Introduction
- Trek Through Stunning Scenery, Remote Villages And Abundant Wildlife In The Simien Mountains National Park
- Summit Ethiopia’s Highest Mountain With Excellent Acclimatization And A Well Paced Itinerary To Maximize Your Chance Of Success
- Visit The Rock-Hewn Churches Of Lalibela And ‘Africa’s Camelot’ At Gondar.
- Enjoy The Best Service, Guiding, Equipment And Accommodation Throughout.
Day 1: Arrive Addis Ababa
A Warm Welcome To The Capital Of Ethiopia, And Transfer To Your Hotel
Day 2 Addis Ababa
Explore The City Of Addis Ababa, Founded In 1886. Visit The National Museum, Home To The Fossilized Hominid ‘Lucy’; St. George And Holy Trinity Cathedrals; And, For Those Keen To See An Authentic African Market, A Walk Through The Largest In Africa, Mercato.
Day 3: Addis Ababa – Bahir Dar
In This Day You Have An Option Either Using Public Land Transportation Or Taking A Short Flight To Bahir Dar (The Shores Of Lake Tana, The Source Of The Blue Nile), Where Life Revolves
Around The Lake And You Will Find The Local Fishermen At Work In Traditional
Papyrus Reed Boats. An Afternoon Hike Takes You To The Beautiful Tis Isat Falls,
Also Known As The Blue Nile Falls
Day 4: Bahir Dar
A Full Day Of Exploration (And Contemplation) As You Cruise From South To North
On Lake Tana. Visit A Selection Of The Remote Island Monasteries Such As Ura
Kidane Mehret With Its Beautiful Frescoes, And Narga Selassie In Its Stunning
Island Setting Where Time Has Stood Still. Once On The Northern Lake Shores,
Visit The Church Of Debre Sina And Back To Our Hotel
Day 5: Bahir Dar-Gondar
A Short Drive Through Public Transportation For About Three Hours To The Old Mountain Capital Of Gondar For About 3 Hrs And Have Relaxing Afternoon.
Day 6: Gondar
Gondar Has A Rich History With Its Beautiful And Strategic Mountain Setting, The
17th-Century Capital Was Once The Crossroads Of Several Major Caravan Routes,
And Was Also Occupied By The Italians During World War II. The Art Deco
Buildings Surrounding The Royal Enclosure With Its Medieval Castles And Churches Are A Reminder Of This Heritage. This Afternoon, Explore Gondar’s Castles And
The Church Of Debre Berhan Selassie With Its Iconic Ceiling Of Painted Angels
Day 7: Gondar-Sankaber (3250 M), 3-4 Hours
Early Morning We Drive from Gondar To The Park Headquarters In Debark. The 100 Km Journey Will Take Around two Hours. At The Headquarters We Will Arrange Our Permits To The Park And Pick Up Our Scout. After That We Will Drive For Another Hour Before We Start Our First Day Introductory Walk. This First Hike Is An Easy One Along The Northern Edge Of The Escarpment With A Nice View Points Over The Foothills And Plains Of Northern Ethiopia. You Will Encounter Gelada Baboon Along This Hike.
Day 8: Sankaber-Gich (3600 M), 5-6 Hours
We Follow The Northern Escarpment Eastward, Before We Descend A Little Into The Kaba Valley. After That We Climb Up Before We Reach Gich Abyss Over A Narrow Ridge To A Cliff Where We Have A Spectacular View Of The Abyss Towards The Simien Foothills. We Also Find A Large Waterfall Here, Where The Jinbar River Plunges 500 M Into The Abyss. We Proceed For About Two Hours And Have Lunch At The Jinbar River. After Lunch We Walk Through Fields Of Barley Before We Arrive At The Idyllic Village Of Gich. Here We Can Enjoy A Traditional Coffee Ceremony In One Of The Huts And Learn More About Local Farm Life. From Gich Village It Is A Short Walk To Gich Camp Which Is A Good Area To Look For Lammergeyer And Thick Billed Raven.
Day 9: Gich (3600 M), 5-6 Hours
This Day We Will Walk To Three Of The Most Spectacular View Points In The Simien Mountains. 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 Will Continue To Seha, Another View Point Amidst Deep Gorges, Before Returning To Gich Camp Where We Will Have Lunch. After A Relaxing Afternoon, We Will Take A Short Hike Up To Kedadit To Enjoy Sunset. We Return To Gich Camp, Where We Sleep For The Second Night For The Sake Of Acclimatization And Gorgeous Surrounding Views.
