Hawzien

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.

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). The buses from Mekele leave from the northern bus station which you can reach by a bajaj (50 ETB, July 2019).

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)

• Rock-hewn churches. There are over 100 of them in the Hawzien–Wukro–Sinkata area, some of them rarely visited by outsiders.

• Abuna Yemata GuhA church atop hill, with a steep climb with or without harness (up to you). Only for adventurous and fit climbers. One of the oldest monolithic churches in the region, with pristine wall and dome paintings.

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.

Try a local drink Tala/Tella, Ethiopian homemade beer. The best is to ask local people where you could get it because it is not sold in regular bars (July 2019), but it's served in private homes, locally known as Tala places. Since they do not look like official bars, it is almost impossible to find them by yourself.

• Gheralta Lodge

  phone: +251 11 663 2893 (Booking), +251 34 667 0344 (Lodge)
  address: Megab Rd

• Korkor Lodge

  phone: +251 91 291 2305
  address: Megab village

• Vision hotel

  address: near the main road/roundabout
  Double room including breakfast 450-500 ETB (July 2019). Clean rooms and friendly and helpful staff.

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