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Simien Mountains National Park
Simien Mountains National Park
It's breathtaking! And best of all - you pretty much have it to yourself. With it's highest point Ras Dashen at 4,543 m /14,901 ft it also has the fourth highest mountain in Africa.
Nearest airport is in Gonder but nearest international airport is Addis Ababa international airport.
In the Simien Mountains you actually have a chance to arrage it all yourself. In the village (believe me - it is a village) Debark you'll find the headquarter of the national park. Here they'll help you arrange your trip up the mountains. It's totally uncorrupt and they will not try to sell you anything you don't need. They'll recommend that you take a cook, a mule and a muleteer and so will I. You simply tell them where you want to go and for how long and they'll help you out with a guide and a scout (not optional). Depending on how many you are they'll provide you with mules and muleteers. Each mule comes with a muleteer (or the other way around ;o) ) and one mule can carry bags and food for two people. You can hire a cook for something like 80 birr a day and believe me it's worth it. Once you arrive at the camp she'll greet you with warm tea and just that first cup of tea is worth all the money. You can also hire tents, mattresses, sleeping bags and cooking equipment there. Once it's all settled you'll meet your guide and they'll get hold of the cook. Then you all go to the market to buy supplies for the trip (have plenty of small notes). The cook will recommend what to buy and the guide will get you the best price. Remember to bring plenty of water. You might think that they're buying way too much food but it's expected that you buy too much and basically all they get to eat is your left-overs so buy plenty, it's cheap. The tour around the market is long so don't expect to get anything else done that night.
After the market someone will probably have set up the tents in front of you "hotel". You're then asked to approve the tents and sleeping bags. The quality is generally fairly good and after all I don't think you have much of a choice anyway. After this your guide will tell you what time be ready next day. Probably something around 7'ish.
You'll probably spend the night re-arraning your bags and leaving most of your stuff behind at the hotel.The next morning your guide and muleteers will meet you. Once your stuff is strapped onto the mules your hike starts. Most likely you're looking at a 18 km/11 miles walk. Already when you leave the village the scenery is stunning. It's a long walk on a small trail and the sun is toasting you. Wear a hat and sun protection and drink plenty.
There are several treks in the Simien varying from 3 to 16 days but most likely your first camp is Sankabar then Geech. The campsites are very basic but the views make up for it. If you didn't hire a cook you'll regret it in the camp. Their food is pretty good considered that you're in the mountains and you'll be grateful not to be doing dishes when it's cold and dark.
Most people go to Ras Dashen and back but it is possible to hike all the way to Lalibela.
There's no need to be scared though your scout carries a kalashnikov. There are no dangerous animals or aggressive people in the national park so it's probably only show-off.
If you're short of time you can have an agent arrange it all for you. You'll find these agents in Gonder and a trip through them costs approximately double of doing it yourself. However it saves you time and it saves you a night in Debark. Quite frankly there is not much of interest in Debark but it's very satisfying to arrange your entire trip yourself.
One important thing to be aware of is that groups of tourists have started arriving in the Simien. They arrive in Debark where they fill up the hotels, spend one night drive into the national park and take their photos before they drive back to Gonder. However, the hotel owners are guaranteed a steady income by providing to these groups so they'll prioritize the groups over you. If you're there in high season try to book in advance. There aren't many hotels and they're all very basic.
Getting from Gonder to Debark can be done by ordinary bus. There's one bus leaving a day. Or you can hire a minibus for around 600 birr.
Remember too that your guide, cook, scout and muleteers expect a tip. Generally around 1 days salary for every 3 days they're with you.
One last thing - it gets cold at night in the Simiens so bring warm clothes. At Geech Camp you'll very likely get temperatures below 0 degrees C.
If you're into trekking and beautyful scenery the Simiens are not to be missed!
Links:
Fact sheet from World Conservation Monitoring Centre
BBC on the Simien Mountains
Traveller's guide from Gondarlink