Day 10: Gich-Chennek (3600m), 7-8 Hrs
From Gich Camp We Initially Start Off Through The Same Fields Of Giant Lobelia As Yesterday, But Soon 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 11: Chenek-Buwahit, 5-6 Hrs
Climb The Second Highest Peak In The Simien Mountains Buwahit (4430m) Rewarding With One Of The Endemic Wild Animals In Ethiopia Particularly In The Simien Mountains Called Walia Ibex (A Goat Family), In Addition To The Scenic Views Of Surroundings Including The Chance To See The Highest Mountain Peak In Ethiopia Ras-Dejen (4543m) And Back Down To Chenek Camp Where The Car Waiting Us To Pick And Drive Back To Debark For About 2 Hrs.
Day 12: Debark-Axum
In This Day You Will Have A Long Drive To Axum With Public Bus (Transportation) Through A Gravel Road Which Is Under Construction At Present. The Bus Normally Starts From Gondar And Mostly No Chance To Get A Sit From Debark, So It Needs To Be Arranged One Day Earlier From Gondar By Some Else Who Can Reserve You The Sit And Take You The Bus Ticket To Debark. The Bus Ends Up In Shire, But You Can Take A Mini-Van To Axum On The Same Day.
Day 13: Axum
In This Day Explore The Oldest City In Ethiopia And Land Of The Queen Of Sheba’s Ancient Kingdom, Axum. Visit The Small But Interesting Museum, The Impressive Stelae Fields And Also The Grounds Of The 16th-Century Cathedral Of St. Mary Of Zion, Home Of The Original Ark Of The Covenant.
Day 14: Axum-Gerehalta/Hawzen/
It Is Not Recommendable To Use Public Transportation For The Tigrian Rock Hewn Churches Since The Churches Or Places To See Are Far From The Main Road, So You Need To Use Private Transportation In This Part.
On This Day The Visit From Axum Can Be Extended To Take In The 800 BC Pre-Axumite
Temple At Yeha, 55 Km East Of Axum, And A Little Further, The 7th Century
Monastery At Debre Damo Where The Only Access Is By Rope. After That Keep Driving To Gerehalta Through Scenic Landscapes
Day 14: Gerehalta/Hawzen/
Sightseeing Around Gerehalta, Mainly The Two Well Known Historical Rock Hewn Churches /Abune-Yemata And Mariam Korkos/. These Rock Hewn Churches Are Unbelievably Situated Under The Cliff Of The Mountain Where You Need To Have Some Rock Scrambling To Reach Them.
Day 15: Gerehalta-Mekele
Drive To The Capital City Of The Tigrian Region Mekele. On This Day You Will Still Have A Chance To Visit Some Of The Historical Rock Hewn Churches Like Abriha Hatsibha And Others. In Addition To It You Will See Remote Villages And The Great Landscapes Of The Region. It Will Be A Short Driving About 3-4 Hrs And You Will Have A Chance To Explore The City Of Mekele Unless Otherwise You Want To Stay Another Day.
Day 16: Mekele-Lalibela
Drive To The UNESCO World Heritage Site Of Lalibela – The Jerusalem Of Ethiopia, And Africa’s Own ‘Petra’. It Will Be Quite A Long Driving, But Joy Full Driving Through Remote Villages Where You Can See The Welcoming Dancing Of The Boys And Girls When They See You In Between And I Am Sure You Will Be Very Impressed By Their All Activities As The Area Is Notable For The Countries Shoulder Dancing.
Day 17: Lalibela
Before Midday Explore The Monolithic Red-Hued Churches Incredibly Carved Into The Rock. Your Guide Will Lead You Through The Network Of Crevices And Tunnels Linking Each Of The Churches. The Churches Are Still In Use Today.
In The Afternoon Your Guide Takes You To The Eastern Group Of Rock Hewn Churches: Smaller In Size, These Are No Less Impressive, With Intricate Carvings And Many Dark Tunnels To Explore! Travel Further Afield To The Nakutelab Rock-Hewn Church, Built Into The Side Of A Hill In A Natural Cave. The Afternoon Culminates In A Visit To A Private Home To Participate In An Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony.
Day 18: Lalibela-Addis
The End Of The Northern Visit Will Be Flight Back To Our Capital Town Addis.
