Timkat is the Ethiopian Orthodox celebration of the Epiphany — the baptism of Christ in the Jordan River — and Lalibela is one of the best places in Ethiopia to experience it. The festival falls on 19 January (or 20 January in a leap year in the Ethiopian calendar), and in the days before it the town fills with pilgrims who have walked from surrounding villages and towns, dressed in white shemmas and carrying wooden staffs.
The main ceremony takes place at the baptismal pool known as the Jordanos, a sunken stone pool near the centre of the church complex. Priests in richly embroidered vestments lead the processions; deacons beat drums and shake rattles; the night air is thick with incense. For non-Orthodox visitors, attendance is welcome but requires sensitivity: dress conservatively, remove shoes when entering church precincts, and do not photograph the tabot or the most sacred moments of the ceremony without explicit permission. The spectacle is genuine devotion, not performance.