Lay Gayint

Lay Gayint (Amharic "Upper Gayint") is one of the woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Debub Gondar Zone, Lay Gayint is bordered on the south by Tach Gayint and Simada, on the southwest by Misraq Este, on the west by Farta, on the north by Ebenat, and on the east by the Semien Wollo Zone. The administrative center is Nefas Mewcha; other towns in Lay Gayint include Gobgob and Sali.

The altitude of this woreda varies from 1,500 to 3,100 meters above sea level. The annual rainfall is erraticly distributed and varies from 400 to 1,100 mm. A notable landmark in Lay Gayint is the church of the village of Betlehem, about 65 kilometers southeast of Debre Tabor; inside an ordinary round church structure is an ancient church with a trussed roof of identical construction as the church of Debre Damo. The writer Thomas Pakenham was the first non-Ethiopian to visit this church in 1955.