Simien Mountains – 4 Days
Overview
This extensive trek explores in depth one of Africans largest mountain ranges, studded with at least a dozen peaks over the 4, 000m mark. These include Ras Dejen the highest point in Ethiopia, and the 4th highest peak in Africa. The area was designated a national park in 1966, and the entire range a UNESCO world heritage site in 1978.
Inclusions
- Transportation in and out
- Food and Mineral water
- Cook (a person in charge of preparing fresh food every day)
- Guide (English speaking)
- Park ranger which is compulsory
- Park entrance fees
- Camping equipment such as Tent, Mattress and Sleeping bags
- Mule and muleteers for loading and unloading stuff and luggage from one camp to another
- Accommodation included: 3 nights
- Entry/Admission - Simien Mountains National Park
What to expect
Itinerary
Day 1: Gondar-Sankaber
Stop At: Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia
Pick you at Gondar Airport or your hotel, drive along a good paved road from Gondar to the park headquarters in Debark. The 100 km journey will take around two hours. At the headquarters we will arrange our permits to the park and pick up our scout. After that we will drive for another hour before we start our first day introductory walk. This first hike is an easy one along the northern edge of the escarpment with a nice view points over the foothills and plains of northern Ethiopia. You will encounter gelada baboon along this hike.
Duration: 4 hours
No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Overnight at Sankaber
Day 2: Sankaber – Gich (3600 m)
Stop At: Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia
We follow the northern escarpment eastward, before we descend a little into the Kaba Valley. After that we climb up before we reach Gich Abyss and continue over a narrow ridge to a cliff where we have a spectacular view of the abyss towards the Simien foothills. We also find a large waterfall here, where the Jinbar River plunges 500 m into the abyss. We proceed for about two hours and have lunch at the Jinbar River. After lunch we walk through fields of barley before we arrive at the idyllic village of Gich. Here we can enjoy a traditional coffee ceremony in one of the huts and learn more about local farm life. From Gich village it is a short walk to Gich camp which is a good area to look for lammergeyer and thick billed raven. After a relaxing afternoon, we will take a short hike up to Kedadit to enjoy sunset plus the gorgeous shaded landscapes down to the cliff side towards to the eastern direction and return to the camp for dinner.
Duration: 6 hours
No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Camping Overnight
Day 3: Gich – Chennek (3600 m)
Stop At: Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia
rom Gich camp we stroll through endless fields of Giant Lobelia before we reach the towering cliffs of Imet-Gogo (3926 m). Here we will spend some time to absorb the superb views over the mountain valleys below and strange shaped domes in the distance, which we will see from up close at the end of the trip. After that we descend into the Jinbahir River Valley. In this way we get a very different perspective of Imet-Gogo and the volcanic landscape, where it looks like big chunks of mountains have been blown away. The trail follows the edge of the escarpment, which is completely vertical here for several hundred meters. We climb to a summit of 4070 m where we will have lunch. After lunch we descend to Chennek for about two hours along a steep trail. From Chennek camp there are spectacular views in all directions. Sit down on a bench at the escarpment and try to spot Walia Ibex in late afternoon or early morning. Sometimes Walia Ibex visit the edges of the campsite.
Duration: 8 hours
No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Camping Overnight
Day 4: Chenek – Buwahit
Stop At: Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia
Climb the second highest peak in the Simien mountains Buwahit (4430m) rewarding with one of the endemic wild animals in Ethiopia particularly in the Simien mountains called Walia Ibex (a goat family), in addition to the scenic views of surroundings including the chance to see the highest mountain peak in Ethiopia Ras-Dejen (4543m) and back down to chenek camp where the car waiting us to pick and drive back to Gondar for about 4 hrs.
Duration: 5 hours
No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.
Day 1: Gondar-Sankaber
Stop At: Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia
Pick you at Gondar Airport or your hotel, drive along a good paved road from Gondar to the park headquarters in Debark. The 100 km journey will take around two hours. At the headquarters we will arrange our permits to the park and pick up our scout. After that we will drive for another hour before we start our first day introductory walk. This first hike is an easy one along the northern edge of the escarpment with a nice view points over the foothills and plains of northern Ethiopia. You will encounter gelada baboon along this hike.
