All activities / Trekking / Hiking / Simien Mountains
Trekking / Hiking in Simien Mountains
A UNESCO-listed range of jagged escarpments and grass plateaus in northern Ethiopia, rising above 4,000 metres to Ras Dashen, the country's highest peak, and home to gelada monkeys, walia ibex and the Ethiopian wolf.
Why here
The Simien Mountains are the great trek of Ethiopia, a UNESCO World Heritage range of thousand-metre escarpments, pinnacles and afro-alpine moorland that earns the local name Roof of Africa. You walk the rim from Sankaber to Geech to Chennek across several days, camping or using huts, with gelada monkeys grazing in troops a few metres away, walia ibex on the crags and, with luck, an Ethiopian wolf on the high plateau. Longer routes push up to Ras Dashen at 4,550 metres, the summit of Ethiopia and one of the highest points in Africa. National park rules require a licensed guide and an armed scout, so this is a place you trek with local people who know the escarpment and its wildlife.
Best months
The main trekking season is the dry period from October to March, when trails are firm and the views over the escarpment are clearest, though nights on the plateau drop below freezing. The long summer rains from June to September make paths muddy and leech-prone. Altitude runs from about 3,200 metres at Sankaber to 4,550 at Ras Dashen, so build in acclimatisation and pace the higher days.
Getting there & around
Treks start from Debark, about three hours by road from Gondar, where the national park headquarters register every group and assign a scout. Park rules require a licensed guide plus an armed scout, and most people add cooks, mules and muleteers for multi-day routes. Bring proper cold-weather gear for the plateau, and allow acclimatisation time before any attempt on Ras Dashen.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (2)
Simien Mountains Tour
OutfitterSimien Mountains Tour was founded by Nurlign Hassen, known as Nur, who grew up in Mecheka village inside the Simien Mountains National Park and comes from a family of local shepherds turned professional guides. The company runs treks from short escarpment walks to eighteen and twenty-four day expeditions, including routes to the base of Ras Dejen, Ethiopia's highest peak. It operates directly as a guiding outfit with an office in Addis Ababa and roughly two decades of experience in the range.
Simien Trekking Tours
OutfitterSimien Trekking Tours is a locally owned company based in the heart of the Simien Mountains near Gondar, founded by Fitalew Lezaw, known as Fite, who was born and raised in the range. It specialises in the classic multi-day traverses, offering three, six and eight day treks and ten-day Ras Dashen summit expeditions, and also arranges Gheralta and Bale Mountains trips. As a direct local operator it handles guides, scouts, mules and camping logistics itself rather than reselling.