simien mountains tour

DAY 1. Gich (3600m), 5-6 hrs

We drive from Gondar early in the morning to Debark the place where the park headquarter is found 100 k away from Gondar where we need to spend some minutes to arrange park fees and pick the scout, then keep on driving to the first camp site Sankaber.

We follow the northern escarpment eastward, before you descend a little into the Kaba Valley. After that we climb up before we reach Gich Abyss over a narrow ridge to a cliff where we have a spectacular view of the abyss towards the Simien foothills. You also find a large waterfall here, where the Jinbar River plunges 530 m into the abyss. you proceed to Jinbar river to have lunch . After lunch you walk to Gich camp which is a good area to look for lammergeyer and thick billed raven. and gorgeous surrounding views.

Day 2. Gich, 4-5 hrs

This day we will walk to three of the most spectacular view points in the Simien Mountains. From 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 will continue to Seha, another view point amidst deep gorges before returning to Gich camp where we will have lunch. After a relaxing afternoon, we will take a short hike up to Kedadit to enjoy sunset.

Day 3. Chennek (3600m), 7-8 hrs

From Geech camp we initially start off through the same fields of Giant Lobelia as yesterday, but soon 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 camp site.

Day 4. Chenek-Buwahit, 5-6 hrs

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) and the descent views of surroundings including the chance to see the highest mountain peak in Ethiopia Ras-Dejen (4543m) and back downhill way to chenek and drive back to Gondar for about 5 hrs.