Tours

Classic Simien Mountains Trek

A fully supported 3-5 day trek in the Simien Mountains National Park that includes transfer to and from Gondar, a guide, a cook, porters and scouts.

Extended Simien Mountains Trek

This 8-day trek in the Simien Mountains follows the classic route from Sankaber to Chennek and down to the lowlands. It includes pick-up and drop-off in Gondar.

Ras Dashen Summit Trek

The ultimate 10-day Simien Mountains trek that includes the popular Sankaber-Gich'i-Chennek regions and ascent off Ethiopia's highest mountain, the Ras Dashen.

Special Simien Mountains Trek to Lalibela

An epic 17-day trek through the Simien Mountains that leads all the way to the legendary city of Lalibela.

Sample Itinerary

^Day 01 2-3 hours 5-7 km

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 02 5-7 hours 15 km

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 03 4-5 hours 8 km

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 04 7-8 hours 16 km

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 05 10-11 hours 22 km

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 06 9-10 hours 14 km

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 07 10-11 hours 25 km

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 08 5-6 hours 11 km

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 09 5-6 hours 10 km

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 10 3 hours 5 km

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 Gondar or Axum depending on our itinerary.

Testimonials

I did a 6 day hike with Simon in April 2013. I must say I was astounded by the natural beauty of the places he took me. His local knowledge, passion and professionalism really made the trip so much better. He even took extra time to show me around the villages of Chenek and Gich to socialize with the local people. I recommend Simon and his tours.
Derek Blair

In November 2013, my wife and I had the pleasure of being guided for five days in the Simien Mountains by Simon Assefa. He is nothing short of outstanding in both local knowledge and warm personality... Do yourself a huge favor, don't look elsewhere, and simply book a Simien Mountains tour with Simon. We can't wait to do so again ourselves!
Scott Crawford

Simon arranged a 9 day tour for us with 2 days in Lalibela, 2 days in Gondar and a 5 day trek in the Simiens. It was the best arranged tour we ever have been on. Everything went seamlessly. Simon arranged local guides in Lalibela and Gondar. They spoke great English and were very knowledgeable and put history, religion and local traditions into perspective...
Amandus Gustafsson

Trek the Simien Mountains

with Simon Assefa

About Simon

It gives me great joy to make each tour the best it can be.