This study has aimed to analyse the discourse of tour guiding communication. Specifically, anrnattempt has been made to describe the way local tour guides of Lalibela view the requiredrndiscourses for tour guides; to investigate the ways local tour guides discursively construct andrnrepresent the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela; to identify challenges that local tour guidesrnexperience in representing and communicating the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela to foreignrntourists; and to find out strategies employed by local tour guides to overcome communicationrnchallenges. To address these issues, data have been collected through interview and videornrecording of the actual guiding practice. Both the interview and video data have been firstrnanalyzed thematically. Then, discourse analysis which is considered as both theoretical andrnanalytical framework has been employed in the analysis stage of the study. Specifically,rnconversation analysis, speech act theory and critical discourse analysis which are considered asrndifferent approaches of discourse analysis have been used to describe, interpret and explain therndata.rnThe study findings have showed that local tour guides of Lalibela view the discourse of tourrnguiding communication at the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela as religious information,rnparticipants with different cultural and linguistic backgrounds and prescribed rules and normsrnof behaving. As a result, religious knowledge, language ability, cultural awareness and goodrncode of ethics have been found as major requirements for local tour guides of Lalibela. Besides,rnthe findings have showed that local tour guides of Lalibela attempt to discursively constructrnpersonal identity, destination significance and connection of the destination to other relevantrnthings. The findings have further showed that tour guides have experienced language and culturernrelated problems in their tour guiding practice. While, pronunciation, word choice and grammarrnhave been found to be typical language related problems, nonverbal acts performed by touristsrnin and around the churches are major challenges for local tour guides of Lalibela. In order torncope up with such challenges, tour guides are found to employ different strategies.rnSimplification, compensatory and avoidance strategies have been employed to overcomernlanguage related problems, whereas providing tourists with cultural orientation has been foundrnto be a remedy for problems related to cultural differences.