Over 125 rock hewn churches are recorded with Tigray-alone. These churches date from 4th-15th century. Most of them are visited around the Gera-Alta chained mountains. Others are found in eastern and southern Tigray. Abreha-We-Atsbeha, Wukro Chercko churches are hewn in the 4th century. There are some pre Christian period hewn templates too.

Gar’alta as described by Philip Briggs, the Gar'alta is "a fantastic spaghetti-western landscape of flat dry plains and towering rock outcrops" best known for its "35-odd rock-hewn churches, the largest concentration anywhere in Ethiopia."

There are several local monolithic churches in this district. These include: Hawzen Tekle Haymanot (near Hawzen town); Abuna YemataGuh and Debre Maryam Qorqor (near Megab); and Dugem Selassie, Abuna Abraham Debre Tsion and Yohannes Maikudi (near the village of Dugem). Abuna Yemata Guh is also notable for its wall and dome paintings that David Buxton has dated to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries "before the massive impact of external influences that occurred in the seventeenth century." One of the dome paintings represent nine of the Apostles, and the other eight of the Nine Saints, one of whom, Abuna Yem’ata, tradition credits founding the church.