"Nobody's Ever Died": Inside Abuna Yemata Guh, Ethiopia’s Cliffside Church

• A travel vlogger flew to Ethiopia's Tigray region to climb to Abuna Yemata Guh, a fifth-century church carved into a mountain cliff
• The climb required going barefoot up a 650-foot drop, and one wrong step could prove fatal
• The priest who holds the keys to the church has made the dangerous journey every single day for 55 years

A travel vlogger made the journey to one of the most breathtaking and dangerous religious sites on earth. The destination was Abuna Yemata Guh, an ancient rock-hewn church perched on the side of a mountain cliff in Ethiopia's Tigray region, and getting there was no small feat.

The vlogger, posting on TikTok under the handle @erekosima43, shared the experience on 24 August 2026 as part of a series called "100 Things Before I Die." The footage captured every nerve-shredding moment of the ascent.

Climbing to the Church in the Sky

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Founded in the fifth century, the church, Abuna Yemata Guh, was carved directly into the mountainside by monks who wanted to be closer to God. It has remained an active place of worship ever since. Reaching it means a 45-minute hike from the nearest village, followed by a barefoot climb up a sheer cliff face with a 650-foot drop below. Local guides help visitors find footing, but there is very little margin for error. The vlogger said faith was the only thing separating a safe arrival from a fatal fall.

What made the story even more staggering was learning about the village's baptism tradition. Forty days after giving birth, mothers make that same terrifying climb at night, carrying their newborns on their backs. A local guide explained:

"Our mothers, they carry a baby and they're coming here for baptism. They're coming in the night, you know, it's very dark."

A priest who has never missed a day

Inside the church, the walls are lined with portraits of biblical figures painted using animal fat and local pigments, making them some of the oldest surviving examples of Christian art in the country.

The vlogger also met the church's priest, the man responsible for opening and closing the church every day. He is over 70 years old and has made the climb every single day for the past 55 years.

View the TikTok video below:

Viewers refuse to make the trip themselves

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The video drew over 30,000 comments on the page, with many people in awe and others firmly declining the invitation:

@luvos🇿🇦:

"Nobody has ever died?! I know I'd be the first."

@WeCallHerLove:

"Unfortunately if I made it up there, I would have to stay up there forever."

@Majin.buuty:

"Mothers are doing this 40 days after birth?????..........with the babies on their back..............in the dark........bruhhhhhhhh 😫😭"

@Benna:

"Women are so incredible…. 40 days?!!?"

@Precious Samuels:

"Yea I'll have to attend online."

@Melinslayy ✨:

"Thank you for saving us the trip."

@Dugi Pentagrama:

"Type of journey my parents told me they had to make to get to school."

More Briefly News stories on churches

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• ANC members, including Gwede Mantashe, attended a church service in the Eastern Cape ahead of the November 2026 elections.
• A South African family seeking US refugee status faces rejection after selling their belongings, leaving them to start over.

Source: Briefly News