Simien Mountains · Ras Dashen

THE JOURNEY IN DETAIL

The Ethiopian Alps and their geladas.

The Simien Mountains are an eroded shield volcano whose remains form thousand-metre escarpments running for tens of kilometres. The national park is a UNESCO site and home to endemics found nowhere else: gelada baboons with their scarlet chest patch, the walia ibex and the Ethiopian wolf. Ten days carry us to Ras Dashen at 4,550 m, the highest point in Ethiopia and the fourth in Africa.

• Ras Dashen, 4,550 m, the highest point in Ethiopia
• Gelada troops a hundred strong on the escarpment edge
• The Jinbar waterfall and the Imet Gogo viewpoint
• Rock-hewn churches and the castles of Gondar

1. 01
   DAY 1 · City walk and briefing

   Gondar and the Fasil Ghebbi castles

   We meet in Gondar at 2,130 m and visit Fasil Ghebbi, the seventeenth-century imperial compound and a UNESCO site. Briefing and gear check in the evening.

   Overnight: Hotel in Gondar, 2,130 m
2. 02
   DAY 2 · 9 km, 500 m of ascent

   Debark and the park gate

   Three hours by road to Debark at 2,850 m, the park headquarters, where an armed scout joins the group. After the paperwork we set off and make the first camp.

   Overnight: Sankaber camp, 3,250 m
3. 03
   DAY 3 · 12 km, 600 m of ascent

   Sankaber to Geech and the Jinbar falls

   We follow the escarpment past the Jinbar waterfall, which drops five hundred metres into the canyon. On the way we meet the first gelada troops — the only grass-eating primates in the world.

   Overnight: Geech camp, 3,600 m
4. 04
   DAY 4 · 14 km, 700 m of climbing

   Imet Gogo and Inatye

   An acclimatisation loop to the Imet Gogo viewpoint at 3,926 m and Inatye at 4,070 m, where the whole amphitheatre of the park opens up. We return to the same camp to sleep lower.

   Overnight: Geech camp, 3,600 m
5. 05
   DAY 5 · 16 km, 800 m of ascent

   Geech to Chennek over Inatye

   A long plateau traverse with a pass near 4,000 m and a descent to Chennek. Walia ibex, endemics numbering a few hundred in the world, graze right by the camp.

   Overnight: Chennek camp, 3,600 m
6. 06
   DAY 6 · 15 km, 700 m of ascent

   The Bwahit pass and down to Ambiko

   Up to the Bwahit pass at 4,200 m, which gives the first sight of Ras Dashen across the Mesheha valley. Then a 1,200-metre descent to the village of Ambiko at 3,200 m.

   Overnight: Ambiko camp, 3,200 m
7. 07
   DAY 7 · 20 km, 1,350 m of ascent

   Ras Dashen, 4,550 m

   A pre-dawn start: 1,350 metres of ascent and ten to twelve hours out and back. The final metres are easy scrambling on basalt blocks to the summit cairn. We return to the same camp.

   Overnight: Ambiko camp, 3,200 m
8. 08
   DAY 8 · 15 km, 1,000 m of ascent

   Back over Bwahit to Chennek

   The same pass in reverse, this time with a full 1,000 metres of climbing. By evening we are back at Chennek, where hot tea in the dining tent feels like a reward.

   Overnight: Chennek camp, 3,600 m
9. 09
   DAY 9 · 13 km and a 100 km transfer

   Out to Debark and back to Gondar

   A final stage along the escarpment to the road head, then the drive to Debark. We reach Gondar in the afternoon; a shower and a farewell dinner with injera in the evening.

   Overnight: Hotel in Gondar, 2,130 m
10. 10
    DAY 10 · City time and transfer

    Gondar and departure

    In the morning we visit Debre Birhan Selassie, whose ceiling is covered with rows of painted angels. An afternoon transfer to Gondar airport for the flight to Addis Ababa.

    Overnight: —