Simein Mountains – 7 Day Trek

The tour will leave Gondar at 8.00 am and arrive in the Simien Mountains National Park around 11.00 am.

Once we are in the park, the car will drop us two hours before the first camp site of Sankaber. For two hours, hike along the cliff edge towards the campsite of Sankaber. Along the route, stop for a picnic lunch. That night, camp in tents at Sankaber.

Simien Mountains National Park

Simien Mountains

Simien Mountains National Park is one of the national parks of Ethiopia. Located just north of Gondar, the park includes Ras Dejen (also referred to as Ras Dashen), the highest point in Ethiopia (4,533m). The park is also home to the a large variety of wildlife including gelada monkeys, walia ibexes as well as over 180 species of birds.

The hike from Sankaber to Geech camp takes about 5 to 6 hours passing through spectacular scenery that winds between the cliff edge and forests. Along the way we pass the 500m high Jinbar waterfall and stop for lunch on the banks of the Jinbar river. We pass through Geech village where we can have coffee with a local family in their traditional tukul hut. This is a great way to glimpse the day to day life of the mountain people.

From Geech to Chennek camp takes around 7 to 8 hours. On the way we visit Imet Gogo, which offers a spectacular panoramic view of the whole of the Simien mountain range. Imet Gogo, at 3926m, has incomparable 360 degree views of canyons, cliffs and valleys that look as if they go on forever.

From Chennek, we trek to Sona via Buwhit pass (4200m). This is a good opportunity to spot the magnificent walia ibex as well as the endemic, but rare, Simien fox. Wonderful views along the way before we descend to Sona, which is renowned for its fantastic sunsets.

From Sona we hike to Mekarebya. This trek takes around 5 hours and it’s downhill almost all of the way.  As we are descending a lot, you notice the temperature go up.  The vegetation also changes to that which you would have seen in the highlands.

From Mekarebya we hike for 5/6 hours to Mulit. This is an interesting hike where you will likely see verbat monkeys. We cross the Insya river a couple of times before a final steep hike to the campsite.

From Mulit we make our way, mostly downhill, for 2.5 hours to Adiarkay. Once we reach the main road we’ll then start the drive to Gondar.

Once we arrive back in Gondar, the program will finish