NORTH ETHIOPIA

Monasteries of Lake Tana >> Ura

Ura Kidhane Mihret and the Zege Peninsula. The main attraction of Zege is, of course, the monasteries that dot the peninsula. From among the few medieval churches of the forested Peninsula, Ura Kidhane Mihret is certainly the most impressive of the southern monasteries and probably the most beautiful anywhere in the Tana region. This, combined with its relative proximity to Bahir Dar, has made it the most frequently visited church on the lake.

Set within uninviting stone walls, the monastery was founded in the 14th century, and the current church was built in the 16th century. The walls are covered in incredible 16th-century murals, many but not all of which have been restored in the last few decades. These paintings offer a genuinely revealing glimpse into medieval Ethiopia . There are also some intriguing line drawings on one of the doors, and the museum has a few old crowns of Ethiopian kings, leather-bound Bibles and other ancient treasures.

There is a flat but very rough road between Bahir Dar and Zege. This is often impassable (even with a 4x4 Land cruiser) mainly during the rainy season, but it's normally fine for hardy cyclists and trekkers between mid-October and June, a two to three hour trip in either direction If you are visiting Ura from the Village of Zeghie on foot, it lies only 3km from the village and could therefore be visited as a round trip in 2-3 hours. The forest itself is one of the few large indigenous forests in this part of Ethiopia, and it makes an appealing change from the characteristic open grassland of the region. Wild coffee dominates the undergrowth, vervet monkeys shake the canopy, parrots screech and hornbills explode into cacophony, and colourful butterflies flutter at your feet. With glimpses of the lake to your right, this is a lovely walk, even if you prefer not to visit the monasteries.

Reachable from Ura Kidhane Mihret by boat, or by following a 2km footpath through thick forest, lie the disused Mehal Giorgis and Bet Maryam churches. Mehal Giorgis has some 18th-century murals on the standing walls. There are several antiquities locked away in Bet Maryam .Another interesting church on the peninsula is Azuwa Maryam, which lies closer to Ura Kidhane Mihret, and also boasts several worthwhile old paintings.

The most normal way to visit Ura Kidhane Mihret is by charter boat direct from Bahir Dar, which takes about an hour, terminating at a jetty 5-10 minutes easy walk from the monastery itself.