Optional Day trips to Simien mounains national park

Optional Day trips to Simien mounains national park

Start and end in Gondar! With the hiking & trekking tour The Simien Mountains Trek, you have day trip package taking you through Gondar, Ethiopia. The Simien Mountains Trek includes 4WD transportation to and from Gondar, cook & cooking materials, mule(s) & mule handler, sleeping bags & mattresses all park entrance fees plenty of food & bottled mineral water and more.

Additional information
Semien Mountains National Park (SMNP) is dubbed as the "Roof of Africa," Ethiopia has the highest elevated portion of landmass on the continent. The SMNP is part of this landmass, it was declared as a World Heritage site by UNESO in 1978.

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia

Option1: Gondar to Buit Ras (3,260m) via Debark by car/ trekking from Buit Ras to Chilkuwanit

We will meet you in the morning at Gondar Airport or your hotel in Gondar. Drive from Gondar to Debark, which is the headquarter town for the national park. We will stop here to get a permission to enter the park and meet the scout. We will have tea and coffee break and visit the local market if we have time. The local market is open every day, and every Wednesday and Saturday is the big market day. From Debark town, we will drive to the park gate, which is about 16km from the town. Then, we are heading about 6km to Buit Ras, the first area of the national park. From Buit Ras, we will trek for about 3, 4 hours to Chilkuwanit which is one of the most beautiful viewpoints. This area offers stunning views over the escarpment dropping vertically. You will most certainly encounter troops of the endemic Gelada Baboons and see them up-close. You may also see common jackal, klipspringer and more. There are a lot of birds such as Thick-billed Raven, Augar Buzard, Black Kites, Lammergeyer and different plant species such as Abyssinian Rose, Erica Arboria tree, Euphorbia Species, St. Johns Worttree(Hypercumrevoltum) and so on. Our car will pick you up at Chilkuwanit and drive to Gondar or Axsum.

Option 2: Gondar to Sankaber camp (3,250m) via Debark/trekking from Sankaber camp to Jinba waterfall

We will meet you in the morning at Gondar Airport or your hotel in Gondar. Drive from Gondar to Debark, which is the headquarter town for the national park. We will stop here to get a permission to enter to the park and meet the scout. We will have tea and coffee break and visit the local market if we have time. The local market is open every day, and every Wednesday and Saturday is the big market day. From Debark town, we will drive to the park gate, which is about 16km from the town. Then, we are heading about 10km to Sankaber camp, which is the first camping site in the national park. From Sankaber camp, we will trek for about 3 hours. You will trek along the edge with stunning views over the foothills 800m below. The trail passes most vegetated area in the park through a low bush of Giant Heather, Abyssinian Rose, Oliveria, and Globe Thistle. You will most certainly encounter troops of the endemic gelada baboons and see them up-close. You may also see Klipspringer, bushbuck, rock hyrax in the steep rocky and wooded slopes. Leopards live around here and you may have a chance to spot a leopard. The highlight of the trek is Jinba waterfalls, an incredible 500m sheer drop, the longest fall in Ethiopia. From the viewpoint opposite, you will see the different voltures such as Griffen Volture, Hooded Volture, Whitebacked Volture, Lappet-faced vulture and Lammergeyer along the cliff. Lammergeyer is one of the biggest bird prey in the world and feeds bone marrow. This area is the best place for lammergeyer to break the bone. This area is also good to see different small birds such as one of the Ethiopian endemic bird- Abyssinian Catbird. After the sightseeing, we get back to the main road (the place called Kavamesk) where the car stops to drive us to Gondar or Axsum.

Option 3: Gondar to Chenneck camp (3,620m) by car/ making a round trek

We will meet you in the morning at Gondar Airport or your hotel in Gondar. Drive from Gondar to Debark, which is the headquarter town for the national park. We will stop here to get a permission to enter to the park and meet the scout. We will have tea and coffee break and visit the local market if we have time. The local market is open every day, and every Wednesday and Saturday is the big market day. From Debark town, we will drive to the park gate, which is about 16km from the town. Then, we will head to Chenneck camp, which is located 58km from Debark town and is located in a beautiful valley at the foot of the Mt. Bwahit (4,430m). Along the way, we will drive pass Buit Ras and Sankaber camp, and stop to see Jinba waterfall, an incredible 500m sheer drop, the longest fall in Ethiopia. From the viewpoint opposite, you will see the different voltures such as Griffen Volture, Hooded Volture, Whitebacked Volture, Lapped-faced vulture and Lammergeyer along the cliff. Lammergeyer is one of the biggest bird prey in the world and feeds bone marrow. This area is the best place for lammergeyer to break the bone. This area is also good to see different small birds such as one of the Ethiopian endemic bird- Abyssinian Catbird. After we arrive at Chenneck camp, we will make a round trek. The path follows through the escarpment and you will enjoy the view of Mt. Emet Gogo. As long as time allows, we will climb up around the altitude of 4,000m. On the way, you may see Walia Ibex and Ethiopian wolf. You will also see many different birds such as vultures and small birds, and different plant species such as evergreen and high elevation plant Lobelia that grow above 3,600masl, everlasting flower, Erica Arboria tree, St. Johns Worttree (Hypercumrevoltum) and Festuca grass.



Duration: 8 hours