4-Day Simien Mountain Trekking and Wild Life Spotting

Day 1 Fly from Addis- Gondar then drive to Sankaber From Addis Ababa fly Gondar, We'll meet you at Gondar Airport or your hotel and then take a smooth drive along a well-paved road to the park headquarters in Debark. The journey covers 100 km and will take approximately two hours. Once we arrive at the headquarters, we'll organize our park permits and meet our scout. After that, we'll drive for another hour before embarking on our first introductory hike. This initial trek is an easy one along the northern edge of the escarpment, offering beautiful views of the foothills and plains of northern Ethiopia. During the hike, you can expect to see Gelada baboons. You will encounter gelada baboon along this hike and over nigh at Sankaber.

Day 2 Sankaber – Gich (3600 m)

We begin our journey by heading east along the northern escarpment, then making a slight descent into the Kaba Valley. Afterward, we'll ascend again until we reach Gich Abyss, where we’ll traverse a narrow ridge leading to a cliff that offers breathtaking views of the abyss and the Simien foothills. Here, we’ll also encounter a magnificent waterfall where the Jinbar River cascades down 500 meters into the gorge. Following this, we’ll continue for about two hours and enjoy lunch by the Jinbar River.

After our meal, we'll stroll through barley fields until we reach the charming village of Gich. In this village, we have the opportunity to partake in a traditional coffee ceremony in one of the local huts and gain insight into the agricultural lifestyle of the residents.

After a leisurely afternoon, we’ll take a brief hike up to Kedadit to watch the sunset and admire the stunning landscapes that stretch down towards the cliff in the east before returning to camp for dinner.

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

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 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 – Gondar, 5-6 hrs

Embark on an ascent to Buwahit, the second highest peak in the Simien Mountains, standing at 4,430 meters. This trek offers not only stunning views of the surrounding landscape but also the opportunity to spot the Walia Ibex, a unique species native to this region of Ethiopia. Along the way, you'll also have a chance to see Ras Dejen, the highest peak in Ethiopia, which reaches 4,543 meters. After enjoying the breathtaking scenery, we’ll make our way back down to Chenek Camp, where our vehicle will be waiting to take us back to Gondar, a journey of approximately four hours.