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Lalibela is a town in northern Ethiopia, known for its monolithic churches. Lalibela is one of Ethiopia's holiest cities, second only to Aksum, and is a center of pilgrimage for much of the country. Unlike Aksum, the population of Lalibela is almost completely Ethiopian Orthodox Christian. The layout and names of the major buildings in Lalibela are widely accepted, especially by the local clergy, to be a symbolic representation of Jerusalem. This has led some experts to date the current form of its famous churches to the years following the capture of Jerusalem in 1187 by the Muslim soldier Saladin.

Located in the Semien Wollo Zone of the Amhara ethnic division, or kilil at 2,500 meters above sea level, Lalibela has a latitude and longitude of 12°02′N 39°02′E / 12.033°N 39.033°E / 12.033; 39.033. It is one of two towns in Bugna woreda.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated 127 World Heritage Sites in Africa. These sites are located in 37 countries (also called "state parties"); Ethiopia is home to the most with nine sites, and twelve countries have only a single site each. Three sites are shared between two countries: the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve (Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea), the Stone Circles of Senegambia (The Gambia and Senegal) and the Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls (Zambia and Zimbabwe). The first sites from the continent were inscribed in 1978, when the Island of Gorée of Senegal and the Rock-Hewn Churches of Ethiopia were chosen during the list's conception.

Each year, UNESCO's World Heritage Committee may inscribe new sites on the list, or delist sites that that no longer meet the criteria. Selection is based on ten criteria: six for cultural heritage (i–vi) and four for natural heritage (vii–x). Some sites, designated "mixed sites," represent both cultural and natural heritage. In Africa, there are 81 cultural, 41 natural, and 5 mixed sites. Several efforts have been devoted to increasing the number of sites and preserving the heritage of existing sites on the continent; for example, on 5 May 2006, the African World Heritage Fund was launched by UNESCO to target the region of Sub-Saharan Africa. It planned to protect the sites by hiring personnel for state parties to maintain national inventories of existing sites, as well as to "prepare nomination dossiers for inscription onto the World Heritage List." Grants were also destined to help the "[conservation] and management of heritage properties in general" and to rehabilitate properties in danger. The drive was initially funded by South Africa with US$3.5 million, and, as of March 2011, has amassed $4.7 million from various countries, with an additional $4.1 million in pending pledges. UNESCO has also attempted to increase awareness of African human origin sites in Ethiopia, with a goal of conserving and protecting the areas from further deterioration.