12 Days Trip to the Simien Mountains

Drive from Gondar early in the morning to Debark, the park headquarters, to arrange scouts and guide permits. Continue by 4WD into the park, starting your trek from Buyit Ras to Sankaber Camp. Encounter your first massive troops of Gelada baboons foraging on the grasslands.

Trek along the rim of the dramatic escarpment before crossing the Jinbar River. Stop at the breathtaking viewpoint overlooking Jinbar Waterfall plunging over 500 meters into the Geech Abyss. Continue across giant heather moorlands to Geech Camp.

A morning hike to Imet Gogo, universally acclaimed as the most dramatic viewpoint in the entire Simien range, offering 360-degree vistas of sandstone canyons and volcanic spires. Visit Saha and Keda Dit viewpoints before returning to Geech for sunset.

Ascend past Enatye (4,070m) where sheer vertical cliffs drop into the lowlands below. Arrive at Chennek camp, situated in an alpine amphitheater that is the best place in Ethiopia to observe the endangered Walia Ibex.

Climb to the Buwahit Pass (4,200m) with views back across the entire national park. Descend into the deep Mesheha River valley before climbing up to the rustic village campsite of Ambiko at the foot of Ras Dashen.

A pre-dawn start to climb through alpine valleys and scree slopes to reach the rocky summit bastion of Ras Dashen (4,550m). Scramble to the highest point in Ethiopia for unforgettable views stretching across the northern plateau.

Trek back across the Mesheha River and ascend the eastern flank of Mount Buwahit to reach Chennek camp for an evening surrounded by grazing Walia ibex and soaring bearded vultures.

After breakfast, meet the 4WD vehicles at Chennek. Drive back through Debark to Gondar, arriving in time to relax or explore the UNESCO 17th-century Royal Enclosure castles.