Duration: 4 hours
No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Overnight at Sankaber
Day 2: Sankaber – Gich (3600 m)
Stop At: Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia
We follow the northern escarpment eastward, before we descend a little into the Kaba Valley. After that we climb up before we reach Gich Abyss and continue over a narrow ridge to a cliff where we have a spectacular view of the abyss towards the Simien foothills. We also find a large waterfall here, where the Jinbar River plunges 500 m into the abyss. We proceed for about two hours and have lunch at the Jinbar River. After lunch we walk through fields of barley before we arrive at the idyllic village of Gich. Here we can enjoy a traditional coffee ceremony in one of the huts and learn more about local farm life. From Gich village it is a short walk to Gich camp which is a good area to look for lammergeyer and thick billed raven. After a relaxing afternoon, we will take a short hike up to Kedadit to enjoy sunset plus the gorgeous shaded landscapes down to the cliff side towards to the eastern direction and return to the camp for dinner.
Duration: 6 hours
No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Camping Overnight
Day 3: Gich – Chennek (3600 m)
Stop At: Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia
rom Gich camp we stroll through endless fields of Giant Lobelia before we reach the towering cliffs of Imet-Gogo (3926 m). Here we will spend some time to absorb the superb views over the mountain valleys below and strange shaped domes in the distance, which we will see from up close at the end of the trip. After that we descend into the Jinbahir River Valley. In this way we get a very different perspective of Imet-Gogo and the volcanic landscape, where it looks like big chunks of mountains have been blown away. The trail follows the edge of the escarpment, which is completely vertical here for several hundred meters. We climb to a summit of 4070 m where we will have lunch. After lunch we descend to Chennek for about two hours along a steep trail. From Chennek camp there are spectacular views in all directions. Sit down on a bench at the escarpment and try to spot Walia Ibex in late afternoon or early morning. Sometimes Walia Ibex visit the edges of the campsite.
Duration: 8 hours
No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Camping Overnight
Day 4: Chenek – Buwahit
Stop At: Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia
Climb the second highest peak in the Simien mountains Buwahit (4430m) rewarding with one of the endemic wild animals in Ethiopia particularly in the Simien mountains called Walia Ibex (a goat family), in addition to the scenic views of surroundings including the chance to see the highest mountain peak in Ethiopia Ras-Dejen (4543m) and back down to chenek camp where the car waiting us to pick and drive back to Gondar for about 4 hrs.
Duration: 5 hours
No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.
Additional information
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 4 travelers
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Ticket delivery
You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.
Cancellation
If you cancel at least 4 day(s) in advance of the scheduled departure, there is no cancellation fee.
If you cancel within 3 day(s) of the scheduled departure, there is a 100 percent cancellation fee.
If you cancel within 3 day(s) of the scheduled departure, there is a 100 percent cancellation fee.
Aileen G
October 2019
The nature there is stunning. We loved our group (11 pax is a great amount of people) and appreciate the hard work of the chef who served two amazing dinners in a really basic environment (we saw the kitchen, wow). Unfortunately we also have some major critical points that we want to share. Firs...
The nature there is stunning. We loved our group (11 pax is a great amount of people) and appreciate the hard work of the chef who served two amazing dinners in a really basic environment (we saw the kitchen, wow). Unfortunately we also have some major critical points that we want to share. First of all: the beginning. We were the first to be picked up and drove around Gondar for 1,5 hours for picking up food, people, more food, drinks etc. Samy is not the right guide for the mountain tracking. He didn’t know much about the environment, the plants or the animals. On the first day, he led us right into a thunderstorm, on the second day her led us right into ice rain. While everybody got wet he started to panic and didn’t know what to do. When the group started to criticize that, her ran off and didn’t care about the group anymore. Three people got sick because of the altitude. No one cared. The group complained about the hiking speed which he didn’t seem to care off. I wished he had listened to the scouts instead of showing off what a great guy he wants to be. I personally find it very odd to pose like a Taliban with a Ak47 and ask people to take a picture of him. And is it really necessary to wear the exact same T-shirt three days in a row? But what really pisses me off is the accommodation. I don’t mind sleeping in a community lodge but they were full of bed bugs. I hate bed bugs! There was no possibility to wash your hands after trecking and there was also no campfire to warm up after you got soaking wet while hiking through the thunderstorm. On the second day we shared the lodge with at least 20 Ethiopians and I think The guide subrentet the lodge. There was also no first aid kid or rope in case of an accident what I personally find quite dangerous. We also run a bit short on food. More food was coming only after the group complaint about the hunger (and assume food was bought and kept for other purposes). All in all I think it should be organized a lot better. On the way back to Gondar we got picked up in the base camp with a car that run short on gas. Surprisingly we ran out of gas some 20 km before Gondar after passing a couple of gas stations. We hope that this feedback helps to improve the next tours cause I think there is a lot of potential. We wrote a email to the company haven’t gotten any reaction.henok k
October 2019
THANK YOU! The trip you arranged for us met and exceeded all our expectations our tour guide, was the key ingredient that made things happened. We followed generally the prepared schedule but made modifications to accommodate our needs to minimize walking. Thanks again for everything.
