Hawzien

Hawzien (also spelt Hawzen) is a town in the Gheralta area of the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. It is frequently used as a base for exploring the many rock-hewn churches of north-eastern Tigray.

Understand

Guides are mandatory for visits to Abuna Yemata Guh, Maryam Korkor and Daniel Korkor. These guides can be picked up from the Gheralta Guides Association in Megab.

As of May 2018 prices are: - 460 birr if you already have transport organised - 800 birr if you plan on doing any additional walking other than up to the churches from the trailheads.

On top of the guide fee they will also expect a tip.

While scouts are not required they are available at both churches and work on a tip basis, if you do not need their help please make this clear at the beginning.

Get in

By car

The easiest access is to turn off Highway 1 at Sinkata (as known as Freweyni), from where it is 23 km on a newly sealed road. Drive time from Mekele via Sinkata is 2 hours 15 min. An alternative when coming from Mekele, which will take 15 minutes longer, is to turn off Highway 1 at Wukro and drive via Degum and Megab. There are also rougher roads that come in from the west, turning off the road from Adwa south to Abi Addi.

By bus

Plenty of buses ply the main road between Adigrat and Mekele. Getting to Hawzen may require a change at Freweyni (formerly Sinkata). There are direct buses from Mekele and vice versa costing 40 birr (2018)

Get around

Most people will opt to hire transport for the day to visit both Maryam Korkor and Abuna Yemata but you can also get to Megab via local minibuses (5 birr - 2018)

See

• Rock-hewn churches. There are over 100 of them in the Hawzien–Wukro–Sinkata area, some of them rarely visited by outsiders.
• 🌍 Abuna Yemata Guh. 09:00 - 17:00. A church atop hill, with a steep climb without any harness. Only for adventurous and fit climbers. One of the oldest monolithic churches in the region, with pristine wall and dome paintings. (updated Mar 2018)

Do

Buy

Eat

There are small local restaurants in Megab village, which serve shiro and other Ethiopian dishes. The other option is to ask your lodge to prepare a lunch box for the morning, to avoid a long lunch break between church visits.

Drink

Sleep

• 🌍 Gheralta Lodge, Megab Rd (on the left, 1.3 kilometres (0.81 mi) south of Hawzien), ☎ [phone] (Booking), [phone] (Lodge), fax: [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Budget 675 birr, single 1,000 birr, double 2,000 birr. 
• 🌍 Korkor Lodge, Megab village (on the road to Wukro), ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Single US$150, double US$200. (updated Jul 2017)

Connect

Go next

• Adigrat to the north
• Adwa to the north-west
• Mekele to the south