Special Simien Mountains Trekking – 14 days
Day 1
Arrive at Addis Abeba Airport, where you will be met and transferred to your hotel. After Check in to your hotel and leave with your guide to see Mount Entoto in the north to begin your tour. Next, go to the Ethnographic museum, which has a large collection of handmade items and historical relics from Ethiopia. Overnight Hotel.
Day 2: Gondar to Sankaber
Drive from Gondar to Debark (2800 m), where HQ is located. We will arrange the required entry permits and drive to the park for about 27-29 km, and then walk for 2-3 hours and spend the night in the Sankaber campsite. You may see Gelada baboons on the way. They are very common until Mount Bwahit (4430 m).
Day 3: Sankaber to Gich’i
Trek 5-7 hours from Sankaber to Gich’i through Jinbar Waterfall (3150 m) and Gich’i village. You may see antelopes like the klipspringer and Menelik’s bushbuck on the way. We’ll spend the night at the Gich’i campsite.
Day 4, GICH’I to Imet Gogo
Enjoy a relaxing walk as you take in the wonderful views seen at Imet Gogo(3929 m) and Saha (3700 m). Come back and stay in the camp to relax or sleep until 5 pm to walk another 30 minutes to Kedadit (3800 m) to enjoy the sunset. Come back and spend the night again in the Gich’i campsite under the stars.
Day 5: Gich’i to Chennek
Trek from Gich’i to Chennek through Mount Inatye (4070 m). We may find Ethiopian wolves on the way if we are lucky!
Day 6: Chennek to Ambiko
This is one of the longest routes in the park. It takes 10 hours for most trekkers. The first ascent is 600 m to Bwahit Pass (4200 m) followed by a 1400m descent down to Mesheha River (2800 m) via Chiro Liba village (3100 m). Next, you will ascend about 400 m to Ambiko, which is the base camp to Ras Dashen from the river.
Day 7: Ambiko to Ras Dashen
Trek from Ambiko to Ras Dashen (4543 m), which is the highest peak in Ethiopia and the horn of Africa. We will start trekking in the early morning around 4 or 5 am so that we’ll be able to trek the hardest part of it before the sun rises. You will trek almost all the way up to the top, with the last 100 m involving a scramble to the top. We’ll go all the way down to Ambiko where we will spend the night again.
Day 8: AMBIKO to Sona
Trek from Ambiko to Sona through Arkwazye village (3700 m). You will see lots of small villages and farms on the way. We may spend the night on the way to Sona school or go further to enjoy a spectacular sunset.
Day 9: Sona to Lamo or Mekarbiya
This is the lowland stage of your trek. The first part will involve descending down to about 1300 m to Ensia River (1900 m) where you will have your lunch, relax, wash up, swim, or sit under the huge Ficus Africana tree having coffee. After having a good time there, we will walk for 2 hours to Lamo village where we’ll camp and spend the night. On the way, you will see various types of bird and plant species.
Day 10: Lamo to Mulit
In the morning, we will walk to the lower part of the Ensia river (1700 m). Then we will walk 1.5-2 hours all the way up to the Hawassa Muslim village where we can find a small hotel to stay in and eat. We will walk for an hour walk to another Muslim village and spend the night in the Mekarbiya village. After we have our dinner, there may be time to watch the locals perform dances and music.
Day 11: Mulit to Adi Arkay
On this day, we will have a very easy and relaxing walk. We will walk down to Adi Arkay town where we can find our car, which will take us to Axum for overnight.
Day 12: Full day in Axum to explore the archaeological sites and church of St. Mary Tsion.
Axum is the seat of the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Axum, which was once one of the most powerful in the ancient world. Axum is also the origin of Christianity in Ethiopia and believed to be the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant. The old church of St Mary of Zion was the first church to be built in Sub-Saharan Africa around 330AD.Its ruins can be seen in the precinct of the church compound. We visit the famous monolithic stelae of Axum, The subterranean tombs, stone inscriptions of ancient Axumite kings and the archaeological museum are also living witness of the ancient Axumite history. We will also visit the ruined palace of the Queen of Sheba who is said to have given birth to Menelik the First, fathered by King Solomon, overnight Axum
Day 13: FLY to Lalibela
After breakfast in the hotel transfer to Airport and fly to Lalibela, famous for its rock hewn churches dating back to 900 years. Upon arrival at Lalibela airport you will be met and welcomed by our representatives, then drive to the hotel for check-in and lunch break. Visit the magnificent rock-hewn churches, which were built by hand between 800 and 1200 AD and are still active worship places. Overnight Hotel.
Day 14
Morning transfer back to the Lalibela Airport for your flight on to Addis Ababa. Settle in to your hotel and set out with your guide to visit the biggest open-air market in all of Africa to round out your visit. Dinner and transfer to Airport for your flight back home.