THANK YOU! The trip you arranged for us met and exceeded all our expectations our tour guide, was the key ingredient that made things happened. We followed generally the prepared schedule but made modifications to accommodate our needs to minimize walking. Thanks again for everything.LRopp
September 2019
We had a really amazing trip with David as our guide for 4 days of trekking in the Simien Mountains. What an incredible park -- stunning views and an environment that's truly unique (I've never seen another landscape like it). We got to see tons of geladas up close and personal, in addition to a ...
We had a really amazing trip with David as our guide for 4 days of trekking in the Simien Mountains. What an incredible park -- stunning views and an environment that's truly unique (I've never seen another landscape like it). We got to see tons of geladas up close and personal, in addition to a few walia ibex from a bit farther away. The camping experience was very good, our food was delicious and filling every day, and the porters and cook staff were all friendly and extremely accommodating. David did a great job of setting a comfortable walking pace every day on the trek, and provided us with plenty of laughs and incredible stories, especially about guiding David Attenborough when he visited the Simiens to film a documentary. No part of the trek felt uncomfortably difficult or strenuous, though if you're not used to higher altitudes be prepared for a bit of huffing and puffing as you acclimatize.W5684CRalexg
July 2019
Just finished my second trip with ETT the first was to the southern Ethiopia with guide Daniel this one was to Danakil with guide Zenebe. Both trips were an adventure to remember I am sold on this company’s professionalism and welcoming atmosphere the guides are great fun and extremely friendly a...
Just finished my second trip with ETT the first was to the southern Ethiopia with guide Daniel this one was to Danakil with guide Zenebe. Both trips were an adventure to remember I am sold on this company’s professionalism and welcoming atmosphere the guides are great fun and extremely friendly and helpful and the group of guys on the trips where great too. If you travel solo, with a friend or your partner it’s a great experience.domiz65
July 2019
We had a wonderful time in the Siemen mountain with ETT. We want to say many thanks to the ETT Team for organizing the trip and for making all these moments possible, thank you Yonas for being the best Guide you can ask for, having always a smile on his face. We highly recommend ETT
We had a wonderful time in the Siemen mountain with ETT. We want to say many thanks to the ETT Team for organizing the trip and for making all these moments possible, thank you Yonas for being the best Guide you can ask for, having always a smile on his face. We highly recommend ETTHe_z
November 2019
All my trip itineraries with ETT were lies. Semien 4 day does not go to geesh. Bale 3 day does NOT go to harena forest. And they didnt even book bale hotels! We got to goba to find out both hotels were full and had to drive back to Robe. Then they had the gall to try stuffing me in a filthy mote...
All my trip itineraries with ETT were lies. Semien 4 day does not go to geesh. Bale 3 day does NOT go to harena forest. And they didnt even book bale hotels! We got to goba to find out both hotels were full and had to drive back to Robe. Then they had the gall to try stuffing me in a filthy motel without tap water (they again lied to me the whole town didnt have water bc of fighting) and i had to insist for a better hotel (surprise surprise it had water and electricity). Their lies cost me precious visit time bc i only have the resources to visit ethiopia once. Semien camp condition is beyond filthy that we could not bare to use what they call toilet. No shower. 4 days of trekking without a single shred of meat. Cook hissed at me bc i hadnt tipped him yet. If you plan to go to ethiopia only once like me, do your homework avoid ETT. You need at least 4 days for bale and semien 2-3 day is quite enough unless you love trekking - but don't forget the unbearable toilet and filthy kitchen and no shower. Do not believe good reviews for ETT. No traveler would so eagerly mention company names. I find their names mentioned early in reviews too suspiciously often. Ive been on many many tours and don't ever remember or even know the company name unless its so bad that i need to warn others.