hire a car and driver from Mekelle, or stay in Adigrat and go early. Combine with the temple at Yeha if time allows.
Women can wait at the chapel at the foot of the cliff, and visit Yeha or the Gheralta churches instead.
The amba lies close to the Eritrean border; check current travel advisories and go with a local guide.
Mekelle practical notes →Wikimedia Commons photographs are used under their licences.
