LALIBELA, ETHIOPIA (PART TWO)
This is Part II of the pics (mostly pics just outside Lalibela)--go here for Part I (mostly inside Lalibela).

First a view of the mountains above Lalibela (from Lalibela)...



The mountain top, close up, though inaccessible to the casual climber...



Some terrain views in the mountains above Lalibela (from a little over 10,000 feet elevation)...





Close-up of that steep volcanic-rock peak in the distance...



A type of Aloe (Aloe percrassa) that is native to the mountains of Ethiopia...



An Aloe percrassa in bloom...



More Aloe percrassa with native East African junipers (Juniperus procera)...



Here is a tree occasionally found in the Ethiopian highlands...the East African rosewood (Hagenia abyssinica)...





One of the trails on steep terrain on the mountain...



View of a large valley (with some native olive trees in the foreground)...



A couple of views looking down towards Lalibela...





Near the top of the mountain is the Asheton Maryam monastery...









To get to the Asheton Maryam monastery, one must come up these stairs, which go through the mountain...





Entrance to the stairs from below...



Sheep are commonly found in these mountains...



There are a lot of eucalyptus planted in the mountains of Ethiopia, especially blue gums (Eucalyptus globulus). They are usually used for building materials, such as in this pic (trees in the background, a hut using blue gum wood in the foreground)...



Swiss chard being grown in Lalibela (looks rural, but is actually very close to the churches)...



On the outskirts of Lalibela is an oddly shaped (tourist-oriented) restaurant called Ben Abeba...



In the valley to the south and at a lower elevation (around 6500 feet) than Lalibela, it is quite dry, especially in March, near the end of the long dry season...



A couple of pics of rural huts south of Lalibela...





A small village in the valley...



The almost dry river at the bottom of the valley below (the Tekeze River)...





Go here for Part I of Lalibela.

All of the above pictures on this page were taken in March 2016 by Brandt Maxwell.

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